Stepping Back in Time

PINPOINT A: The Alberta House Arts Center

Sault Area Arts Council
The Alberta House Arts Center has been a showcase for local artists and craftsmen for 20 years. Located at 217 Ferris Street, this renovated railroad hotel now features the Olive Craig Gallery, a second mini gallery, and the Alberta House Shop, where patrons may enjoy a one-of-a-kind shopping experience. The Arts Center also brings in traveling exhibits on a regular basis and often features one or two new exhibits each month.

Alberta House is operated by the Sault Area Arts Council, a non-profit organization that also hosts art festivals and promotes a wide variety of area performance and art exhibitions.

Alberta House is open to the public free of charge Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Here is a map to Alberta House. For more information about Alberta House or the local arts scene, call 906-635-1312.

Questions about Alberta House or Sault Area Arts Council services can be sent to:

Alberta House Arts Center
217 Ferris Street
Sault Ste. Marie, 49783
(906) 635-1312
E-mail: saac@saultarts.org

PINPOINT B: John Johnston House, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft and Kemp Coal Company

John Johnston House

The John Johnston House was a hospitable meeting place for significant players in the region’s history, including surveyors, explorers, traders and trappers. Johnston was a British-American fur trader who married the daughter of a powerful Chippewa Chief in 1793. His vast knowledge of both the Chippewa ways and the Great Lakes region made him an integral part of the development of this frontier. The French log home has been restored and is now open to the public, complete with furnishings and exhibits of the era. The home is open 7 days a week for touring. An interpretive demonstration is given weekdays from 11am-Noon, when John Johnston himself is portrayed for all to meet. Musical performances featuring songs and stories from the era entertain visitors Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-2pm. The John Johnston House is open Mid-June through Labor Day.

The office of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft is also open for viewing. Schoolcraft was an explorer, U.S. Indian agent and author who married Johnston’s daughter, Jane. Schoolcraft’s books on Ojibwe lore are credited by some as inspiration for Longfellow’s Hiawatha. Furnished and adorned to replicate Schoolcraft’s interests, the office includes many relevant artifacts from the era. It is open daily for viewing between the hours of 10am and 5pm.

Take a sneak peak at the industrial history of Sault Ste. Marie at the Kemp Coal Company office. Kemp was a thriving shipping company on the St. Mary’s River. The building was built in 1903 for Kemp Coal. Displays and artifacts feature the history of this industry and several others that were instrumental in building Sault Ste. Marie. The Kemp company operated at the site until the 1950's. Summer visitors may tour the exhibits daily between the hours of Noon and 5pm.

The historic homes on the Water Street Historic Block are operated through a cooperative effort between the Chippewa County Historical Society, Sault Historic Sites, & the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.  For more information, call toll free (888) 744-7867 or locally at (906) 632-3658 or website:  saulthistoricsites

PINPOINT C: St. Mary's Church

Holy Name of Mary Parish, or St. Mary’s, in Sault Ste. Marie was the first cathedral of the Diocese of Marquette, originally named the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie and Marquette. Today the people of the parish take great pride in furthering the faith traditions begun by Jesuit missionaries there more than 350 years ago.

Founding:  St. Mary’s is the oldest Catholic Church in Michigan. Only two churches in the country are older, in St. Augustine, Fla. and in Santa Fe, N.M.

Sault Ste. Marie’s first permanent mission was started in 1668. Jesuit missionaries had served the people for nearly 200 years when Father Frederic Baraga was named bishop of the new Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie and Marquette in 1857.

The present structure is St. Mary’s fifth church building. It was constructed in 1881. The present rectory was built in 1922.