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Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA

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SAULT STE. MARIE, MICHIGAN
POINTS
OF INTEREST

Soo Locks Park & Visitor Center. This is the place to get really close-up views of giant freighters, plus see some interesting exhibits ... more

Soo Lock Train Tours. Great intro to Soo. Smart, funny 1-hour narrated tour of historic sites. From International Bridge, look down 135' on all 5 locks. ... more

Soo Locks Boat Tour. This 2-hour excursion provides a dramatic look at the big locks, the quaint Canadian locks, and the Twin Soo's waterfronts. ... more

River of History Museum. Compelling life-size dioramas bring to life scenes from Sault Ste. Marie's long history and prehistory. ... more

Riverfront walk along Water Street and Brady Park. See upbound boats waiting at the locks at beautiful Brady Park, site of the 19th c. fort. See interesting historic monuments from Sault Ste. Marie's aspiring years, including idiosyncratic Chase Osborn, the only U.P. governor. ... more

Bingham Avenue historic buildings. An avenue of grand 19th-century buildings, from a time when locals saw a grander future for the city than actually unfolded ... more

Tower of History. An oustanding geographical of the area from a 21-story tower. ... more

St. Mary's Pro-cathedral. This 1880s cathedral has a wonderful interior, with richly colored stained glass and striking wall accents ... more

Schoolcraft, Johnston and Baraga houses. Three of the earliest and most significant houses in Upper Peninsula history ... more

George Kemp Downtown Marina . A nice picnic area at a beautiful marina ... more

Museum Ship Valley Camp . A 1917 Great Lakes steamship is the vehicle for an interesting maritime museum ... more

St. Mary's River Lighthouse Cruise. A 4-hour journey past landmarks like the lighthouse at the entrance to the St. Marys River ... more

Edison Sault Power Plant & Alford Park. This 1902 quarter-mile-long landmark never attracted the industries it was built to serve, but still generates electricity ... more

Mission Point, Aune Osborn Park & Sugar Island Ferry. It's been called the #1 place anywhere to see Great Lakes freighters in motion ... more

Sugar Island. Once a favorite Chippewa sugaring spot, the island still has many maples and still is a popular stop for migrating birds ... more

New Fort Brady/Lake Superior State University. Begun in 1893 as an Army fort and barracks for 20,000 troops, this overlook now is the site of 3,300-student Lake Superior State University ... more

International Bridge. Connecting the 5,000-mile Trans-Canada Highway with 2,000-mile I-75 to Florida, this 1962 bridge does much more than connect the two Soos ... more

SAULT STE. MARIE, MICHIGAN

River of History Museum

The ambitious River of History Museum occupies the old Beaux Arts post office and federal building. It's an interesting change of pace from typical local history museums. Eleven rooms bring to life key times in Sault Ste. Marie's long history. Trip motion sensors activate spoken stories as visitors enter each room. It sets a fast pace (30-45 minutes). But people who like historical details can easily spent 2 1/2 hours here.

The firts life-size diorama is a recreated scene of people here from 6,000 years ago, spearing whitefish by the rapids as glaciers were still melting. It builds on stories handed down Ojibwa here. Visitors hear things like Bawating ("buh-WAH-ting, the St. Mary's River Rapids) saying, "I am old but ever young. Used but ever abundant, filled with life and alive with energy."

Kids can step into a French fur trader's cabin and try on clothes and other hands-on items. A room in British trader John Johnston's house has been recreated.

Visitors enjoy rooms from around 1800 to the present because they deal with familiar places and historical figures. Here are Henry Rowe Schoolcraft of Hiawatha fame, Charles Harvey (builder of the Soo Locks in 1853-55), Francis Hector Clergue and his industrial projects, and Fort Brady, built to protect the locks on the river and then up on the bluff. (The Lake Superior State University campus incorporates the 1890s garrison.)

The museum is a good rainy-day destination, with a fine museum shop of local history books, educational materials, and local crafts.

209 E. Portage, a block east (right) from Ashmun/Bus. I-75 downtown. Park in the front. (906) 632-1999. Open mid-May thru mid October. By appt. for groups in winter. Hours: Mon-Sat 11-5,. Probably closed on Sun. $5.50/adult, $2.75 ages 6-16. 5 and under free. Wheelchair access: use rear entrance by parking.

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