Keweenaw Heritage Center opens

The summer season is here for the Keweenaw Heritage Center inside St. Anne’s Church in Calumet. In addition to being available for booked events like weddings, the center is finally able to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage. The facility opens at 1:00 PM each weekday and admission is three dollars.

The 19th Amendment was ratified and took effect in 1920, so the center had to find a way to mark the milestone a year later than intended. They have done so through a temporary exhibit that highlights ten local women who blazed a trail in the sciences, law enforcement, and other male dominated career fields, whose ambitions were shaped by the fight for equality.

St. Anne’s was a French Canadian Catholic parish until 1966. It was sold for $4,000 after it closed to a flea market operator and fell into disrepair until the 1990’s when the Keweenaw Heritage Center was formed to restore the building. In the 25 years since, over $1.5 million has been used for renovation efforts. The next major initiative is the pipe organ. Another potential significant project is to remove the paint that covers rich, dark wood wainscoting.