Railroads of Marquette County: Yesterday and Today
January 31, 2022 - February 11, 2023
Marquette Regional History Center Special Exhibit Gallery
Marquette Regional History Center Special Exhibit Gallery
Railroads were a necessary part of the day to day life and economy of Marquette County. With the beginning of the iron mines in Marquette County in the 1840s, railroads were a necessity for moving the ore. Passenger service, the shipping of forest products, materials, and manufactured items all followed the shipping of ore. People and goods were shipped not only across the Upper Peninsula (UP) but throughout North America.
From 1855-1896 seven railroads used Marquette as their headquarters. Multiple tracks crisscrossed the city leading to the upper and lower harbors. Trains were literally a part of people’s everyday lives. When trains pulled into the depot, people often stopped by to see who had arrived.
Dozens of companies have come and gone in Marquette County: the Duluth South Shore & Atlantic, which became the Soo Line, the short line Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad, and the Chicago & North Western. While much shorter today, the LS&I, Mineral Range, and Canadian National operate in Marquette County.
The history of railroads in Marquette County and the Upper Peninsula is tied to the development and decline of iron mining here. An early visitor to the region said, “There is enough iron here to construct a railroad around the world and then freight it for 1000 years."
From 1855-1896 seven railroads used Marquette as their headquarters. Multiple tracks crisscrossed the city leading to the upper and lower harbors. Trains were literally a part of people’s everyday lives. When trains pulled into the depot, people often stopped by to see who had arrived.
Dozens of companies have come and gone in Marquette County: the Duluth South Shore & Atlantic, which became the Soo Line, the short line Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad, and the Chicago & North Western. While much shorter today, the LS&I, Mineral Range, and Canadian National operate in Marquette County.
The history of railroads in Marquette County and the Upper Peninsula is tied to the development and decline of iron mining here. An early visitor to the region said, “There is enough iron here to construct a railroad around the world and then freight it for 1000 years."