Ironwood, Michigan

History

The town of Ironwood was settled in the spring of 1885. The town was incorporated as a village in 1887 and as a city on April 8, 1889. The township area north of the city was incorporated as Ironwood Township on April 8, 1889. In 1890 the population of Ironwood passed 7500 and in 1900 it reached 10000.

Iron ore was found in the area in the 1870s but it wasn't until the mid-1880s when the arrival of the railroad to the area opened it for more extensive exploration of the vast iron ore deposits. Soon several mines were discovered and opened such as the Norrie mine, Aurora mine, Ashland mine, Newport mine, and Pabst mine. The opening of the mines and the lumber works in the area led to a rapid influx of immigrants both from other parts of the USA and directly from Europe (mainly Sweden, Germany, England, Italy, Poland, Finland).

On September 17, 1887, a disastrous fire swept over half of the business portion of the town, although the buildings that were lost were quickly rebuilt. In 1926, the Pabst Mine Disaster took place, killing three miners and trapping 43 more for up to five days.

Its name's origin is usually considered to be from the following: James (Iron) Wood was a mining captain who worked for Fredrick Rhinelander. Arriving on the train to this wilderness camp, Mr. Rhinelander named the town in honor of his captain. There's a small park at the corner of North Suffolk and Fredrick Streets in honor of James Wood. Fredrick Street was in turn named after Fredrick Rhinelander for whom Rhinelander, Wisconsin was named.

In the early 1960s, the U.S. Air Force established a Strategic Air Command (SAC) Radar Bomb Scoring site atop Norrie hill to track and score simulated bomb runs by B-52s and B-47s on targets in the Ironwood area. It was used for both high altitude and treetop level bomb runs. A monument is erected south of Hurley, Wisconsin to remember those crew members killed in two B-47 low level runs. The site was moved to Charlevoix, Mi. in the mid 60's.

The religious life among the immigrants of different nationalities was very active. Already in the early 1890s there were twelve different churches in Ironwood.

Culture

Ironwood boasts a rich cultural life that includes two theater organizations Theatre North and Ironwood Theatre. Ironwood Dance Company produces shows throughout the year and sends dancers to compete at state and national competitions. The Ironwood Carnegie Library is the oldest operating Carnegie library in the state of Michigan. Each summer the Pine Mountain Music Festival brings top performances to Ironwood.

Literature

Ironwood and its famous pasties appear in Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods. Ironwood and the Ironwood region are central to folk novel Marvin & Me, by author and Ironwood native Rod Stockhaus.

Government

Ironwood's city government, like many other small Michigan communities, consists of a 5-member city council with the top vote receiver serving as Mayor. Day-to-day operations are the responsibility of the City Manager, who reports directly to the council during their two monthly, public meetings.

Public protection

The City of Ironwood operates a public safety department, in which all of the members are fully cross-trained and serve as both police officers and firefighters. Current city ordinances allow for a full-time staff of around twelve. Before 1989, the city had traditional, separate police and fire departments. IPSD, as the department is now known, continues to be the only full-time fire department in the Western Upper Peninsula. The Public Safety Department is also supplemented by the volunteer fire department which has been in operation since 1887. In response to a decade-long rise in tourism, the department now operates a snowmobile patrol unit from December to February, and a community-based foot patrol unit from May to September.

Education

Ironwood has one high school, Luther L. Wright High School, informally known as Ironwood High School. Their mascot is the "Red Devils," a common description of the iron ore miners that would get covered with red dust from the iron ore. Luther L. Wright enjoys a rivalry with neighboring Hurley High. It is one of the longest-running interstate rivalries in American high school sports.

Ironwood was the home of the last parochial high school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Ironwood Catholic High School (formerly St. Ambrose School) closed after graduation of the senior class in 1985. The school's mascot was the ram, with the players known as the "Ramblers". The student yearbook was known as the "Loner" in recognition of its status as the last parochial school in this part of the state.

Ironwood is also the location of Gogebic Community College.

Highways

Bus service

Indian Trails provides daily intercity bus service between St. Ignace and Ironwood and between Ironwood and Duluth, Minnesota, while Gogebic County operates a small public bus system.

Airport

Ironwood is served by the Gogebic-Iron County Airport (KIWD), which provides commercial air service. Air Choice One provides scheduled commercial service to Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Scheduled service to and from Minneapolis began on June 1, 2016. Located (7) miles northeast of the city, the airport handles approximately 5,500 operations per year, with roughly 65% general aviation, 26% commercial service and 9% air taxi. The airport has a 6,502 foot asphalt runway with approved ILS, GPS and VOR/DME approaches (Runway 9-27).

Trails

The Iron Belle Trail uses Ironwood as one of its terminus's for the cross-state hiking and biking trails.

Newspapers

Radio stations

Television

Television stations serving Ironwood from Duluth

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.42 square miles (16.63 km²), all of it land. Ironwood is one of the snowiest places in Michigan, and has an average seasonal snowfall of 188.2 inches (478 cm). The deepest snow cover, 71 inches (180 cm), was measured on February 23, 1904.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 5,387 people, 2,520 households, and 1,408 families residing in the city. The population density was 839.1 inhabitants per square mile (324.0/km²). There were 3,175 housing units at an average density of 494.5 per square mile (190.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.0% White, 0.5% African American, 1.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population.

There were 2,520 households of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.1% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.72.

The median age in the city was 45.5 years. 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.7% were from 25 to 44; 28.7% were from 45 to 64; and 21.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,293 people, 2,841 households, and 1,625 families residing in the city. The population density was 960.3 per square mile (371.0/km²). There were 3,349 housing units at an average density of 511.0 per square mile (197.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.52% White, 0.10% African American, 0.72% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population.

The ancestral makeup of the population were 24.7% Finnish, 17.0% German, 14.8% Italian, 12.6% Polish, 10.4% English and 9.5% Swedish.

There were 2,841 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 37.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the city, the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 24.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,502, and the median income for a family was $30,349. Males had a median income of $26,992 versus $21,184 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,131. About 17.0% of families and 18.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Recurrent events and notable sights

There are a number of recurrent events. A calendar is available. Chief among them are:

The Ironwood Memorial Building is located at the corners of McLeod and Marquette streets. It is a lavish 1923 Beaux arts municipal building. It contains extensive stained glass, murals, original light fixtures, and exhibits of artifacts and memorability on local history. An interesting display on the Gogebic Range's social history is upstairs. Ironwood city offices are quartered there and an ostentatious civic auditorium are in the building. Its main theme is the commemoration of local World War I veterants—1580 Gogebic area men perished in the war. This is one of several ostentatious buildings in the region paid for by copper companies. Copper Peak is the largest ski jump in North America. There hasn't been any competition since 1994. However, it will be renovated and become the world's largest summer ski jump.