MARQUETTE — Brothers Franklin Bennett and John Wilder Spear arrived in Marquette in May 1864. Soon after, they shipped 1,300 pounds of anthracite coal to the community, the first known instance. The brothers and their business prospered, especially after the Great Fire of 1868, when the ...

MARQUETTE — In addition to its mineral riches, an apparently inexhaustible supply of timber, and the fresh water of Lake Superior, the Marquette area boasted another natural resource of great interest to settlers and investors — an abundance of falling water. Before electrification, falling ...

QUESTION: The Rouse Simmons sank on Nov. 23, 1912 in Lake Michigan. What was its cargo? a. Iron ore b. Christmas trees c. Wheat d. Coal ANSWER: B, the ship was carrying Christmas trees bound for Chicago.

MARQUETTE — In 1914, the community of Marquette came together to celebrate Christmas. The festivities included an elaborate pageant, entertainment in the opera house for needy children, a Salvation Army party and the city’s first municipal Christmas tree. The tree stood in the middle of ...