Banner image: Whitney Brothers Company boat at dock in Grand Marais harbor
Honor the Past, Enrich the Future
Welcome to the Cook County Historical Society!
Find out what’s happening
Read the latest news and learn more about what we’re up to.
We count on your support
The Cook County Historical Society counts on your support to offer free public tours at all five of our historical sites, conduct tours to local school groups, publish books on local history, collect, share, and preserve the stories of the area, and more.
Historic Cook County Sites & Hours
September 16 - May 24
History Museum: Closed through November, Dec-May: TBD
JHP Art Gallery: Wednesday - Sunday 10-4; Closed Monday-Tuesday
Bally Blacksmith & Metal Shop: closed for the season
Chippewa City Church (St. Francis Xavier): closed for the season
Replica 1930s Fish House/Fishing Tug Nee-Gee: closed for the season
May 24 - September 15
History Museum: Mon-Sat 10 - 4 pm, Sun 12-4.
Letteracy Deck: Now located on the Harbor side of Lake Superior Trading Post
JHP Art Gallery: Wednesday - Sunday 10-4
Bally Blacksmith & Metal Shop: TBD
Chippewa City Church (St. Francis Xavier): TBD
Replica 1930s Fish House/Fishing Tug Nee-Gee: Open daily in the Grand Marais Recreation Park
For questions or research requests, please contact our offices at 218.387.2883 or history@boreal.org.
Love Your Neighbor
November 8 - December 1
Visit these Cook County Heritage Centers & Museums
In 2023, Cook Historic Cook County joined with three other historical societies in Cook County to form the Historical Alliance of Cook County.
Collaboratively telling the history of the land, its people, cultures, and their interactions over time – bringing understanding to how the cultural heritage shapes, inspires, and informs Cook County.
Historic Cook County Land ACKNOWLEDGMENT Statement
Cook County occupies traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of the Indigenous community. These lands were ceded to the U.S. Government by the Chippewas of Lake Superior in the Treaty of 1854, including the tribal lands of the sovereign nation of the Grand Portage Band of Anishinaabe.
The Cook County Historical Society (CCHS) acknowledges the historic and cultural impact of colonial practices. We are committed to creating an accurate and inclusive history of Cook County and all of its inhabitants.
To do this, we plan to take action on an ongoing basis in several ways:
❖ We will work to preserve the Chippewa City Church/St. Francis Xavier building and property.
❖ We will focus on sharing updated and accurate historical interpretations of the Chippewa City Church and surrounding area.
❖ We have begun the process of consultation with the Grand Portage Anishinaabe on our inventory of Native American artifacts per the new federal regulations related to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
CCHS will revise and strengthen our action plan each year - soliciting collaboration and feedback from our community. We will share this action plan with our partner organizations.
