Our own Jon Hopper takes us on a quick tour of the grounds at Fort Wilkins Historic State Park in Copper Harbor. He starts with his daughters just entering the parade grounds through the passage between two of the buildings and continues onto the porch and the grounds for a look around. The last two photos Jon snapped in the Blacksmith Shop, showing many of the tools from back in the early Fort days, including an animal trap hanging on the wall. Those were tougher times living at the tip of the Keweenaw, serving in the army in the 1840’s and it’s wonderful that we have this preserved to explore this history right here in Copper Harbor.

This summer Fort Wilkins is celebrating a century as a Historic State Park. In July 1923, fifty-three years after the U.S. Army closed the post, the State of Michigan acquired Fort Wilkins as a State Park. So this July Fort Wilkins State Park turned 100 years old. Check out this link for more about the Fort: DNR Fort Wilkins 100

We have a video from Visit Keweenaw that does a great job showcasing Fort Wilkins and its history back to when it was built in 1844 and was intended to keep peace in the Copper Country during the peak of the copper mining boom back then.

Nice set and info…thanks for the tour!

Interested in knowing if there were any casualties during battles,
I discovered that there were four deaths;
three were of natural causes and one 5 year old child drowned in
Lake Fanny Hooe.

I haven't been there in years. It's nice
seeing these.

This is such a part of our history. We've all
crawled along these grounds for decades...and they
keep improving it!

Awesome memories....

And Alex...I believe the child that drowned WAS
Fanny Hoe. So sayeth the stories...

That's the story I heard also, Donna.

This is what I found: “ Five-year-old Willie Grose, daughter of Post
Laundress Jane Grose Hanrahan, drowned in Lake Fanny Hooe in
1869, who, because he was popular among the military garrison,
was buried with full military rites.”

I believe that this may be a misprint. Willie is short for William and
he was the son of Jane Grose Hanrahan.

Fanny Hoe was an adult. Sister of the wife of Lt., Daniel Ruggles stationed at Fort Wilkens in 1844. It was custom in the day to name lakes and rivers around garrisons after women who were there with their families. Hence the name of the Lake became Fanny Hoe. She survived the civil war battle of either Vicksburg or Fredricksburg. Willie Grose was the son of Jane Hanrahan a post laundress. He was the child that drowned in the lake. The Fort Wilkens Association and the Michigan State Historical Division has research information on these events. Its been about 45 years since I last read any of the research and records, but a lot of this information is posted in various locations around the fort. Better yet, when you visit the fort in the summer and you meet costumed interpreters in the fort, you can ask them all kinds of questions about the fort's history and daily life in the 1870's. They will respond as a fully researched character based on an actual person who was stationed at the fort and will interact with you as if it is an actual day in their life.

My bad,mispelled Fanny Hooe.

And my bad again, Fort Wilkins. And probably any and every other name I typed at 3:00a.m.

Looking, thanks for that.