Eagle Harbor House

Built by the Eagle Harbor Mining Company in 1845, Eagle Harbor House opened to boarders and travelers in 1846 at the beginning of the Keweenaw copper rush. It is the last remaining log building of the first four in Eagle Harbor. In 1852 German immigrant Charles Kunz purchased the inn and added a blacksmith shop and warehouses. Kunz became Keweenaw County's first sheriff in 1861 and owned the boardinghouse until his death in 1902, when it passed to his nephew Thomas E. Parks. Although the economy was based primarily on copper mining, the Keweenaw Peninsula also drew visitors with its natural beauty, and from 1846 Eagle Harbor House provided safe lodging for businessmen, prospectors, and travelers. Thomas E. Parks, Keweenaw County sheriff from 1931 to 1936, owned the property from 1902 to 1944. J.C. Westlake purchased the business in 1946, and his son Fred operated it until 1973. Rehabilitation begun in 1995 restored many interior features.

Eagle Harbor, Michigan · United States