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Gogebic County, Michigan

90 topographic sheets cover 40 settlements here, and 11 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

11 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Michigan within the United States
Gogebic County within Michigan

What the record shows

  • 500 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 11 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 7 buildings, 2 sites and 2 structures.
  • 1 of the 11 listings was added during the 1970s.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 40 populated places in this county; 40 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

11

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Depotbuilding198585000095
Copper Peaksite197373000948
Solomon S. Curry Housebuilding198282002833
Gogebic County Courthousebuilding198181000306
Ironwood Carnegie Librarybuilding201111000948
Ironwood City Hallbuilding198080001856
Ironwood Theatre Complexbuilding198585000061
Main Street-Black River Bridgestructure199999001514
Memorial Buildingbuilding198080001857
Planter Road-Jackson Creek Bridgestructure199999001515
Rice Baysite201515000353

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

94 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 94 of them, burning about 213 acres. 23 started naturally and 3 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Natural23
Recreation and ceremony19
Debris and open burning15
Equipment and vehicle use13
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Smoking4
Arson/incendiarism3

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 April 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined53 acresOttawa National ForestOLD US 2 FIRE
25 September 2003Natural31 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 October 2012Natural29 acresOttawa National ForestFISHER FIRE
3 May 1999Natural20 acresOttawa National ForestOX YOKE LAKE
5 May 2018Equipment and vehicle use9.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesS BLACK RIVER ROAD
20 May 2018Equipment and vehicle use8.3 acresOttawa National ForestBLACK RIVER
1 May 2003Debris and open burning8.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
12 October 1995Debris and open burning7.4 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1965 to 2025

60 of 224 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 224 reports for this county, causing 2 deaths, 2 injuries and about $28,739,000 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Thunderstorm Wind126
Hail68
Heavy Rain11
Flash Flood6
Flood6
Tornado5
Lightning2

