Named “Place of the Bowl” by Native Americans due to the shape of the river's mouth, Ontonagon was visited frequently from the 1600s to the mid-1800s by voyageurs and Jesuits. All who came took note of a huge copper boulder that measured 50 inches by 41 inches. Native Americans believed the boulder to be the mediator between them and the Great Spirit. Publication of the discovery of copper led to an influx of prospectors and settlers on Lake Superior. Within the county that shares Ontonagon's name are 45 waterfalls. Learn More...