One of the deadliest industrial accidents in Michigan's history, a shotgun-like blast claimed the lives of twenty-two men working on a water intake tunnel beneath the bed of Lake Huron.

This structure, dedicated in 1942, is the third church built on the site. Detroit architect Walter Maul designed the church, and the Detroit Stained Glass Works produced the windows.

In 1859, the railroad’s first year of operation, Tom persuaded the company to let him sell newspapers and confections on the daily trips. He became so successful that he soon placed two newsboys on other Grand Trunk runs to Detroit.

The original wood-frame structure was erected here in 1869-70 at a cost of five thousand dollars. In 1904 it was enlarged and extensively remodeled to create this Romanesque-inspired structure with its handsome stained glass windows.

Though the racial and ethnic composition of South Park has changed over time, the church came to be regarded as the symbolic center of Port Huron’s black population.

The first annual race from Port Huron to Mackinac Island was held on July 25, 1925. 12 boats began the 261-mile race to Mackinac Island, but only six boats finished. After the first Port Huron to Mackinac Race in 1925, entries in the sailing competition increased.

In 1902 the city of Port Huron secured money from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to erect a municipal library. Two years later, this grand, Beaux-Arts-style building was completed at a cost of $45,000.

In 1908, the third Port Huron High School building opened here, where two previous high schools had stood. Port Huron architect George Harvey designed this Second Renaissance Revival-style school, constructed of brick and limestone.

This congregation dates from 1849 when people worshipped in log barracks within Fort Gratiot.

After 1940 the Huron was the only lightship on the Great Lakes. Retired from Coast Guard service in 1970, she was presented to the city of Port Huron in 1971.

The Harrington Hotel opened amid much fanfare in 1896. A unique blend of Romanesque, Classical, and Queen Anne architecture, the hotel thrived for many years. Harry S. Truman, the future thirty-third president of the United States, stayed here on his honeymoon with his wife Bess.

Built near here in 1686 by the French explorer Duluth, this fort was the second white settlement in lower Michigan. This post guarded the upper end of the vital waterway joining Lake Erie and Lake Huron.

This lighthouse is the oldest in Michigan. Built in 1829 to replace a tower destroyed by a storm and later workers extended the tower to its present height of eighty-six feet. The light, automated in 1933, continues to guide shipping on Lake Huron

At this point, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad tunnel, linking Port Huron with Canada, passes underneath Gratiot Avenue. This international submarine railway tunnel—the first in the world—was opened in 1891.

E. C. Williams built this double house in 1890-91, in what was then the village of Fort Gratiot. Williams published the Fort Gratiot Sun, a newspaper that circulated primarily among railroad passengers and crew.

This excellent Queen Anne-style house, completed in 1890, was the residence of Wilbur F. Davidson who opened a dry goods store in Port Huron which later served as the first electric light plant in the county.

Opened on February 11, 2001, the Thomas Edison Depot Museum was the second satellite facility to open as part of the Port Huron Museum. It is housed inside the historic Fort Gratiot train depot built in 1858 by the Grand Trunk Railway, and is the actual depot that Thomas Edison worked out of as a news reporter between 1859 and 1863. Trains connecting here carried people and freight between Port Huron and Detroit, Point Edward/Sarnia (Ontario), and other destinations, linking Port Huron to the rest of the world.

The Port Huron Museum of Arts and History was founded in 1967, and through a community-wide volunteer effort, opened its doors in 1968. Housed in an historic Carnegie Library (built in 1904), the Museum provides exhibitions and programs relating to local history, fine arts (with an emphasis on regional art), decorative arts, natural history, and Great Lakes marine lore. The Museum is the only year-round, multi-disciplinary cultural institution in Michigan’s Thumb Region (a five-county area). The Museum began as a completely volunteer-operated organization, and now employs a staff of seven full-time, three part-time, and seasonal part-time staff during the summer months. In addition to serving our own community, the Museum is recognized throughout the state of Michigan and nationally as a center for research in folk arts, archeology, and Great Lakes marine lore.

Enter into the past when ice was delivered to your door by horse and wagon! Displayed, are over 3,000 items used in the cutting, harvesting, storing, selling and use of natural ice from one of the largest industries in the United States around 1900. View a rare film of ice harvesting in the early 1920s. See ice boxes, tools and an actual size ice wagon. See antique collections: mild industry, license plates, vehicles, dolls and doll buggies and much more.

Lightships are floating lighthouses that are anchored in areas where it was too deep, expensive, or impractical to construct a lighthouse. Lightships displayed a light at the top of a mast and, in areas of fog, also sounded a fog signal and radio beacon. The fog signals used over the years consisted of bells, whistles, trumpets, sirens, and horns. Early fog horns were powered by steam and later by air compressors. The HURON Lightship sounded her fog horn signal in 3 second blasts every 30 seconds and was known locally as “Old B.O.” because of the familiar sound her horn made.