Escanaba is a city in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The city’s population is 13,140 which makes it the second largest city in the U.P. Escanaba is also one of the top tourist destinations in the U.P. due to the popularity of the U.P State Fair in August, the great boating in the summer and snowmobiling and ice fishing in the winter.

Boaters normally come to Escanaba during the months of May-August. Access to the water is available through the Escanaba marina, or the nearby Gladstone harbor. The Escanaba marina has 165 boat slips, docks and moorings for seasonal and transient boaters. The natural looking harbor is actually man-made, with the island built up to protect the harbor. There is a brand new marina building to greet boaters. Services include electricity, showers and fuel. The harbor is part of Ludington Park at the end of downtown Escanaba. For more information call 906-786-9614. The Gladstone harbor is open from May 15 to Labor Day. Amenities include electric service, fuel, holding tank pump-out, restrooms and showers and long term parking. It’s a beautiful marina a few miles from the tip of Little Bay de Noc. The marina is part of Van Cleve Park and a short distance from downtown Gladstone. For more information call 906-428-2916. For further information on Michigan Boating regulations and registration, please click here.

Another favorite activity for locals and tourists alike is snowmobiling. The entire Upper Peninsula is a snowmobiler’s paradise and Escanaba does not disappoint. The Upper Peninsula receives an average of 200 inches of snow per year which makes for some of the best snowmobiling conditions in the US. The snowmobile trails in Escanaba normally open when there is enough snow on the ground to handle the snowmobiles, normally in November or December. The trails connect all of the Upper Peninsula cities and access to Gladstone, Marquette and even Menominee is possible. Most of the hotels in Escanaba offer some sort of snowmobile trail access, make sure you check with the hotel to ensure you will be on or have access to the snowmobile trails. For up to date information on the snowmobile trails in Escanaba, please click here. Snowmobilers from other states should also be aware of Michigan snowmobile trail regulations, you can find a current list of regulations here. Out of state snowmobilers will also need a Michigan trail permit, they can be purchased online here.

Besides boating and snowmobiling, Escanaba has plenty more to offer. Hiking, fishing, camping, hunting, the Highland Golf Club, Upper Peninsula State Fair, the Bark River International Raceway, and Little Bay de Noc are other notable tourist spots.

One of the activities that Escanaba offers its visitors is the opportunity to hunt in the woods of the region. Hunting season in this area starts normally in the winter, and the cooler seasons. Visitors may enjoy getting a rush of adrenalin in their veins, while hunting for dear, turkey or bear, depending on the season.

If you are new to this activity, you can still learn how to hunt, in one of the Escanaba schools found in the region and offering all the facilities that you require. If you are not interested in hunting, then you might try your hand at fishing as well as golfing. The areas offer various golfing facilities, including a country club as well as various Escanaba schools that offer lessons by a golfing pro.

Hunting is another favorite of locals and tourists. Hunting game include Elk, Bear, Turkey, Deer and other small game. Hunting seasons vary for each animal so it is important to check with the Michigan DNR to confirm dates and regulations. Click here for more information.

Deer hunting and deer camp were also the focus of the 2001 movie “Escanaba in da moonlight” starring Jeff Daniels, a resident of Michigan. The file is filmed and set in Escanaba and makes fun of local traditions including the local “accent.” The film’s plot focuses on Reuben Soady (Daniels) who goes to the hunting camp cottage, otherwise known as deer camp, with his father Albert (played by Harve Presnell), brother Remnar (Joey Albright) and Jimmy “the Jimmer” Negamanee from Menominee (Wayne David Parker). If Reuben, now 42, doesn’t manage to shoot a buck by the end of the season, he will become the oldest Soady in recorded history not to have achieved this task, a taboo that leads people in the community to believe he is jinxed. Reuben breaks with tradition, taking advice from his Native American wife Wolf Moon Dance (Kimberly Norris), who offers him spiritual remedies involving a drink made with moose testicles, and porcupine urine to protect him from evil spirits. After various unexplainable phenomena, they meet a DNR officer, Tom T. Treado (Randall Godwin), who claims to have literally seen God on the ridge. At various times, Reuben, Jimmer, and ranger Tom all get possessed by spirits. Eventually, Reuben runs out into the cold wearing only his long underwear and a hat, and finds himself face-to-face with his dead great-grandfather Alphonse, who guides him to shooting a buck sent for him by the spirits. Reuben returns triumphantly.

History

The word “Escanaba” roughly translates from various regional native languages to “land of the red buck” while others maintain that it refers to “flat rock”. Escanaba was an Ojibwa village in the early 19th century. As an American settlement, Escanaba began as a port town in the mid-19th century, gaining importance to the Union as a shipping point for iron ore, lumber and copper during the Civil War. In his poem “The Song of Hiawatha”, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow described how Hiawatha “crossed the rushing Esconaba” referring to the river. Located on Little Bay de Noc at the northern edge of Lake Michigan, Escanaba continues to serve as an important shipping point for iron ore to other Great Lakes ports, especially south to Chicago and northern Indiana. The local paper mill, for many years Mead Corporation’s Publishing Paper Division, is currently operated by NewPage Corporation; located on the outskirts of the city alongside the Escanaba River, it is now the areas largest employer.

