Fort Wilkins in Copper Harbor

No visit to the Copper Harbor area would be complete without a visit to Fort Wilkins. We were fortunate to go on a day when it wasn't busy though to be fair we did plan it a little by going early in the morning. I remember as a kid being dragged around forts out west on family vacation oh the irony that I now go to them voluntarily. I'm sure my parents are proud...and a little annoyed at all the whining I did as a kid. The fort was established in 1844 because of the copper boom in the area and the government was concerned with potential "unrest in the area." The unrest never materialized and was permanently abandoned in 1870 after having been used post civil war for soldiers to finish serving out their enlistment time. In 1938 under the WPA they began renovations to the fort including car parking, campsites, shower facilities, and historic preservation that tell the history of the life of soldiers in the fort. This was the third place we went that was part of the WPA (Brockway mountain drive and Keweenaw Lodge were as well). It's great to see that almost 100 years later the WPA projects are still being used by everyone today.