Remnants: U.P. Ghost Towns

What is a Ghost Town?

In his book, Ghost Towns of Michigan, Larry Wakefield wrote, “They range from lonesome sites where almost nothing is left to mark their former existence, to others where only a few crumbling houses and buildings remain. And there are others too, where a few people still live, out of love, habit or necessity (and may resent someone calling their village a ghost town).”

Across the Upper Peninsula, there are dozens of sites and remnants of communities that either are no more or are merely a skeleton of what they once were. This exhibition features fifteen of such communities, one from each county in the Upper Peninsula. For each site, there will be a section with historic and contemporary photographs and interpretive panels with historical information on each community. There will also be a video presentation featuring drone footage providing a birds-eye view of each town featured in the exhibition.

• Curator: Daniel Truckey
• Design: Riley Crawford
• Research: Elizabeth Fust and Karen Kasper
• Narrative: Elizabeth Fust
• Display Stands: NMU Constructors Club and Esko Alasimi
• Photography and videography: Daniel Truckey
• Drone Assistant: Thomas Truckey
• NMU Archives: Marcus Robyns, Annika Peterson, Glenda Ward

This exhibition would not have been possible without the assistance of individuals and organizations across the U.P. who provided access to their photographic collections, research assistance, site tours and even access to their homes. Here is a list of the people who helped with this project for each site featured in the exhibition.