Soaring 210 feet above Sault Ste. Marie and the Soo Locks, the tower has observation platforms for visitors to get spectacular views and photos of the world’s busiest inland shipping channel. In the view below from the Tower of History, one can see several historic houses, and the Museum Ship Valley Camp.

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Rising 210 feet above Sault Ste. Marie, the Tower of History gives visitors a 360 degree view of the entire Sault area from the Sault Locks and the St. Mary’s River to the Canadian wilderness.  An express elevator whisks visitors to the top for a panoramic view of up to 1,200 square miles, including the Sault Locks, the St. Mary’s River, and the Canadian wilderness.

The Tower of History was built in 1968 by the Catholic Church as the Shrine of the Missionaries. The Shrine was meant to be part of a larger complex that would have featured exhibits about the early Missionaries such as Bishop Baraga. A community center and a new Church were also planned. The Church later cut the project in favor of other endeavors, and the Shrine of the Missionaries was donated to the Sault Historic Sites in 1980. It has been operated as the Tower of History ever since.

The Tower of History remains true to its original mission of telling the tale of the early Missionaries, but its scope has been widened to include both local and Native American history. The Lower Level features museum exhibits as well as a video presentation; the Upper Level, in addition to the view, features descriptions of the surrounding area as well as its own exhibit space.