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 1998Thunderstorm WindWatersmeet1 killed, $5,000Large trees down. One tree fell on fiber-glass camper resulting in a fataility at Imp Lake Campground in Ottawa National Forest.
June 2006LightningWakefield1 killedA 50-year old man was struck and killed by lightning while standing under a tree near Sunday Lake in Wakefield.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWhite City1 hurt, $10,000Law enforcement reported a tree fell on a vehicle near Gogebic Lodge and the nearby bait and tackle shop. The male occupant in the car was injured. The time of the report was estimated from radar.
June 2005LightningWakefield1 hurtA 41 year-old man was struck by lightning while mowing his lawn.
April 2023FloodJunet$20,000,000The Gogebic County Road Commission reported numerous secondary roads and a few county roads impassable from the 13th into the 17th. Highway M-28 east of Sunday Lake in Wakefield was closed from the 16th into the 21st due to high water. Estimated countywide damages to highway infrastructure were in the millions of dollars. Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency in Gogebic County on April 14th due to severe and widespread flooding.
July 2016Flash FloodJunet$5,000,000Radar estimated rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches caused major flash flooding over portions of far western Gogebic County and left many sections of road washed out and impassible. Many people became stranded from near Ironwood to Little Girls Point. The Gogebic County Sheriff reported the Montreal River flooded on Lake Road at the Michigan-Wisconsin border with a washout of the guardrail at the Flint Creek ravine. A Gogebic County patrol car was swept up in the Montreal River flood waters and the deputy driving the car needed to be rescued.The Gogebic County Road Commission closed Lake Road from near Saxon Harbor, WI to Lower Powers Road.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWakefield$1,000,000The NWS storm survey concluded that damage in and immediately surrounding Wakefield was caused by straight-line thunderstorm winds up to 90 mph. Wind damage included an overturned camper trailer, a roof ripped off an old skating rink, a few damaged or destroyed outbuildings, hundreds of large uprooted or snapped trees (some 30 to 40 inches in diameter), downed power lines, and several trees downed on houses or vehicles. The survey team could not access all areas around Wakefield due to the number of downed trees. The time of the report was based on radar, observations and interviews of individuals in the area.
April 2013FloodIronwood$1,000,000Rapid melting of significant late season snow pack caused moderate flooding of roads in the Ironwood, Bessemer, Wakefield and Marenisco areas from the 28th into the 30th. Minor flooding continued into early May. Some flooding of basements was also reported. A portion of Highway M-28 was closed in Wakefield due to flooding from Sunday Lake. Governor Rick Snyder declared a state of disaster in Gogebic County where nearly one million dollars of property damage occurred due to the flooding mainly to roadway infrastructure.
July 2006HailWakefield$750,000Hail up to 4 inches in diameter resulted in significant damage to roofs, siding, and automobiles.
June 2018FloodJunet$344,000The Gogebic County Sheriff reported vehicles stranded on streets in Ironwood with multiple closures of roads due to flood waters, including Highway US-2 between Lowell Street and Douglas Boulevard. Multiple basements were also flooded in the Ironwood area with estimated rainfall reports between four and five inches. Governor Rick Snyder declared a state of disaster in Gogebic County as damage estimates from the flooding were estimated at nearly $344,000.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindMarenisco$100,000Extensive straight-line wind damage was found in and around the town of Marenisco with estimated wind speeds up to 90 mph. Some structural damage was found, but most of the damage was uprooted or snapped trees. The main structural damage was significant roof damage to a newly-built garage at the corner of Hall and Mill Streets in Marenisco where over a quarter of the metal roof and decking was stripped back and torn from the roof trusses. A continuous swath of straight-line wind damage started approximately five miles west of town to six miles southeast of town and continued into the Ottawa National Forest. Campers were trapped at Bobcat Lake Campground due to fallen trees, but no injuries were reported. Many roads were closed due to fallen trees in the area, and numerous power outages were reported. The time of the report was estimated from radar.
July 2016Tornado (EF1)Puritan$100,000The NWS storm survey confirmed a low end EF1 tornado about three miles south of Bessemer. Winds from the tornado were estimated around 90 mph. The tornado touched down near the intersection of S. Barber Road and Spruce Road and ended 2.4 miles to the east-northeast, just northeast of the intersection of W. Harding Road and Koski Road. Damage included multiple trees down on a garage on Spruce Street and half a barn destroyed in Bessemer Township on Elder Street. |||The damage path was 200 yards wide or less and occurred just before midnight CDT.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindConnorville$50,000Numerous trees were reported down in Porcupine Mountains State Park from thunderstorm winds. A cabin was also reportedly destroyed.
July 2016Tornado (EF1)Hurley$50,000An EF1 tornado touched down near the Wisconsin-Michigan border just southeast of Van Buskirk and caused damage for less than a mile before dissipating. Damage consisted mostly of uprooted or snapped trees.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindCisco Lake$40,000Several one to two-foot diameter trees were snapped off or uprooted by the strong winds. Branches from the fallen trees damaged a vehicle, a boat and roofs of several cabins.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindHurley$30,000The Ironwood Public Safety Department reported extensive storm damage throughout Gogebic County with numerous trees and power lines down. The time of the report was estimated from radar.
June 2005Tornado (F1)Marenisco$25,000This tornado developed on the west side of Lake Gogebic. The brief touchdown flipped over a pontoon boat, damaging the boat, boat lift and dock.
April 1984Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
June 2018Flash FloodIronwood$20,000Possible roads washed out near Cloverland Cinemas per Public Safety Radio. Much of Ironwood, including stores along Highway US-2, was without electricity on Sunday evening the 17th due to storms and flooding. Homeowners reported flooded basements.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindIronwood$15,000Over 100 trees down on Lake Rd. Two houses and a car were damaged by falling trees.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindBeaton$10,000The U.S. Forest Service reported a wide variety of scattered multiple trees and large branches down throughout the Sylvania Wilderness Area in eastern Gogebic County during an onsite survey by USFS personnel in the Ottawa National Forest. The time of the delayed report was based on radar. Estimated wind gusts were between 50 and 70 mph.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindHurley$10,000Law enforcement reported numerous trees and power lines down in the Ironwood area via Public Safety Radio.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindHurley$10,000Ironwood Police reported dozens of downed power lines and downed trees blocking the road.
