Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Greg Nelson, a volunteer at the Old Victoria Historical Site, explains the working of the wood stove to John Lund, Annie Lund and Andrew Lund of Ontonagon.

VICTORIA — The mining homes of the Old Victoria Historical Site were bustling again Sunday as part of the Log Cabin Day celebration.

The event was part of the state’s annual Log Cabin Day, which has been celebrated annually statewide since 1989.

Old Victoria still has four of its log cabins on the site, which were used by copper miners for the Victoria Copper Mining Co. between 1899 and 1921. People were able to tour the site and talk to volunteers, many of whom dressed in period-accurate outfits. There were also guided tours of the ruins of the Victoria Mine.

“This is kind of our free day for everyone to come in and enjoy the site before we get a lot of people from out of town for the summer,” said volunteer Lynette Webber. “It’s a free local event. The only thing you pay for is the cinnamon rolls.”

Baked in a vintage wood stove, the cinnamon rolls were a prime attraction for the day. Mike Sabo and Ginger Alberti of the Sew Cranky shop in Hancock also helped people make crafts on antique sewing machines.

After sewing decorated bookmarks, children could move on to playing games such as sidewalks running and egg walks. The Finnish Kivajat dancers were also on hand to perform tradition dances.

Bethany Downs of Chassell, whose child is in the group, was making her first trip to Old Victoria. She was impressed.

“I think they’re amazingly preserved,” she said. “You can tell that they really want to keep true to history.”

The site has gotten a number of grants to help maintain the buildings, said volunteer Greg Nelson. The Alexander home, used by an Irish Catholic family who had a father and sons at the mine, got a new roof last year. Another is being replaced this year.

At its peak, the mine offered about 70 homes to miners. The higher-paid ones tended to live in frame houses up the hill, Webber said. Log cabins went to those were were lower-paid or wanted to save up more money and move to a homestead more quickly.

Webber was in the Alexander home. The Irish family, which had been in Ontonagon for three generations, also included a daughter who worked as a servant at the Ontonagon Lighthouse.

While other homes were in more of a turn-of-the-century style, the Alexanders’ had a more modern appearance, including a Victrola.

Webber began volunteering in the summer of 2010. She’s been coming to the site since craft fairs in her childhood.

“Being a volunteer for anything is really rewarding, but being able to share your own heritage and bring it to life for people — particularly for me, whose heritage is a big part of my identity — is very special,” she said. “It helps the people visiting understand the sense of place that’s so important to those of us who live here.”