IXL Museum, Hermansville
In the small town of Hermansville, just off US-2 in the central Upper Peninsula, stands a large two-story building. While big old buildings are common in 1900s lumbering towns, this one is different. The front of the structure is adorned with a red circle and the letters IXL in the center. At one time, that IXL logo was known and respected across the country as a symbol of high-quality lumber. That building is the IXL Historical Museum.
The main museum is that two-story building. The IXL logo makes the museum easy to find. Inside, a fascinating story is told through quality exhibits. Much of the ground floor is dedicated to the administration of the company. When you enter, you find yourself in an office setting that looks for all the world as if the clerks have just departed for lunch. The desks are neat and the work on them is orderly. There are open ledgers that appear as if an entry has just been completed. Memos are ready for distribution and sales orders are being logged.
The interior architecture has also been preserved from period wallpaper to the carved wooden stair banister. The collection of artworks and photographs from these bygone days is worth the tour. The common, everyday items exhibited are a catalog of technology rarely found elsewhere. There are gadgets and appliances from the late 1800s through to the 1950s. Each room in the building houses different curiosities and treasures. In one, an old reel-to-reel movie projector is found. Another is decorated as a study. In the attic are jumbles of odds and ends collected over the years. Illustrating that day-to-day concerns haven’t changed much is the “belly buster” waistline fat reducer and a couple of really old exercise machines. A tour of the museum is a fascinating glimpse into another time.
Hermansville, Michigan is just off U.S. 2, west of Escanaba.
Museum Open 1-4 Memorial Day - Labor Day 906-498-2498