BlockBefore

Wakefield, Michigan

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1999. It stands in Wakefield City. It lies in ZIP code area 49968. The Survey maps it on the Wakefield quadrangle. 1,702 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,539 feet above sea level.

Wakefield within Gogebic County

Population over time

2 figures

Wakefield fell from 1,851 to 1,702 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,851
20201,702-149 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

11 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Wakefield between 1992 and 2020, burning about 13 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Natural3
Arson/incendiarism2
Equipment and vehicle use2
Debris and open burning2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
16 August 2012Naturalunder an acreOttawa National ForestLONE PINE
7 May 1992Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 May 2007Equipment and vehicle use1.5 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 May 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesWAKEFIELD FD 0540001 - 2020
2 May 2010Naturalunder an acreOttawa National ForestMORGAN MINE
2 May 2010Naturalunder an acreMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesMORGAN MINE ROAD
30 April 1995Debris and open burningunder an acreMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
30 April 1992Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Gogebic County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 49 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 49 workings within 5 miles of Wakefield: 29 past producers, 18 occurrences, 1 producer, 1 prospect. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Lead. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Cebolski PitsSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Unnamed Lead ProspectLeadOccurrence
Anvil-Palms-Keeweenaw GroupIronPast Producer1886, 1887
Anvil-Palms-Keweenaw GroupIronPast Producer1887, 1957
Castile-Meteor MineIronPast ProducerSecondary Enrichment
Chicago Mines (Sparta)IronPast Producer1892, 1915
Chicago- Includes Former SpartaIronPast Producer1892
Eureka-AsteroidIronPast Producer1890
Eureka-Asteroid MineIronPast Producer1890, 1926
Gogebic Iron District (Range)IronPast Producer1884, 1967

Every working recorded in Gogebic County

Storms near this place

28 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wakefield in 28 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 17 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 lightning, 2 heavy rain. The reports record 1 death and 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2006LightningWakefield1 killedA 50-year old man was struck and killed by lightning while standing under a tree near Sunday Lake in Wakefield.
June 2005LightningWakefield1 hurtA 41 year-old man was struck by lightning while mowing his lawn.
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.
July 2006HailWakefield$750,000Hail up to 4 inches in diameter resulted in significant damage to roofs, siding, and automobiles.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWakefield$5,000The Gogebic County Sheriff reported trees and power lines down in Wakefield.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindWakefield$5,000Satellite dish destroyed. One to two foot diameter pine trees were blown down.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindWakefield$2,000Multiple trees were blown down on Highway US-2 between Wakefield and Marenisco.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindWakefield$2,000Two to three-inch diameter branches down. A few trees down.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWakefield$1,000A power pole was reported down on Putnam Street in Wakefield. The time of the report was estimated from radar.
September 2007Thunderstorm WindWakefield$1,000Top half of an eight to ten-foot tall tree knocked over with four |inch diameter branches on a few vehicles. Brief power outage occurred.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWakefield-VFW Post 9084 reported damage to their roof and and a downed tree resulting in three power poles being snapped.
August 2017FloodWakefield-Heavy rainfall which lasted approximately one hour caused an estimated 6-8 inches of water over roads near the intersection of Highways US-2 and M-28. Time of the report was estimated from radar.
June 2012Heavy RainWakefield-Many locations throughout Gogebic County measured between two and three inches of storm total rainfall.
May 2011Heavy RainWakefield-Heavy rain over a 15-minute period caused two to three inches of water over roadways and flooding in ditches.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Four-inch diameter trees blown down.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Five-inch diameter tree branches blown down.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Tree down across Chaney Lake Rd.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Eighteen inch diameter trees were knocked down.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Numerous 6 inch diameter hardwood trees were blown down.
July 2000HailWakefield-3/4 inch hail
July 2000Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Stop signs blown down.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindWakefield-20 inch diameter pine tree toppled.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindWakefield-4 inch branches down along the southwest shore of Lake Gogebic.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindWakefield-Large industrial waste containers rolled by thunderstorm wind.
April 2008HailWakefield-no account filed
June 2007HailWakefield-no account filed
June 2007HailWakefield-no account filed
July 2006HailWakefield-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Gogebic County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Wico1.4 miles13
Plymouth2.2 miles13
Verona2.6 miles13
Thomaston2.9 miles13
Ramsay3.0 miles13
Planter3.1 miles13
Anvil4.2 miles11
Connorville5.3 miles13

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on WakefieldAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2196320The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1622046. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.