Baraga County Historical Society

08/01/2026

The Piquette Plant was a highlight and the last stop on our visit with Todd Bryan, President of the Henry Ford Heritage Association. The plant built early Ford autos before the mass production assembly line was developed.

08/01/2026

Imagine being greeted and entertained by this.

08/01/2026

Two days of total immersion in the life and times of Henry Ford concluded yesterday with special tours of Fair Lane, Home of Clara and Henry Ford and the Piquette Plant with Henry Ford Heritage Association President Todd Bryan.

These pix are of Fair Lane. Piquette will be posted separately.

Fair Lane is nearing completion of a decade-long restoration and is not open to public tours. When it opens next year, be sure to add it to your list of "must see" places. Consider becoming a member of HFHA - the 2027 annual meeting will be hosted by Fair Lane!

08/01/2026

Paula McElroy, her husband Tom, Karen Kautto and Wayne Abba represented BCHS at the annual meeting of the Henry Ford Heritage Association on July 30 at the Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores. They were invited in recognition of BCHS's work with Michigan Technological University's College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science to renovate and preserve the historic Ford Alberta Sawmill.
MTU received the HFHA 2026 FRIEND OF FORD AWARD (ORGANIZATION) "For over seven decades of stewardship of the Alberta Sawmill and Village, and for carrying forward the legacy of Henry Ford as both a historic treasure and a living classroom."
The award was accepted on behalf of MTU President Dr. Richard Koubek by Dr. Wayne Gersie, who was accompanied by several MTU associates including Alberta manager Jim Tolan and Dr. Steve Walton, who has researched Alberta and published a recent article in The FORD Legend, newsletter of the HFHA.

07/30/2026

Here's the new logo that our volunteers will be sporting - and will be available on museum merchandise.

07/29/2026

Museum construction is on track to complete in the fall.

07/25/2026

This exhibit at our museum annex in Alberta recognizes Clara Bryant Ford's support for the Women's Suffragette Movement. The museum (originally the Reception Center and Pumphouse) is open Thursday-Saturday 11:00-3:00.

07/23/2026

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Henry Ford is remembered for revolutionizing the automobile, but his vision extended far beyond the assembly line. To make the Model T as affordable as possible, Ford believed he needed control over every step of production. That philosophy led him deep into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where vast forests became an essential part of one of the world’s most famous manufacturing empires.

Just a few miles south of L’Anse along U.S. 41 sits Alberta, a remarkable company town Henry Ford established in 1936 to supply lumber for Ford Motor Company. Named after the daughter of one of Ford’s executives, Alberta was much more than a sawmill. It featured homes for workers and their families, schools for their children, and a carefully planned community built around the timber industry. Every board cut here helped support Ford’s ambitious system of vertical integration, where the company produced many of its own raw materials instead of relying on outside suppliers.

Ford also hated seeing anything go to waste. The mountains of sawdust created by his lumber operations inspired another innovation that would become a household name. Working alongside chemist Orin Stafford, who developed compressed charcoal briquettes, and Thomas Edison, who designed the original briquette factory, Ford helped transform leftover sawdust into fuel for backyard grills. Managed by Edward G. Kingsford, the operation eventually grew into the famous Kingsford charcoal brand that remains a staple of summer cookouts across America.

When Ford no longer needed the town, Alberta found a new purpose. In 1954, the entire community was donated to Michigan Technological University, where it continues to serve as a center for forestry education and research. Visitors today can tour the beautifully preserved sawmill and historic buildings, offering a fascinating glimpse into a time when one of America's greatest industrialists built an entire town in the forests of the Upper Peninsula. It's one of Michigan's most remarkable hidden pieces of automotive and logging history.

07/21/2026

Today's work bee at the historic Ford Alberta sawmill made good progress removing the old flooring to prepare for Connor Sports' generous donation of new hardwood flooring.

We'll need another one or two sessions to finish the job. Let us know if you'd like to volunteer for this historic project.