A Cleveland Cliffs tour group receives information about Cliffs Empire Mine operations on a summer's day in 2014. For the first time, the Mining History Association will hold its annual conference here in Marquette County at the Masonic Center in Marquette starting June 6. Attendees will be given the opportunity to visit the Eagle Mine’s Humboldt Mill, a tour of Cleveland-Cliffs including the Tilden Mine Overlook and the historic Cliffs Cottage in Ishpeming, a rock and mineral collecting trip, a tour of the Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee Township, a walking tour of downtown Marquette and a post-conference all-day field trip to Fayette State Park. (Journal file photo)

MARQUETTE — Marquette County has a proud heritage, forged in large part by the labor of copper and iron miners.

Those who celebrate that legacy locally have an opportunity to explore even deeper into it for five days starting on June 6.

For the first time, the Mining History Association will hold its annual conference in Marquette County at the Masonic Center in Marquette.

Roughly 100 people are expected to attend the conference, which will not simply be limited to informational sessions and presentations.

Attendees will be given the opportunity to visit the Eagle Mine’s Humboldt Mill, a tour of Cleveland-Cliffs including the Tilden Mine Overlook and the historic Cliffs Cottage in Ishpeming, a rock and mineral collecting trip, a tour of the Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee Township, a walking tour of downtown Marquette and a post-conference all-day field trip to Fayette State Park.

The national organization, whose members include independent scholars, laypersons, college and university professors, historians, miners, geologists, retired and current mining industry personnel — just to name a few, does not ordinarily meet in locations east of the Mississipi River.

“It was launched about 30 years ago in Virginia City, Nevada, in conjunction with a meeting of the Western History Association,” MHA member and mining historian Mark Langenfeld said during a recent interview. “Ever since then, it has had a western geographic bias. This will be only the fourth or fifth time we will meet east of the Mississippi. We’ve been to the U.P. once before, and that was in (19)97 and that was up in the Keweenaw.”

He said the group is excited to visit the area and explore a part of the Upper Peninsula’s rich mining history, and he encourages locals to participate in the conference.

“We welcome new members,” he said. “You don’t have to have any particular expertise, just a passion for the history of the industry,” Langenfeld said.

Conference registration is $50 for members, $60 for non-members. Some tours and events have limited space, Langenfeld said, so early registration is recommended.

For more information about the conference, visit www.mininghistoryassociation.org or email mha.mqt2019@gmail.com.

Lisa Bowers can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242.