Newberry

Friday, October 2, 2015

Today we left the Munising area to head for Newberry, a small town 60 miles east.  The Munising Tourist Park was a nice campground despite its corny name, we would likely stay here again if in the area.

Since the trip to Newberry was pretty short, we thought we would make quick stop at Wagner Falls which is near Munising and on the way.  It was reported to be a short walk from the road and pretty scenic; it was both.  However, due to dry weather around here, the water volume going over the falls was on the low side, but they were pretty nonetheless.  Here are a couple pictures.

We arrived at the Northcountry Campground, located about 5 miles north of Newberry, a little after noon.  So after set up, we decided to drive to St Ignace, about 70 miles away, to see a museum that has some interesting Ojibwa items and some very old artifacts.  The museum, operated by the St. Ignace Historical Society, is called the Fort DeBaude Museum.  The site was actually the remains of a fort built here at the same time as the forts in Mackinaw City and on Mackinaw Island. Only the front gate remains.

According to information we found, the collection belonged to a Lansing doctor.  When he died, the Ojibwa bought the collection and gave it to the Historical Society.  Probably the most interesting pieces are some clay artifacts, the Newberry Tablet, and some large figures, all found in the Newberry area.  Some research dates these to about 800 AD, and points toward a group of people that may be the same culture as Cypress or Greece.  They were Sun worshipers.

In the museum are artifacts that indicate links between these people and the Ojibwa.  These prehistoric visitors came for the copper and reportedly took home a million pounds of it for use in weapons, tools, and jewelry There were several displays with description of various Ojibwas items.  Interestingly we saw some of the same type of clothing as we saw at the Pow-Wow we attended.

There was also an interesting antique gun collection and lithographs of Indian chiefs.  The interesting thing is the US government did portraits of Indian chiefs, 118 of them.  These lithographs were made of each painting, as a back-up.  Good thing too because the originals were destroyed in a fire in the Smithsonian in Washington.  The doctor acquired the lithographs before the fire.  They serve as the only recorded images of these chiefs.

No photography was allowed so all we have is the front of the museum.

Tomorrow we are headed to see falls and a maritime / lighthouse museum.