Copper Country Genealogy Class Links
Copper Thread Genealogy 2026
Copper Country Genealogy Resources
Newspaper Archives
The only local paper is The Calumet News (covers the whole Copper Country) – approximately 1896-1914. Thousands of other national and international newspapers.
Clark Historical Library at Central Michigan University – Digital Newspaper Archives
The L’Anse Sentinel and many other Michigan newspapers
MTU Archives – extensive local collection (see Genealogical Research Guide).
General Research Sites
Digital Public Library of America – database of records, books, photos, and more.
(dp.la)
Hahti Trust - database of records, books, photos, and more.
Google Books
Internet Archive/Wayback Machine
Michiganology – database of death certificates, naturalization records, and more.
FindAGrave – large database of graves including locations, photographs and obituaries of the deceased. Maintained by volunteers.
Local History Sites
CMEC Database – Copper Miners Employee Card Database (Calumet & Hecla)
Copper Country Architects – Contains information on various buildings (churches, homes, schools, businesses, and more) of the area. Includes information on origin, photos, history, and more.
Copper Country Historical Images – Database by MTU of local relevant photographs, maps, and images.
Keweenaw Time Traveler – Interactive maps of the area.
Copper Country Reflections – Photographs and history of the area.
(pasty.com/reflections/index.htm)
The Copper Range Railroad – History, photos, and information about the Copper Range Railroad and relevant topics.
PAST-E-MAIL – Old message board related to the Copper Country with lots of photos and anecdotes about local history.
(There is a TRICK to searching these message boards. Go to Google > Type “Past-e-mail” [topic]. Make sure to include quotation marks but brackets are not needed).
UPLINK – Connects the online archives of all Upper Peninsula libraries.
MiGenWeb – local genealogy and history pages dedicated to specific counties or areas. Lots of cemetery transcriptions. Maintained by volunteers.
Genealogy Trails – Individual genealogy sites by location and topic. Contains local records, biographies, cemetery information, military and marriage records, and more.
(genealogytrails.com/mich/Houghton)
Copper Country Bottles – Information on local beer, soda, pharmacy, dairy, and bottle plants. Basically, any industry that used glass bottles is featured here.
Other Resources
Houghton County Historical Society – large collection of photos, records, ephemera, etc. There is no index or catalog.
Keweenaw County Historical Society – No archives or genealogical records. Everything was donated to the Keweenaw National Historic Park.
Ontonagon County Historical Society – Extensive resources. Many records are currently at the NMU archives and Archives of Michigan.
Other local history museums, heritage sites, etc. have different records, information, documents, etc. For example, the Copper Range Museum in South Range has many Copper Range employee records. The Gay School has many old school and employment records. Reach out to or visit the relevant location and see how they can help.
Archives
Michigan Tech Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections
Keweenaw National Historic Park
Finnish American Heritage Center Archives
Keys
Sanborn Map Abbreviations
(https://web.mit.edu/thecity/resources/abbreviations_for_sanborn_maps.pdf)
How to Interpret Sanborn Maps
(historicalinfo.com/fimo-interpret-sanborn-maps/)
The Ultimate Quick Reference Guide to the US Census for Genealogy – Explains by decade what relevant information each census contains.
(https://familyhistorydaily.com/genealogy-help-and-how-to/us-census-records-genealogy/)
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