Republic is located in Marquette County and is an unincorporated community. This small community is also a census-designated place (CDP) for statistical purpose. As of the 2000 census the community’s population was 614 people. The area is surrounded by woods, lakes and wetlands. Most of it is part of the Escanaba River State Forest.

In 1848 the Republic land was settled on because of the presence of iron ore, which turned out to be a very rich deposit. The city’s first name was Iron City and the first mine was in 1870.The guy who changed the name was Ed Breitung, who was the founder of the mine. Mr. Breitung picked the name “Republic”for the land of the free and the home of the brave. The mine continued to operate until 1926. In 1950 new technology was started and it enabled low-grade iron to be concentrated and efficiently shipped as a taconite pellets. Cleveland Cliffs Iron developed an open pit mine in the city to extract low-grade ore closer to the surface. There were three streets of houses that were moved to the south end of the city so the new open pit mine could get started. The new mine opened another boom in the 1950′s. There were new homes and a new school that were built on the south end of the town. In the year of 1981 the open pit mine closed. The mine closed because the price of iron dropped to the point where operations were unprofitable. By the year of 1890, the three Iron Ranges were producing seen million tons of iron a year and became the nation’s major iron ore producer. By the end of the century the three Iron Ranges were shipping out nine million tons of iron per year.

Go to the Republic Beach and you can enjoy the sandy, quiet, peaceful area mostly to yourself. You might even see a safety-oriented kayaking class going on at the beach. The beach is located right off of the highway so it is easy to find and get to. There is a basketball court and a horseshoe pit at the beach.

A home that was built in 1880, and never was altered, is now a local museum in Republic. The home was moved from North Republic to the South end of the town. The kitchen, pantry, dining room and of the bedrooms have been furnished to look like a middle class home from the 1900′s. There are changing exhibits that are located on the parlor. One theme that was done was “School  of Memories” in 2005. On the parlor there were artifacts like Native American points, arrowheads and miner’s lunchboxes.

When you take your vacation you can stay at the Moose Rapids Township Campground. This campground opened up after the DNR closed the Witbeck Rapids Campground. The Republics Sportsman club and the Township of Republic worked together in opening this rustic campground. The campground is located on part of the Michigamme River, so fishing is something you can do for fun. Some of the campsites are open and other campsites are shadier with a good amount of privacy. There are also some sites that are good for just tents and certain ones better for the RVs. Some of the tent sites are located down a trail to the river which is a good place to fish and swim.

If you are not an outdoors type, stay at the Pine Crest Resort. The Pine Crest Resort is on the lakeside cottages by the Michigamme River and Juncob Lake. There are two cottages and three log cabins that offer lodging for up to 34 people. The cottages and log cabins are available year around and offer extraordinary comforts with all modern amenities. One of the cottages even has a hot tub with a great view of the Michigamme River. With your cottage rental you are able to use canoes, a boat, and a paddle boat. You can go canoeing, kayaking, boating, and fishing on either Juncob Lake or the Michigamme River. There is also plenty of land the surrounds Pine Crest for hiking, biking and hunting. In the winter, the snowmobile trails start right at your cabin door and you can go where you would like. There is even cross-country skiing available and snowshoeing. If you don’t have your own equipment, that is fine, you can rent what you need.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10 km2), of which, 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) of it (7.67%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 614 people, 276 households, and 187 families residing in the community. The population density was 170.1 per square mile (65.7/km²). There were 356 housing units at an average density of 98.6 per square mile (38.1/km²). The racial makeup of the community was 98.05% White, 1.63% Native American, and 0.33% from two or more races.

There were 276 households out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.67.

In the community the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 24.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $24,545, and the median income for a family was $29,659. Males had a median income of $24,875 versus $18,472 for females. The per capita income for the community was $14,793. About 10.7% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Republic, Michigan is served by the Republic-Michigamme School District, which operates the Republic-Michigamme High School.