Jacques Marquette, the missionary who gave the city its name
Father Jacques Marquette never set foot where the city stands, but the French Jesuit’s travels on the Great Lakes made him its namesake.
William Prior, the first keeper of the Big Bay Point lighthouse
William Prior kept the light at Big Bay Point from its opening in 1896. His story ended in tragedy in 1901 and still draws visitors to the lighthouse.
The Landmark Inn, Marquette’s grand hotel brought back to life
Built as the Northland Hotel in 1930, the building on Front Street sat empty for years before reopening as the Landmark Inn.
Douglass Houghton and the survey that opened the Upper Peninsula
Michigan’s first state geologist reported on copper in the Keweenaw and helped set off the mineral rush. He drowned in Lake Superior in 1845.
William Austin Burt and the compass that found the iron range
In 1844 a survey crew led by William Austin Burt saw its compass needle swing wildly near Teal Lake. The cause was iron, and the Marquette Range was born.