The Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan in Alpena serves the county and much of the northeastern Lower Peninsula as Northern Michigan’s only accredited museum. Founded through Jesse Besser’s 1964 gift, it grew from a local industrial legacy into a broad regional institution interpreting industry, archaeology, shipwrecks, geology, fisheries, and art. Its collections and exhibits connect Alpena’s history of cement, limestone, manufacturing, and commercial fishing with the natural heritage of the Great Lakes. Highlights include the Katherine V fish tug, the SS Pewabic’s salvaged anchor, Devonian fossils, a publicly owned planetarium, and restored historic structures on its campus.