July 2010FloodIronwood$10,000Nearly three inches of heavy rainfall flooded a large section of US-2 from Douglas to Lowell Street in Ironwood. Several houses and building were flooded near Hemlock Street on the west side of Ironwood.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindBessemer$10,000Trees down on camping vehicles.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindIronwood$10,000no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindBessemer$8,000Law enforcement reported numerous trees and power lines down in Bessemer via Public Safety Radio.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindBessemer$5,000The Gogebic County Dispatch reported power lines down in Bessemer. Wind gusts at the Ironwood ASOS were measured at 50 mph, but were probably higher in Bessemer where wind damage occurred.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindIndian Vlg$5,000The U.S. Forest Service reported multiple trees and large branches downed of maple and fir trees along Crystal Lake Road and Birch Lake Road in eastern Gogebic County just north of the Wisconsin State line. The delayed report was estimated from radar. Winds were estimated between 50 and 70 mph.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWakefield$5,000The Gogebic County Sheriff reported trees and power lines down in Wakefield.
September 2010Thunderstorm WindIronwood$5,000The Gogebic County Sheriff reported widespread trees and power lines down across Ironwood. A spotter also reported 12-inch diameter branches down on McLeod Avenue. Time of the reported was estimated.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindWatersmeet$5,000Numerous trees blown down.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindIronwood$5,000Trees and power lines down near Gogebic County Airport.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindWakefield$5,000Satellite dish destroyed. One to two foot diameter pine trees were blown down.
July 1997Thunderstorm Wind(Iwd)Ironwood Arpt$5,000Strong winds ahead of a line of thunderstorms damaged a boat dock at Black River Harbor on the Lake Superior shoreline.
August 2020Flash FloodConnorville$4,000Gogebic County Sheriff's department reported that a portion of Highway US-2 was flooded with stranded vehicles. Highway US-2 was closed from Douglas Boulevard to Lowell Street. Law enforcement also reported a downed power line nearby in Ironwood. Nearly an inch and a half of rainfall from thunderstorms over a three-hour period caused the flooding.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindMarenisco$4,000Law enforcement reported multiple trees down on Highway US-2 near Marenisco. Report relayed via Public Safety Radio.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindWatersmeet$4,000The 911 dispatcher said they received numerous reports about downed trees and power lines. There were also reports on varying degrees of tree damage. No specifics on tree damage or location were available.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindIronwood$3,000Law enforcement dispatch reported a tree snapped and lying on a rooftop in the city of Ironwood. Time of the report was estimated from radar.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindNorth Ironwood$3,000Law enforcement dispatch reported three trees snapped in North Ironwood. Time of the report was estimated from radar.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindJunet$3,000Gogebic County Sheriff's office reported large trees in excess of 12 inches in diameter down across Lake Road near Upper Powers Road. The Gogebic County Road Commission was clearing the road with front end loaders.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindVerona$3,000The State Police Dispatch reported trees down across a couple of roads in the Wakefield area, and parts of the city were without power.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBessemer$3,000The sheriff received reports of numerous trees and power lines downed across Gogebic county. The public also reported an 8-inch diameter dead tree snapped at the base and a portable basketball hoop that broke in half.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindVerona$2,000Numerous trees were reported down along old Highway US-2 near Gogebic Medical Care Facility. The time of the report was estimated from radar.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindIronwood$2,000Social media posts reported trees down with minor street flooding in Ironwood.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindHurley$2,000Law enforcement reported trees down along Pioneer Road via Public Safety Radio.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindWatersmeet$2,000The Gogebic/Iron County Central Dispatch reported several trees down in Watersmeet. Time of the report was estimated from radar.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindDunham$2,000The Gogebic County Sheriff reported two trees down on Chaney Lake Road blocking traffic in both directions.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindJunet$2,000The Gogebic County Sheriff reported several trees down along Lake Road near Little Girls Point.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindHurley$2,000Several trees were knocked down or snapped just north of the Wisconsin border.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindWakefield$2,000Multiple trees were blown down on Highway US-2 between Wakefield and Marenisco.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindMarenisco$2,000Five large trees blown down on old US-2.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindWakefield$2,000Two to three-inch diameter branches down. A few trees down.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindIronwood$1,000A NWS student volunteer in Ironwood reported a large diameter maple tree of one foot in diameter snapped in Ironwood. Time of the report was estimated from radar.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindBessemer$1,000Law enforcement dispatch reported a tree down in Bessemer. Time of the report was estimated from radar.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindSiemens$1,000Law enforcement confirmed that a couple of trees fell across the road at the intersection of Old County and Geneva Roads just southwest of Bessemer.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindAnvil Location$1,000Law enforcement confirmed a couple of trees down near the intersection of Ramsey and Sanders Roads east of Bessemer. The time of the report was estimated from radar.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWakefield$1,000A power pole was reported down on Putnam Street in Wakefield. The time of the report was estimated from radar.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindIronwood$1,000There was a social media report of several small poplar trees down on Sunset Road in Ironwood Township.
September 2017Thunderstorm WindMarenisco$1,000Local law enforcement reported power lines down and trees across the road 8 miles ENE of Marenisco.

