Iron Mountain is known as the gateway to the Upper Peninsula, from Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. Iron Mountain is located in Dickinson County. Iron Mountain offers everything from forests, rivers and streams, outdoor recreation for all four seasons, museums, Pine Mountain Ski Jump, shopping and much more. From recreation fun, you are able to do anything from swimming, boating, golfing, whitewater rafting, and much more. As of the 2000 census the population for Iron Mountain was 8,154.
In 1896, the Dickinson County Court House and jail complex was built and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Iron Mountain once was a mining city. In 1879, the land where Chapin Mine was formed was discovered. The entire area reflects the mining and logging heritage. Two men discovered the land, James John Hagerman and Dr. Nelson Powell Hulst. These two men leased the land from a gentleman in Niles, Michigan. His name was Henry Chapin, hence the name on the mine. The men began to sink shafts on the slope of Millie Hill. On July 5, 1879, Captain John Wicks and seven other men went into the forest looking for a place to set up camp. The company was ready to shut down the operation due to many unsuccessful shafts, but because Hagerman and Hulst had faith in the land they tried one more shaft. The shaft was 90 feet deep and there was a successful hit which was at the heart of the iron ore. The land was originally was very swampy and filled with trees. In order to get rid of all the water the Chapin Mine Pumping Engine was created.
Edwin Reynolds designed the steam engine in 1890. The estimated weight of the steam engine was about 725 tons. The engine ran slowly, the pumps had a capacity of over 300 gallons per stroke of the pistons. There were ten revolutions per minute, this meaning over 3,000 gallons of water poured out through a 28 inch pipe every minute. A total of 5,000,000 gallons of water could be removed from the mine every day. When the pump was built, the estimated cost was nearly $250,000. After a few years of successful operation the pumping facility was moved from the shaft of the Chapin Mine. There were more than millions of the best grade ore found in the entire mine, which was discovered directly below the pump. This is why the pump was needed to be mover for excavation. The year on 1898 the pump was dismantled and was stored away until 1907 when it was reassembled on the shaft of the Chapin Mine. The pump was in operation of the “C†shaft until 1932, when the Chapin Mine closed the doors for good. Two years later the pumping engine was offered to the Dickinson County for sightseers to visit. Sightseers were able to visit this pump for nearly 50 years and in 1982 a building was constructed around the pump by the Menominee Range Historical Foundation. To this day the Cornish Pumping Engine and Mining Museum exists on the site.
When you are planning your vacation, be sure to come when the Badwater Ski-Ters Water Ski Show is. The Ski Show takes place at Vagabond Park, which is just 5 miles away from Iron Mountain. You are able to go to the Ski Show for free, which is always a good thing. If you are a person who loves the snow you are able to enjoy the ski hills. You can try your abilities on all hills no matter if you are a beginner, or an expert at skiing or snowboarding. You can even take a snow mobile trip going through the groomed trails which connect to the 2,500 miles of trails going throughout the Upper Peninsula. Another show you should go to, if you like the cold weather, is the world’s finest ski jumpers. These skiers soar through the air to compete with other nations for honors. This show takes place in February at the Giant Pine Mountain Ski Jump.
If you are looking for a fabulous golf vacation, Iron Mountain is the place for you to plan your trip. The Iron Mountain area has a total of nine golf courses within a forty mile radius. There are some golf courses that are along the shores of the lakes or rivers, others courses are on the mountainsides with panoramic vistas. Most of the golf courses are carved out of mature pine or hardwood forests where wildlife sightings are par for the course.
There is an art show for all. It is an annual art show and usually happens in June. The Juried Art Show takes place at Lake Antoine Park, which is one the north side of Iron Mountain.
The Iron Mountain City Park is a place where you can do everything. It is a large wooded park where you can have a family or romantic picnic, you are able to grill out and there is a playground for the children to play. You can have a family game of soccer or jus watch your kids run and have fun in the field. If you are tennis player, you are in luck because there tennis courts for you to play or practice your game. If you are having a large group of people or a large event you are able to rent the Log Pavilion. While in the park you can have a good view of the wildlife while hiking. For the winter months the park has four loops of different trails which are groomed for cross-country skiing and there is a lighted sledding hill for fun as well. In a large enclosed area you are able to watch the deer. In the spring of 2008 there was a rare albino deer that was born there. While you are hiking, the trail also goes around the deer area for you to look at the deer.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,154 people, 3,458 households, and 2,147 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,132.6 per square mile (437.3/km²). There were 3,819 housing units at an average density of 530.5 per square mile (204.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.67% White, 0.20% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population. 20.6% were of Italian, 14.0% German, 9.0% Swedish, 8.8% English, 8.8% French, 5.8% Finnish and 5.5% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 97.2% spoke English and 1.4% Italian as their first language.
There were 3,458 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,526, and the median income for a family was $43,687. Males had a median income of $38,309 versus $22,533 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,918. About 9.4% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Newspaper
The newspaper of record in Dickinson County is the Iron Mountain Daily News.
