Neuens Landscaping of Iron Mountain on Monday began digging the path on the project, which will take at least two years to fully complete, museum officials said.

The path will feature an infinity trail with benches, said Laurie DeGrave of Wild Branch Arbor. She took over the project from original landscape designer Fred Cheshire, who passed away in 2024. She explained that Neuens will do the path and plant the trees, while she will handle smaller plantings next year.

The Menominee Range Historical Museum complex has three buildings housing different exhibits on the site of the former Chapin Mine. One of the most well-known exhibits is the Cornish Pumping Engine, the largest steam-driven pumping engine ever built in the United States.

Museum Board President Keith Huotari said it’s a great day whenever ground is broken on a new project.

A groundbreaking ceremony took place Monday at the Menominee Range Historical Museum for a new park/walking path on the museum grounds. From left are Keith Huotari, museum board president; Kurt Martin, Neuens Landscaping; Guy Forstrom, museum board member; Diane Castelaz-Chiapusio, museum manager; and Blake Davis, Neuens Landscaping. The project, funded through an anonymous donor, is expected to take at least two years to complete. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News)

“It’s been a long time coming. A lot of people are looking into getting things done. It’s always exciting when something new is happening and progress is being made. We can’t wait for it to be done, but it’s step by step,” Huotari said.

“It’s been in the works for about a year now,” said Guy Forstrom, a museum board member, adding that thanks to the generosity of a donor who wished to remain anonymous, “we’ll be able to create a park here for anyone to enjoy and eventually there will be some historical points that you can read, related to the mine site that we’re on. It will be a combination of things.”

The timeline, he said, is “we hope to get the walking path and the trees in this year and some of the finer points will go in next year. We’re going to developing something. There’s going to be some pictures of the mining site with descriptions.”

“It’s going to be nice for the community, to invite the community to come to the museum grounds,” DeGrave said.

“It’s not only for our patrons to the museum but for everyone,” Forstrom said.

One part of the trail will feature four large blocks of concrete that were used on the original mine site. Forstrom said they were originally used as supports for various large pieces of mining equipment.

“There were a lot of them here and they dumped a lot of them down the shaft after the mine collapse and they could have dumped these, but Kathy Fayas, our secretary, didn’t let them dump them all,” he said.

Hours vary depending on staff, but the museum facilities are generally from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Volunteers and donations are always needed and welcomed, they said.

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Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.