Isle Royale: A Photographic History

by Thomas Gale; Kendra Gale

Prior to the establishment of Isle Royale as a National Park, the island's history included copper mining, commercial fishing, and tourism. Isle Royale also has a rich history of ships, lighthouses, and shipwrecks. The authors have created an album of hundreds of old photographs that tell the island's history and the stories of the people who lived, worked, and played there.

159 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Craig]

A pictorial summary of the white settler’s history of this, now a National Park, island which is 50 miles long and 10-15 miles wide sitting a few miles off Lake Superior, Minneota’s northeastern coast, but part of Michigan.
If it’s your thing to read about Scandinavian guys ( mostly) fish, hunt, boat, build lighthouses, sink boats, mine for copper, build their summer homes, and try to live on this little piece of rock in a beautiful place but certainly facing some challenges.

[Terri Frank]

Met one of the authors while on Isle Royale this summer. This is such a well-done book. The authors made great use of primary sources. Highly recommended. I was sad when it ended. A previous reviewer said the authors didn’t mention Native Americans, but they absolutely do.

I’d also recommend “Island Folk” by Peter Oikarneian He interviewed people who lived or worked on the island before it became a national park.

[Sherri Anderson]

This is a great book. i especially loved the shipwreck chapter.