Central Mine Methodist Church comes alive just one Sunday a year to celebrate the heritage of a mining community in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula.

History of Central Mine & Its Church

Central mine was organized on November 15, 1854 and finally closed on July 20, 1898. During its forty-four year lifetime, two generations matured. Central was a leader through Keweenaw - in copper production, in the size of its population (over 1200 at its peak), and in the pride of its citizens in its mine, its coronet band, its handsome schoolhouse and its church. Since the first reunion of Central residents in 1907, the little church on the hill comes back to life in celebration and remembrance of those who worked and lived here long ago.

The town was located in an ancient mining pit along an outcrop below a Greenstone Bluff. Cornish miners and their families flocked from Britain and with their extensive mining knowledge they helped make this a successful venture. The Central mine was unique in that it made a profit in it's first year of operation and eventually 52 million pounds of copper were pulled from the earth underneath Central.

Central is located on US Highway 41 about five miles east of Phoenix, Michigan (map). Several miners' homes still stand on the site. In 1996, the Keweenaw County Historical Society acquired 38 acres of the old Central site. Some of the residences are being restored, and a Visitors Center provides interpretive exhibits not only about the mine but also about the miners' families, homes, schools and churches.

Find information about Central at the Keweenaw County Historical Society.