Baraga County Historical Society are Gaining Support from Powerful Entities to Help Save the Alberta Sawmill

Mike DesRoches and Wayne Abba with the Baraga County Historical Society presented their current progress with saving the Alberta Sawmill to the Baraga County Commission last night. Last spring the region found out that Michigan Tech had intentions to close the Ford Center – Alberta Sawmill, after years of dwindling volunteer and tourist interest, and facility disrepair. Local response quickly mounted into a community based group working to extend the life and purpose of the location, working alongside Michigan Tech.

“So if we hadn’t stepped in when we did, the pump house would be gone. If not, the sawmill itself. So we think we stepped in at just the right time. We’ve also met Mark Campbell with the Henry Ford Heritage Association. And they’re interested in coming up and seeing the mill. They’ve never done much in the way of the logging operations. Mining gets a lot of attention up here, but logging, as an industry, is underrepresented. And there are actually grants available to help with things like that. They may be small grants, but these are the types things we would need support on, as we mover this forward.” –  Wayne Abba, Volunteer, Baraga County Historical Society

The society has a number of influential partners interested in helping them save the sawmill, including Michigan Tech, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Whitman family, Baraga County Chamber of Commerce, and the Henry Ford Heritage Association. Some of the interest in saving the historical site revolves around it’s importance to Michigan’s logging history. Currently the state has few historic interest locations involving the logging industry. The groups also have interest in adding the Ford Center and Alberta Sawmill to the national registry of historic places. Watch for upcoming events with the Baraga County Historical Society, on their facebook page.