THE OSCAR G. JOHNSON VA Medical Center will host an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday to commemorate its 75th anniversary in 2025. (Courtesy photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — The Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center, 325 E. H St., will celebrate its 75th anniversary with an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, beginning in the Urgent Care entrance.

“We’d like to invite the public to the medical center for tours, a reception and to learn more about our history and the services we have available to veterans,” Medical Center Director John P. Shealey said. “The open house will be held exactly 75 years after the OGJVAMC was dedicated, during spirit week, 1950s day.”

With many veterans returning from World War II with injuries, the Veterans Administration chose Iron Mountain in 1945 as a site for one of 100 new VA hospitals being built across the U.S., according to a OGJVAMC news release.

Construction began March 14, 1948, on 31.5 acres that had once been the site for a large sawmill and lumberyard. At a cost of $6.5 million, it was the largest building project to date in the Upper Peninsula. The six-story, 265-bed hospital with 360 staff was dedicated on March 5, 1950.

Today, in addition to the main campus, OGJVAMC oversees eight Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Gladstone, Hancock, Ironwood, Manistique, Marquette, Menominee and Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula, plus one in Rhinelander, Wis.

The facility serves 24 counties across 25,864 square miles and provides care to approximately 22,000 veterans each year.

Veterans and the public are encouraged to visit the Iron Mountain VA Facebook page for upcoming event information.