White Pine Village opened in 1976. It is an outdoor museum containing nineteenth century buildings and related artifacts.[1] The centerpiece is Burr Caswell's 1849 farmhouse.[1] The Caswell farmhouse served as the first county seat and as the first Mason County Courthouse structure in 1855.[1]
The educational village is a self-guided tour of over two dozen preserved and refurbished local historic buildings of Mason County, Michigan.[1] The buildings contain thousands of artifacts, much of which are from the nineteenth century.[2] White Pine Village is part of the Mason County Historical Society which has also the Ludington Mariners Old Time Baseball Team and a Research Library containing the genealogy department from the main Ludington library. In addition there is much history on northern Michigan.
At the Rose Hawley Museum, the original third order Fresnel lens from the Big Sable Point Light is on display.[3]