As shipping increased, a lighthouse was needed to warn of a sand shoals that reached out into Little Bay de Noc from Sand Point, a sandspit located just south of and adjacent to the harbor area. The United States Lighthouse Service approved construction of the Sand Point Lighthouse at a cost of $11,000. Construction began in the fall of 1867 and was completed in early spring 1868. It was deactivated in 1939, and was used by the United States Coast Guard to house seaman assigned to Escanaba. The building was completely restored to its original design in the late 1980s, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The historic House of Ludington, downtown Escanaba.

The House of Ludington is a landmark historic hotel in downtown Escanaba. Originally built in 1865 as the Gaynor House Hotel, it was renamed after lumberman Nelson Ludington 1871. It was rebuilt as a brick structure in the Queen Anne Style in 1883, becoming the New Ludington Hotel.

Bay de Noc Community College, a public 2-year college, was founded in the city in 1962.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,140 people, 5,800 households, and 3,294 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,038.3 inhabitants per square mile (400.7/km²). There were 6,258 housing units at an average density of 494.5 per square mile (190.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.66% White, 0.11% African American, 2.61% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population. 17.0% were of German, 16.5% French, 11.4% French Canadian, 8.8% Swedish, 6.4% Irish and 5.2% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 5,800 households out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.2% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,125, and the median income for a family was $36,995. Males had a median income of $32,310 versus $21,204 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,589. About 10.8% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Escanaba is located in Michigan Congressional District 1; its Representative since 2011 in Congress is Dan Benishek (R).

Culture

Escanaba Middle School; the school board opted to completely renovate the historic 1930s downtown building instead of moving it outside of town.

Although politically a part of the state of Michigan, Escanaba and the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan sometimes have closer cultural ties to the state of Wisconsin. Tourism has become significant for the local economy. Tourist draws include Lake Michigan beaches and local fishing and hunting opportunities. Most visitors come from Wisconsin and Illinois.

Escanaba is home to the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center, The Waterfront Art Festival, The Escanaba City Band, The Players de Noc, The Bay de Noc Choral Society and many smaller arts organizations, art galleries and musical performing groups.

Other attractions include the Cedar River Lighthouse, Delta County Historical Museum, Escanaba Family Fun Park, Herbal Acres, Sand Point Lighthouse, U.P. Steam & Gas Engine Museum, Wells Sports Complex abd Van Cleve Park.

In January 1968, Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi’s daughter was married in Escanaba at St. Anne’s Church. Upon finding out his then-unwed daughter was pregnant, Lombardi, who was vacationing in Florida at the time, insisted she drive to Michigan to get married rather than doing it Green Bay, in order to keep the news out of the papers.

Local radio stations include KMB Broadcasting’s WDBC 680 AM (adult standards) and WYKX 104.7 FM (country music), Lakes Radio’s WCHT 600 AM (news/talk), WGLQ 97.1 FM (adult top 40), WCMM 102.5 FM (country), and WGKL 105.5 FM (oldies), and standalone WMXG 106.3 FM (classic hits). Escanaba is also served by low-power translator stations of WNMU translator W296AX from Marquette, MI (at 96.5 FM), WPFF translator W254AG from Sturgeon Bay, WI (at 98.7 FM), and WHWL translator W261AI from Marquette, MI (at 100.1 FM). WJMN-TV, the local television station on channel 3, is mostly a satellite of WFRV in Green Bay and carries CBS programming. WLUC-TV in Marquette also operates a translator station in Escanaba on channel 14.

Shopping

Escanaba has a mall called the Delta Plaza Mall, a small enclosed shopping mall which features JCPenney and ShopKo as its anchor store. Although it is successful, its biggest retailer is Wal-Mart. The other retailers in the town are Menards, K-mart, Walgreens, and The Tractor Supply Company. In the downtown district, there are smaller shops, including The Record Rack, T & T True Value Hardware, St. Vincent De Paul, Ernie’s Irish Pub. Eateries include: Drifters, Family Inn, The Buck Inn, Hereford and Hops, Swedish Pantry, Rosy’s Diner, Stone House, and the Ludington Grill. Bars and Saloons: Catmando’s and Barrons.

Confusion with Flat Rock (lower peninsula)

Since the name Escanaba may be derived from “Flat Rock” and another city in Michigan exists with such a name, errors on maps of Michigan are still common. On most online maps the location of Flat Rock is on J Road between 20th and 21st. In addition, a school named “Flat Rock Elementary School” exists in both the Upper (Delta County) and Lower peninsula (Wayne County), sometimes causing confusion in reporting of MEAP scores and other standardized test results.

The Flat Rock Elementary school in Delta Co. was closed a few years ago