Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By MEGAN HUGHES
ERWIN TOWNSHIP — The Erwin Township Historical Society members held a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new Historical Society Museum and the Ahti Nurmela Trail on Saturday afternoon.
The ceremony began at 1 p.m. with Historical Society president Tom Pelissero giving a welcome to visitors, and introducing the history of the building. The structure, known originally as the East End School, was originally located 3 miles away, and underwent not only relocation but also a large restoration project that took place over the last three years.
“We went looking for a building in Erwin Township that had some historic background. There was the Bonnie School and the East End School, and we could not move the Bonnie School ... so we decided to buy the East End School,” said Pelissero in an interview earlier in 2022. “We purchased the 6 acres that are here, that the Erwin Central School and the KP Stilberg Central School used to sit on, and we determined that this would be the best place to preserve the past. From that point, we went about restoring it to get it to look how it did when it was first built in 1915.”
The schoolhouse acted as a home for several area families after it ceased to be a school, tying it into the area history even further.
During his speech Pelissero gave his thanks to all of the people involved in restoring the building, including the teams who worked on the structure directly as well as the many individuals who donated either funds or historical objects for the display.
“The construction was done during COVID, so it was difficult to find the materials,” he said.
He also thanked the ABR group for their donation of a septic system.
He spoke briefly about the different rooms of the museum, including a meeting room that the historical society included as part of the addition onto the original schoolhouse, which will be available for community gatherings of less than 10 people.
As part of the grand opening, the Ahti Nurmela Trail was also dedicated with the unveiling of a sign for the trail. The includes the names of multiple foundations that have helped with the project, as well as names for “trailblazers,” people who helped to fund the project.
The trail loop encircles the 6 acres of land around the schoolhouse, acting as a small park located on the land where the old Erwin Central School once stood and the surrounding lot. The loop has benches referred to by Pelissero as “legacy benches” which were dedicated to the names of families that helped to fund them. During the ceremony, these benches were seating for community members.
Following the dedication of the trail, the ribbon at the schoolhouse doors was cut by members of the historical society board.
The museum opened its doors for the first time, allowing visitors to take their first look inside. The schoolhouse consists of three main rooms, the schoolroom, where students used to attend classes, and two side rooms which house the genealogy research library and additional displays.
For more information about the schoolhouse museum and the Erwin Township Historical Society, visit its Facebook page.
