ROCKLAND

Region: Porcupine Mountains and Ontonagon

Entering Rockland from the east. The picturesque village is in a valley surrounded by rocky outcrops. The Methodist Church, destroyed by fire not long ago, has been rebuilt in a style close to the original.

Surrounded by rocky hills, this Victorian village sits in the beautiful valley of the lower Ontonagon River. It's 12 miles east of Ontonagon on U.S. 45. Rockland feels like somewhere out of time, but the area has a surprising number of attractions, as indicated on rocklandMI.org. It was first settled in the 1840s when deposits of pure copper were discovered and substantial mines were dug here and at Victoria, three miles to the south. The Minesota (not a typo, they spell it with just one "n") Mine just southeast of town, begun in 1847, was one of the first U.P. copper mines to strike it rich. On U.S. 45 just east of town, an interpretive marker indicates the mine site.

Following the traces of prehistoric Indian miners, the Minesota Mining Company found and removed a six-ton mass of copper and soon followed a vein of mass copper. It extracted over four million pounds of copper a year. The site attracted both Irish and Cornish miners. By 1870, the Minesota Mine was played out. Inspired by the Minesota's immense profits, many companies continued to develop mines in Ontonagon County into the early 20th century. Most lost money.

Downtown Rockland, rebuilt in the 1890s after a fire. Henry's Inn is the local hub; its rotating buffet dinners draw hungry diners from the Porkies, Ontonagon, Houghton, and Baraga.

By the early 1890s Rockland had almost a thousand inhabitants. It was then the epitome of frontier modernity and could even boast of having Michigan's first telephone system. But ultimately Ontonagon County's much purer mass copper proved insignificant compared to central Keweenaw's amygdaloid copper deposits, where huge quantities of black, heavy volcanic rock had to be stamped and smelted to create pure copper ingots to sell.

Rockland owes its 1890s Victorian architecture to a fire on July 4, 1892 that destroyed most of the town. A little girl whose parents told her not to use firecrackers managed to find one and lit it in her dining room. In a panic, she threw it out the window, igniting the lace curtains and, soon, quite a bit of Rockland as well. The fire spread unchecked because the townspeople were a mile and a half west of town dedicating the new cemetery. It took the girl a long time to get there and convince them to return and deal with the fire. When Rockland rebuilt, it installed a state-of-the-art water system.

In the early 20th century, the mines here closed down one by one. Finnish immigrants came here to farm. Rockland's population declined steadily — to 700 in the 1930s and under 200 today. Losing the elementary school to consolidation especially hurt. Today Rockland is a "garden village," as its civic leaders like to say. What with all the wildflowers and prominent flower and vegetable gardens, it's a pretty place for a walk or bike ride. Now all that's left in the way of commercial establishments are the Rockland General Store (which sells Jilbert's ice cream cones among many other things) and Henry's Inn, a popular bar and restaurant that draws visitors from far and wide. The Methodist church has been rebuilt in a historical vein after a fire burned the landmark church to the ground.

Stop by Henry's tavern on U.S. 45 in downtown Rockland. There Sally Gagnon will fill you in on Rockland history. She is daytime bartender, co-owner with her husband Henry, cook, local historian and promoter extraordinaire. Ontonagon stole everything from Rockland, she points out, including the famous copper boulder and the county seat. "But our history is still here, and the wonderful setting of our town," she proclaims. Property in Rockland today, however, "has no value," she says. That's how her daughter could buy up a vacant city block and turn it into a beautiful big flower garden right on U.S. 45.

Jessica Speer is among the artistic transplants to the area. She moved here from Wisconsin to learn Finnish weaving from the late Syl Laitala of Syl's Restaurant in Ontonagon. Jessica's own woven rugs, woven lace, and throws are contemporary. They are sold nationwide in galleries and shops. Call to arrange a visit to her studio, One of a Kind Weaving (906-886-2672).

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PLACES AROUND ROCKLAND TO

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