This area was long occupied by people of the Lake Superior Band of Ojibwa (Chippewa), who called it "Gichi-wiikwedong". Much later, French colonists had established a fur trading post here as a part of New France and a Jesuit mission, naming it L'Anse. In French, L'Anse translates as "the cove" or "the bay", a reference to its location in on the southern portion of L'Anse Bay, a portion of the larger Keweenaw Bay, at the base of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The modern-day village grew around this French trading post.
Following treaties with the United States in the 19th century, the Ojibwa/Chippewa ceded extensive amounts of land in Michigan. The L'Anse Indian Reservation was established by the U.S. here as the largest and the oldest in Michigan.
In 1896, the village was completely burned to the ground by a deadly fire which left many homeless.