Historic Churches

The level of pay and benefits offered by the Keweenaw Copper Mines attracted workers and their families from all around the globe in the search of a better life in America. Once arriving to the Keweenaw these immigrants often found themselves in an alien world unlike anything they had previously known. Alone and lost, these immigrants turned to local churches to fill the gap, churches that were often segregated by ethnicity as well as denomination.

Mine companies actively encouraged the formation of churches, often providing land and materials free of charge to local congregations. To prospective employers like the mine companies, a church-going worker was a far superior breed and highly desired. This encouragement allowed for larger congregations to erect massive and highly ornate cathedrals, mirroring those old-Europe styled cathedrals that reminded immigrants of their far-way homelands. The result was a collection of some of the most grand and opulent churches ever erected in Michigan.