The Houghton County Traction Company Ahmeek Streetcar Station is a train station located at the corner of US 41 / M-26 and Hubbell Street in Ahmeek, Michigan. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
Houghton County Traction Company
The Houghton County Traction Company was founded in 1900 as a railroad line that connected different towns in the Keweenaw Peninsula. The first part of the track was built between Hancock and the nearby town of Boston. In 1901, the line was extended to Calumet. Over the next few years, a branch line was added to Lake Linden and Hubbell. By 1908, the track reached just north of Mohawk.
The Houghton County Traction Company continued operating until 1932, during the worst part of the Great Depression.
Station History
The Ahmeek Station was one of the first trolley stops built by the Houghton County Traction Company, which provided service to Ahmeek and nearby areas. The original stop in Ahmeek was a small shelter. In 1909, the Allouez Mining Company rented land to the Houghton County Traction Company to build a sub-station and waiting area at this location. A building was constructed that year, but it quickly needed more space. In 1910, the Traction Company added a small extension to the building, which was later removed. In 1931, the Michigan Department of Transportation widened Highway 41, and the entire building was moved about 40 feet west, across the railroad tracks.
After the railroad service ended, the station was used for different purposes, such as a bus stop, gas station, restaurant, home, vacation rental, and antique shop. Today, the building includes a seasonal ice cream window (since the 1950s), a vacation rental upstairs (a fully renovated and updated former station manager’s home, since 2011), an ADA-friendly luxury vacation rental in the South Room (a repurposed and renovated former garage, since 2023), and Keweenaw Island Gifts (added in 2025). The building uses 100% solar power from March to November. Two Level 2 Electric Vehicle chargers are available, with payment done through an honor system. The area around the solar panels is landscaped with native Midwest wildflowers.
Description
The Houghton County Traction Company Ahmeek Streetcar Station is a two-story building made of wood with a rectangular shape, a roof that slopes on both sides, and clapboard siding. A single-story addition is now used as the South Room vacation rental. The front of the building has two doors in the center and large windows at each end of the first floor. Above these windows are four half-awning windows. One of the first-floor windows includes a sliding window that can be reached by walking up, with a small roof extending above it. The back of the building was originally where the train platform was located.
Inside, the first floor has an ice cream shop on the north end, a large waiting room that now serves as a gift shop in the middle, and the South Room vacation rental on the south end. The gift shop has a wooden board above the chair rail and a ceiling made of tongue-and-groove planks. The upstairs area was originally the stationmaster’s apartment and includes a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom.