IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WZMQ) – In Dickinson County, the Menominee Range Historical Museum is on the move. The museum, which has been previously located in the old Carnegie Library in Iron Mountain, is relocating to a new and improved location next to the Cornish Pump Mining Museum and World War II Glider Museum near the Chapin mine reservoir. The move is part of an effort to keep the three museums together and make the historical museum more accessible to those with disabilities.
The move will make it easier for visitors to see the glider and Ford Woody Wagons, which were built in the area in the 1950s. According to Guy Forstrom, the Menominee Range Historical Foundation Treasurer, the changes will be a big improvement for the museum. “So many people who live in the area have never been here,” Forstrom noted. “Most know about the Cornish Pump, but many haven’t seen our WWII Glider, and our Ford Woody Wagons.”
The new location is the same campus as the World-War-Two Glider Museum and the Cornish Pump Mining Museum, positioning all three museums in a more accessible way for visitors. The Cornish Pump and WWII Glider Museums are now open for visitors to check out, but the new Historical Museum won’t be officially open until some time next spring.
´We will probably be open next spring. We haven’t quite completed all of the displays, our museum vice president Jim Hartwell has been the lead person over there and I’ve been helping him. We’ve also subcontracted some of the larger portions of work. It’s kind of a volunteer effort,’
The Menominee Range Historical Museum is a non-profit organization that is run from ticket sales and donations from the public.
The new location will also allow visitors to see a logging display at the Cornish Pump Museum all the way through October.
´We get bus tours throughout the year from all over the country. We do school tours to different grades locally to educate kids and let them know what we have here,’ commented Forstrom.
“Some of that display had been at the old Carnegie Library Museum, the original museum, and when we moved everything out of that building we split up some of the displays,” informed Forstrom. “The mining items went here and the logging items went in the mining room.”
The Menominee Range Historical Museum is a must-see destination for history buffs and visitors to the area. With the new and improved location, visitors will have even more reasons to stop by and check out the exhibits.
‘We keep adding in the Glider exhibit uniforms that are from local veterans, and little small personal items and things like that, so we’re constantly adding small items, ´ Forstrom remarked.
The Cornish Pump and Glider Museums welcome visitors from 9-5 Central time, Monday through Saturday, and from noon to four on Sundays. The museum also does group tours for those who call in advance. They give discounts for touring both of the currently open museums, and for large groups. Groups interested in touring are encouraged to call ahead.
´If you live in this area and you’ve never been here, you need to come here because our Glider Museum is next-to-none, and next year with our new historical museum it’ll be all new fresh displays presented in a new manner that you haven’t seen before,´ Forstrom added.
For more detailed information about the museum, visit:
menomineemuseum.com
