Iron Mountain, Michigan

Dickinson County

26-40960

Iron Mountain is a small town ( City ) in the northwest of the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is part of the Dickinson County and is its administrative center. In the 2010 census Iron Mountain had 7624 inhabitants.

Just outside the city limits there are the ski jumps of Pine Mountain Jump.

Location

Iron Mountain is located on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Menominee River flows to the west and south near past of the city. This forms the border with Wisconsin. In the southwest of Iron Mountain is adjacent to Kingsford. The metropolitan area includes several hills and lakes. The Pine Mountain is located in the northwest, Millie Hill east of the city center; Crystal Lake in the southwest. In addition, the city share of the 3 -acre Lake Antoine.

Between Iron Mountain and the river in the west is the Ford Airport, a small regional airport. Important inter-regional road link is the U.S. Highway 2

History

The foundation of the city dates back to the year 1878, when John S. Friedricks iron ore took place on Millie Hill. The main artery, the Chapin Mine, was discovered the following year and a miners settlement developed. In the autumn of 1879 a railway line from near Quinnesec reached the young settlement. 1880 provided the mines already nearly 40,000 tons of iron ore, in the autumn of the same year the first school was opened. Early 1886, nearly 8,000 people lived in the place that was still part of Breitung Township. Iron Mountain was established in 1887 and incorporated as a Village in 1888 brought to the city ( City). In the 1890 census, the young congregation had 8599 inhabitants.

The iron ore mining remained several decades the economic backbone of the city. The Chapin Mine was closed in 1934 during the Great Depression. Until then, they had supplied 23 million tons of ore. The last mines in the area closed in the 1960s. A relic of the Bergbauära in Iron Mountain is the Chapin Mine Steam pumping engine, the largest ever built in the United States steam-powered pump. In the mine on Millie Hill today hibernate up to 50,000 bats that broke Chapin Mine 1940 partially, forming a lake.

The most important industry in Dickinson County, and thus for Iron Mountain is the wood and paper industry today. The system of Verso Paper eight kilometers east of the city is the largest paper mill on the Upper Peninsula. In addition, tourism is important.