Copper Harbor Lighthouse

This is a short but scenic trip across sheltered Copper Harbor to visit the Copper Harbor Lighthouse, now a museum and part of Fort Wilkins State Park. The original lighthouse was built in 1849, a year after Whitefish Point Lighthouse. Near the lighthouse is the vein of chrysolite or greenstone (a copper containing ore) that led to the discovery of copper on the Keewenaw and the copper rush of the mid-nineteenth century. Thousands of prospectors descended on the Keewenaw, and cavalry troops were posted at Copper Harbor to keep the peace. They built Fort Wilkins, which has been reconstructed and is now a state park and historic complex, complete with reenactors in period costume.