A new memorial park honoring the 51 men killed in Michigan's deadliest mining disaster will be officially dedicated Saturday, Oct. 17, in Ely Township.

The Barnes-Hecker Memorial Park, on County Road CL just west of Ishpeming, will hold an 11 a.m. ceremony. Ely Township Clerk Glenn Wing told WBUP the event will include three or four speakers, a prayer and a ribbon-cutting, after which visitors can walk the grounds.

The dedication falls weeks before the 100th anniversary of the Barnes-Hecker mine disaster. On Nov. 3, 1926, a cave-in at the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company mine west of Ishpeming killed 51 men, including 50 underground miners and Marquette County Mine Inspector William E. Hill.

Only one man, Rutherford "Wilfred" Wills, escaped alive. Ten bodies were recovered. The remaining 41 were never recovered and remain inside the flooded mine.

The men left behind 41 widows, five of whom were pregnant, and 132 children, according to a Historical Society of Michigan account.

For decades, the mine site sat on private land, and families of the victims had limited or no access. By November 2025, Ely Township had acquired the approximately 20-acre site with money provided by an anonymous donor, according to Upper Michigan's Source.

A ceremonial groundbreaking took place in May 2026. The park features the uncovered remains of the historic engine house, statues and a walking trail, according to WBUP’s October report. The Mining Journal reported in May that plans included a fenced-in shaft area, a restored machine house and a paved memorial walkway with 51 plaques. Each plaque was to identify one of the men, describe his life and include a photograph when available.

Those plans also called for the walkway to lead to an overlook at the water-filled sinkhole marking the cave-in site, where visitors could place flowers at the water's edge.

Ely Township also commissioned three statues: a woman in 1920s clothing placing flowers on the water; a miner climbing a ladder, depicting Wills's escape; and a woman and child holding a lunch bucket and looking at the shaft, representing the families who arrived with lunches on the day of the collapse, according to the May report.

A $50,000 America250MI grant supported the park and other centennial projects, WLUC reported. The dedication was originally set for Sept. 5 but was rescheduled to Oct. 17 to allow time to finish landscaping.

Wing, who has two relatives who died in the disaster, spoke in November 2025 about what the project means to descendants in the area. "There were a lot of years where we weren't even allowed access to this because it was private land and now … this is a chance to pay our respects and show some dignity for these people that died here," he said at the time.