Mines and quarries

116 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 116 workings inside this county. 9 still produce and 107 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Iron96
Sand and Gravel, Construction11
Copper4
Silver3
Gold2
Stone, Crushed/Broken1
Clay1
Feldspar1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Goebic County Lake ClayClayProspect
Gogebic County QuarriesStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Marenisco Feldspar ExposureFeldsparProspect
Holland ProspectGoldProspect1884
Summitt ProspectGold, SilverProspect1884
CopperwoodCopper, SilverProspect
Presque Isle SynclineCopper, SilverOccurrence1950
Peak Copper ExplorationCopperProspect1899
Presque IsleCopperProducerCopper, Chalcocite
Cebolski PitsSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
City of Ironwood PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Damon Lake County PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Fox Valley PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Globe Industries Inc PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Kimberly Clark Lake Gogebic PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Les Johnson Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Marshall Creek PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Randall PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Weber Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Wedenoja PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Anvil-Palms-Keeweenaw GroupIronPast Producer1886, 1887
Anvil-Palms-Keweenaw GroupIronPast Producer1887, 1957
Ashland MineIronPast Producer1884, 1926
Ashland MineIronPast Producer1884
Castile-Meteor MineIronPast ProducerSecondary Enrichment
Chicago Mines (Sparta)IronPast Producer1892, 1915
Chicago- Includes Former SpartaIronPast Producer1892
Colby MineIronPast Producer1884, 1923
Colby MineIronPast Producer1884
Dean MineIronPast Producer
Eureka-AsteroidIronPast Producer1890
Eureka-Asteroid MineIronPast Producer1890, 1926
Geneva MineIronPast Producer1848, 1887, 1965
Geneva MineIronPast Producer1887
Gogebic Iron District (Range)IronPast Producer1884, 1967
Gogebic Iron District (Range)IronPast Producer
Iron Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Iron Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Iron Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Iron Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Iron Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Iron Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
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Iron Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Iron Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
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Iron Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Iron Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Ironton MineIronPast Producer1886, 1925
Ironton MineIronPast Producer1886
JackpotIronPast Producer1892, 1904
JackpotIronPast Producer1892
LoomisIronPast Producer1955
Loomis MineIronPast Producer1953, 1955
Mikado MineIronPast Producer1895, 1917
Mikado MineIronPast Producer1895
Newport MineIronPast Producer1848, 1886, 1961
Newport MineIronPast Producer1886
North NorrieIronPast Producer1885
Ore BodyIronOccurrence
Ore BodyIronOccurrence
Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
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Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
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Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
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Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Ore OutcropIronOccurrence
Penokee GroupIronPast Producer1848, 1884, 1904
Penokee GroupIronPast Producer1884, 1885
Peterson MineIronPast Producer1944, 1951
Peterson Mine (as of 1951)IronPast Producer1884, 1937
Pike MineIronPast ProducerSecondary Enrichment
Pilgrim MineIronPast ProducerSecondary Enrichment
Plymouth MineIronPast Producer1895, 1952
Plymouth MineIronPast Producer1916
Puritan MineIronPast Producer1886, 1941
Puritan MineIronPast Producer1886
South ChicagoIronPast Producer1915
South Chicago MineIronPast ProducerSecondary Enrichment
Sunday Lake GroupIronPast Producer1885
Sunday Lake Group MinesIronPast Producer1885, 1961
Tilden MineIronPast Producer1891
Townsite MineIronPast Producer1884, 1885
Vicar MineIronPast Producer1950
Vicar Mine (Wakefield Lease)IronPast Producer1950, 1951
Wakefield MineIronPast Producer1912, 1913, 1959
Wakefield MineIronPast Producer1913
Wakefield Morgan MineIronPast Producer1923
Wakefield Section 8IronPast Producer
Wakefield-Morgan MineIronPast Producer1923, 1925
Wakefield-Section 8 ReserveIronProspectSecondary Enrichment
Whiteside MineIronPast Producer
Whiteside ReserveIronProspectSecondary Enrichment
Yale MineIronPast Producer1886, 1925
Yale MineIronPast Producer1886

Every populated place in the county

40

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.