Ironwood, Michigan

Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, about 18 miles south of Lake Superior. It is the westernmost city in Michigan.

The city is located on US Highway 2 across the Montreal River from Hurley, Wisconsin.

Ironwood is now famous for its downhill skiing resorts, such as Big Powderhorn, Snowriver, Mount Zion, and Whitecap. It is also a great place for cross-country skiing thanks to the Wolverine Nordic Trail System and the ABR Nordic Center.

One of the city's most interesting sights is the "World's Tallest Indian," a 52-foot fiberglass statue of the tribal leader Hiawatha.

History

Ironwood was settled in the spring of 1885. It became a village in 1887 and a city on April 8, 1889. Many people moved to Ironwood for jobs in the mines and lumber works, coming from places like England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Sweden.

In 1887, a big fire damaged half of the business area, but the buildings were rebuilt. Ironwood grew quickly, with its population passing 7,500 by 1890 and reaching 10,000 by 1900. The city was named to honor a worker for the railroad, James Wood, and also because of a common tree in the area called ironwood.

Geography and climate

Ironwood is a city in Michigan. It covers an area of 6.42 square miles (16.63 km²), and it is all land. The city gets a lot of snow each year, about 188.2 inches (4.78 m). The most snow ever recorded was 71 inches (1.80 m) on February 23, 1904.

Demographics

2020 census

According to the 2020 census, Ironwood had 5,045 people. The average age was 47.5 years. Most people, about 96%, lived in urban areas. There were 2,462 households. About 34% were married couples, and 29% had a female householder without a spouse.

There were 3,063 housing units, with 20% being empty.

2010 census

In 2010, Ironwood had 5,387 people. The population density was 839 people per square mile. The racial makeup was mostly White, with small amounts of African American, Native American, Asian, and other races. Hispanic or Latino people made up a small part of the population.

The average household size was 2 people.

2000 census

In the year 2000, Ironwood had 6,293 people. The population density was 960 people per square mile. The racial makeup was mostly White, with small amounts of African American, Native American, Asian, and other races. Hispanic or Latino people made up a small part of the population.

The ancestral background of the people included Finnish, German, Italian, Polish, English, and Swedish.

The median age was 42 years. The median income for a household was $23,502. About 17% of families and 18% of the population were below the poverty line.

Culture

Ironwood has two theaters. Theatre North is for community shows. The Historic Ironwood Theatre has local, regional, and national performances. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Bethany Ann Hellen Studios holds dance recitals and sends dancers to competitions.

In the summer, the Emberlight Festival has famous musicians, Broadway stars, art shows, and independent films. Ironwood is mentioned in Neil Gaiman's book American Gods. The book Marvin & Me by Rod Stockhaus focuses on the town and its area. Another book, Compassion, Michigan: The Ironwood Stories by Raymond Luczak, was inspired by Ironwood.

Government

Ironwood's city government has a five-member city council. The person with the most votes becomes the Mayor. A City Manager takes care of the daily work and tells the council about it at public meetings every two months.

The city has a public safety department. Team members are trained as both police officers and firefighters. This department is the only full-time fire department in the Western Upper Peninsula. It also has a volunteer fire department that started in 1887. Because many people visit the area for tourism, the department has special patrols for snowmobiles in winter and foot patrols in summer.

Education

Ironwood has one high school called Luther L. Wright High School, often called Ironwood High School. The students and teams are known as the "Red Devils." The school has a long-standing rivalry with the high school in the nearby town of Hurley.

Ironwood was once home to the last private high school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Ironwood Catholic High School closed after the senior class graduated in 1985. The school’s teams were called the "Ramblers."

Ironwood is also where Gogebic Community College is located.

Communications

Ironwood has one newspaper called the Ironwood Daily Globe.

The city has several radio stations. These include WJMS (590 AM) with talk and country music, WIMI (99.7 FM) playing classic rock, WUPM (106.9 FM) with top 40 hits, and WHRY (1450 AM) featuring oldies.

Television

Here are the television stations that serve Ironwood from Duluth:

• KDLH 2 (The CW)
• KBJR-DT2 3 (CBS)
• KBJR 6 (NBC)
• WDSE 8 (PBS)
• KBJR-DT3 9 (MyNetworkTV)
• WDIO 10 (ABC)
• WDIO-DT2 10.2 (MeTV)
• KQDS 21 (Fox)
• KQDS-DT2 21.2 (Antenna TV)

Sports

Ironwood is special because it had the only professional sports team in the Upper Peninsula. The team was called the Gogebic Panthers. They played in the Northwest Football League in 1935 and 1936. In 1935, they had a good season with only one loss. In 1936, the Panthers won a game by a score of 6 to 0 against another team.

Transportation

Highways

• US Highway 2 (US 2) goes west to Ashland, Wisconsin and Duluth, Minnesota, and east to St. Ignace, Michigan.
• Business US 2 serves the city of Ironwood.
• M-28 starts near Wakefield and runs east across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Marquette and then to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
• US 51 ends near Hurley, Wisconsin.
• Wisconsin State Highway 77 (WIS 77) begins just across the border in Hurley and heads southwest.
• County Road 505 (CR 505) goes north through Ironwood Township and past Little Girl's Point County Park on Lake Superior, and south through Erwin Township.
• CR 200 starts at the east end of the city and runs east to Bessemer.
• CR 501 begins at the northwest end of the city and heads north.

Bus service

Indian Trails offers daily bus trips between St. Ignace and Ironwood, and between Ironwood and Duluth, Minnesota. Gogebic County also runs a small public bus system called Gogebic County Transit (LITTLE BLUE BUS).

Airport

Ironwood has the Gogebic–Iron County Airport (IWD), which offers flights to Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. The airport is about 7 miles northeast of the city and has a long runway for planes.

Trails

The Iron Belle Trail starts in Ironwood and connects to hiking and biking paths across the state.

Notable people

Ironwood has been home to many interesting people. Raymond Joseph Cannon was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin. He helped defend Shoeless Joe Jackson and others from the Chicago Black Sox. William S. Carlson was president of several universities, including the University of Delaware, the University of Vermont, the State University of New York, and the University of Toledo. Agnes Charbonneau was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Renee Louise Ellmers served in the U.S. House of Representatives for North Carolina from 2011 to 2017. Jack Gotta played, coached, and was a general manager in the Canadian Football League. William C. Gribble Jr. was the United States Army Chief of Engineers. He started a special tradition for the US Army Corps of Engineers. John Regeczi played football with future president Gerald Ford on the University of Michigan championship teams in 1932 and 1933.