Television
* W43AN (//WLUK-TV)
* K47AF
* W56BF (//WGBA, ch. 57 move possible and recorded carrying same station)
* W59AQ
* K69BA (//WNMU-TV)
Iron Mountain aerial cable system
Iron Mountain has a network of encrypted low-powered UHF repeaters, similar in concept to the subscription television services implemented in larger markets in the 1970s and early-1980s. Channels offered include:
* W63AW (TNT)
* W65BN (TNN)
* W67AO (MTV/Disney Channel)
Radio
Radio stations that are located within listening range of Iron Mountain include:
* WNMU-FM 90.1 FM Northern Michigan University Marquette, Phone National Public Radio
* WMVM-FM 90.7 FM Goodman-Armstrong Creek, Wisconsin, Gospel
* WVCM 91.5 FM VCY America Iron Mountain, Religious
* WIMK 93.1 FM Iron Mountain, Phone Classic Rock
* WZNL 94.3 FM Norway, Phone Adult Contemporary
* WEUL 98.1 FM Gospel Opportunities Radio Network Kingsford, Phone Religious
* WIKB-FM 99.1 FM Iron River, Phone Oldies
* WOBE 100.7 FM Crystal Falls, Oldies
* WJNR 101.5 FM Iron Mountain, Frog Country
* WMXG 106.3 FM Stephenson, Phone Top-40
* WHTO 106.7 FM Iron Mountain, 80′s Rock
* WFER 1230 AM Iron River, Phone Oldies
* WMIQ 1450 AM Iron Mountain, Phone Talk
Historical Importance
Iron Mountain was once a mining city when the Chapin Mine was up and running. The land that the Chapin Mine was formed on was discovered in 1879. It was discovered by two men, James John Hagerman and Dr. Nelson Powell Hulst. They had leased the land from a man from Niles, Michigan, Henry Chapin, hence the name of the mine. They began to sink shafts on the slope of Millie Hill. Then on July 5, 1879, Captain John Wicks and seven other men were sent into the forest with a wagon filled with tools to search for a place to set up camp. After numerous unsuccessful shafts the company was ready to shut down operation. Hagerman and Hulst had faith in the land and tried one more shaft. The shaft was 90 feet (27 m) deep and many months later, there was a successful hit that was at the heart of the iron ore. The original land was very swampy and filled with trees. To get rid of all this water the Chapin Mine Pumping Engine was created.
Iron Mountain is home of the largest steam-driven pumping engine in the United States.[8] The Chapin Mine Pumping Engine (Cornish Pump) was patterned after the ones used in Cornwall in the deep tin mines.
Edwin Reynolds, chief engineer for the E.P. Allis Company (now the Allis-Chalmers Co.) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, designed the steam engine in 1890. The engine’s high pressure cylinder has a 50-inch (1,300 mm) bore, and the low pressure cylinder is 100 inches (2,500 mm) in diameter. The flywheel is 40 feet (12 m) in diameter, weighs 160 tons, and had an average speed of only 10 revolutions per minute. The drive shaft to the flywheel is 24 inches (610 mm) in diameter. The engine itself rises 54 feet (16 m) above the floor of the room. The designers estimate the weight to be 725 tons over all.
The pumping equipment utilized a reciprocating motion to a line of steel rods extending 1,500 feet (460 m) down into the mine, with eight pumps attached at intervals of 170 to 192 feet (59 m) along the rods. Each of the pumps forced the water to the next higher pump and finally out to the surface of the mine.
As the engine was designed to run slowly, the pumps had a capacity of over 300 gallons per stroke of the pistons. At ten revolutions per minute, this meant over 3,000 gallons of water poured out through a 28-inch (710 mm) pipe every minute. A total of 5,000,000 gallons of water could be removed from the mine each day. At that time the pump’s estimated cost was nearly $250,000.
After only a few years of successful operation, the giant pumping facility was moved from the “D” shaft of the Chapin Mine. More than a million tons of the best grade ore found in the entire mine was discovered directly below the pump, so it was essential that it be moved for excavation. In 1898 the pump was dismantled and stored away until 1907 when it was reassembled on the “C” shaft of the Chapin Mine. The pump operated here until 1932 when the Chapin Mine permanently closed its doors. In 1934 the pumping engine was offered to the County of Dickinson as a relic for sightseers to visit. The pump remained exposed to the elements for nearly 50 years, and in 1982 a building was constructed around the pump by the Menominee Range Historical Foundation. Today the Cornish Pumping Engine & Mining Museum exists on the site.
The Chapin Mine Pumping Engine (Cornish Pump) was designated as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Monument by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers on June 6, 1987 and has been featured in the History Channel’s Modern Marvels Series on the World’s Biggest Machines.
Notable current and former residents of Iron Mountain
* John Biolo, former NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
* Robert J. Flaherty, a filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature length documentary film, Nanook of the North, in 1922.
* Walter S. Goodland, Governor of Wisconsin, practiced law and owned a newspaper.
* Tom Izzo, the men’s basketball head coach for Michigan State University since 1995.
* Steve Mariucci, former NFL head coach for the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions.
* Thomas Lawrence Noa, Roman Catholic bishop.
* Gene Ronzani, former NFL head coach of the Green Bay Packers
* Leonard L. “Chick” LaPointe, writer and neuroscientist, born in Iron Mountain and raised in Channing, MI, who has written 10 books on brain-based communication disorders and lectured worldwide on the topic.