National Register of Historic Places listings in Menominee County, Michigan facts for kids
Welcome to Menominee County, Michigan! This special place is home to many important buildings and sites. These locations are so significant that they are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This list helps protect and celebrate places that tell us about the past.
You can find 10 amazing historic places in Menominee County. Each one has a unique story about how people lived, worked, and built things long ago. Let's explore some of these cool spots!
Contents
- Discover Menominee County's Historic Places
- What is the National Register of Historic Places?
- Menominee Railroad Station
- First Street Historic District
- Charles G. Janson Garage
- Menominee County Courthouse
- Menominee Pierhead Light Station
- The Steamer R. J. Hackett
- Riverside Site
- St. John the Baptist Catholic Church
- J. W. Wells State Park
- Wisconsin Land and Lumber Company Office Building
- Images for kids
Discover Menominee County's Historic Places
What is the National Register of Historic Places?
The National Register of Historic Places is like a special list of buildings, sites, and objects that are important to American history. When a place is added to this list, it means it's worth saving and learning about. It helps people understand the past and protect these treasures for the future.
Menominee Railroad Station
The Menominee Railroad Station was built in 1903. It looks a lot like another old station in nearby Marinette, Wisconsin. This station was once a busy place! It served passenger trains that traveled between Menominee and Crivitz, Wisconsin, until 1914. Later, it was used for both passengers and freight, but that didn't last long. By 1938, the station closed its doors. Today, it stands as a reminder of the early days of train travel.
First Street Historic District
Imagine walking through a downtown area that looks much like it did over 100 years ago! That's what you'll find in the First Street Historic District in Menominee. This area is also known as the Main Street Historic District or the Historic Waterfront Downtown. It covers about 29 acres and has more than 40 old commercial buildings and civic structures. Most of these buildings were built around 1890, when Menominee was growing fast. They still look very much like they did back then, showing us what a busy town center was like in the past.
Charles G. Janson Garage
The Charles G. Janson Garage is a two-story brick building. It was built in 1915 for Charles G. Janson, who was a Ford car dealer. Imagine buying one of the first Ford cars from this very spot! An extra part was added to the building in 1933. This garage shows us how car dealerships looked in the early days of automobiles.
Menominee County Courthouse
The Menominee County Courthouse is a grand building made of red brick. It has three stories and was built between 1874 and 1875. The design was created by an architect from Chicago named G.P. Randall. This courthouse is a great example of Classical Revival style architecture. It has been an important center for the county's government and legal matters for over a century.
Menominee Pierhead Light Station
Out on the water, at the end of the Menominee Harbor pier, stands the Menominee Pierhead Light Station. A lighthouse was first set up here in 1877. The lighthouse you see today is a unique red, 34-foot-tall, eight-sided building made of cast iron. It first shone its light in 1927. Lighthouses like this one helped guide ships safely into the harbor, especially at night or in bad weather.
The Steamer R. J. Hackett
The R. J. Hackett was a special kind of ship called a steamer. It was built in 1869. This ship was very important because it was the first Great Lakes freighter. Its design, with a wide middle section for cargo, was new at the time. This design became very popular and was copied by many other ships that carried goods across the Great Lakes for over 100 years!
Sadly, in 1905, the Hackett caught fire and sank in Green Bay. Its wreck now rests in 10 to 14 feet of water, about 9.5 miles southeast of the Cedar River. It's a fascinating underwater historical site.
Riverside Site
The Riverside Site, also known as 20-ME-1, is an amazing archaeological site. It was once a village with a cemetery nearby. When archaeologists dug here, they found artifacts from different ancient cultures. These included items from the Old Copper and Red Ocher cultures, and even some from later Woodland and Mississippian cultures. Scientists used a method called radiocarbon dating to find out how old the items were. They found that most of the artifacts date from about 500 BCE to 200 BCE. This site helps us learn about the very first people who lived in this area thousands of years ago.
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church
The St. John the Baptist parish was the oldest religious group along the Menominee River in Michigan. The church building you see today was designed by Derrick Hubert, who was a member of the church. It was built between 1921 and 1922. The church was used by the parish until 1972, when some parishes merged. In 1976, the Menominee County Historical Society bought the building. Now, it's used as the society's Heritage Museum, where you can learn more about the area's history.
J. W. Wells State Park
J. W. Wells State Park is a beautiful natural area that was created in 1925. It was a gift from the children of John Walter Wells. He was an important lumberman and also served as the mayor of Menominee three times, starting in 1893. Many of the park's buildings, its landscaping, and even its water and sewage systems were built by a group called the Civilian Conservation Corps. This group worked on projects like this during the 1930s and 1940s to help people find jobs during tough economic times.
Wisconsin Land and Lumber Company Office Building
This building was once the main office for the Wisconsin Land & Lumber Company. It was built in 1882 in Meyer Township. It stayed as the company's headquarters until 1978. Then, in 1982, it became the IXL Historical Museum. The building still looks almost exactly as it did when it was first built. The museum inside tells the story of Hermansville's past, especially its history with lumbering and making hardwood flooring. It's a great place to learn about the industries that shaped the area.
Images for kids
-
The historic Menominee Railroad Station
-
Buildings in the First Street Historic District
-
The Charles G. Janson Garage
-
The Menominee County Courthouse
-
The Menominee Pierhead Light Station
-
A drawing of the R. J. Hackett steamer
-
Archaeologists at the Riverside Site
-
The historic St. John the Baptist Catholic Church
-
A view of J. W. Wells State Park
-
The IXL Historical Museum in Hermansville
