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Ontonagon County urges Smithsonian to return Ontonagon Copper Boulder to Michigan
Summary
The Ontonagon County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 19, 2025 adopted Resolution 2025-07, supporting a Keweenaw National Historical Park request that the Smithsonian Institution return the Ontonagon Copper Boulder to Michigan for public display and stewardship.
The Ontonagon County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 on Aug. 19, 2025 to adopt Resolution 2025-07 urging the Smithsonian Institution to return the Ontonagon Copper Boulder to Michigan to be placed under the care of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.
The resolution notes that the Ontonagon Copper Boulder was removed from the West Branch of the Ontonagon River in 1843, later transferred to Washington, D.C., and catalogued in the National Rock and Ore Collection at the National Museum of Natural History. The text says the boulder was on public display from 1870 until 1996 and has been kept in storage with no current plan for public exhibition since then.
Resolution 2025-07 states that the boulder is a unique specimen important to the region nd was "instrumental in the development of the copper industry throughout the local region." The board's adopted language expresses support for the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission's July 22, 2025 request that the Smithsonian Institution return the artifact to Michigan for public display.
The motion to adopt the resolution was offered by Commissioner Bourdeau, supported by Commissioner Store, and carried on a 5-0 roll call vote. Chair Carl R. Nykanen declared the resolution adopted. The resolution was recorded on the meeting minutes as Res. 2025-07.
