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Communities
I've not
been able to find histories for all the townships, cities, towns and
villages of Gogebic County. Towns that have been written about (some
currently have only one sentence) are in bold lettering.
If you can
provide the history of one or more, please contact
me.
Corrections and additions to any already in place will also be gratefully
accepted.
Histories of the Towns and Townships of Gogebic County
(towns whose histories are
narrated to date will have blue links)
| Anvil |
Aurora |
Auvinen Corner |
Beaton |
|
Bessemer
|
Bonifas |
Cisco Lake |
Connorville |
| Dunham |
Ethelwood |
Fuller |
Gogebic |
| Hartley |
Hautala Corner |
Hillcrest |
Ironwood
(2) |
| Jessieville |
Junet |
Katakitckon I.V. |
Marenisco |
| Norrie |
North Bessemer |
North Ironwood |
Planter |
| Plymouth |
Ramsay |
Siemens |
Stickley |
| Tamarack |
Thayer |
Theilers |
Thomaston |
| Verona |
Wakefield |
Watersmeet |
Wellington |
| White City |
Wico |
Yale |
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Township Land Area in Square Miles
City
of Ironwood: 5.9 sq. miles
City
of Bessemer: 5.6 sq. miles
Bessemer
Township: 114.4 sq. miles
Erwin
Township: 48 sq. miles
Marenisco
Township: 314.5 sq. miles
City
of Wakefield: 8.0 sq. miles
Wakefield
Township: 181.5 sq. miles
Watersmeet
Township: 253.0 sq. miles
Origin of Names
GOGEBIC
County was
named after Lake Gogebic. The Indians called the lake, "AGOGEBIC," because in their native language
the word meant, "A Body of Water Hanging on High." They knew that the lake
had a high elevation, which was caused by the glaciers centuries ago. In
other words, Lake Gogebic is 1,290.81 feet above sea level, but when the
water reaches Lake Superior, the lake level is only 602 feet above sea level.
The exact definition of "Gogebic" will never be known, as it all depends
on the interpreter. The popular meaning, used for the purpose of tourism
is "Where Trout Rising Make Rings on the Water." Research by historians
has not been able to determine how and when and why "Agogebic" was changed
to "Gogebic." A satisfactory conclusion is that a printer either purposely
or accidentally dropped the "A" during a printing job.
IRONWOOD
was named for James "Iron" Wood. He
was the discoverer of the Norrie Mine at Ironwood, exposing for the holder of the
lease, A. L. Norrie, what turned out to be one of the greatest bodies of
high grade ore ever to be found in Michigan.
BESSEMER was
named after Sir Henry Bessemer, English inventor
of the process of manufacturing
malleable iron and steel without fuel.
RAMSAY
the town in Bessemer Township, was
named for Sir William Ramsay, a Scotch chemist born in Glasgow,
Scotland. He won his chief reputation for his discovery of rare
gases. He was awarded the Nobel prize in chemistry. His discoveries
are a major factor in the iron ore processes.
WAKEFIELD
was named after George M. Wakefield, a
financier of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who came to this area in the
pioneering days. In 1881, George M. Wakefield was the
secretary-treasurer of the "Ontonagon River Improvement and Boom
Company," which built a number of dams and blasted rock in the
Ontonagon River to float logs to the sawmills.
MARENISCO
was named after Mary Enid Scott, wife of one of the early
pioneers of the settlement and
the wife of the founder. It will be
noted that the first three letters in each name are used to
spell "Marenisco."
WATERSMEET
derived from the two words, "waters" and "meet."
A number of waters actually meet
there, and it is interesting to note that in the Watersmeet area the Ontonagon
River flows north into Lake Superior, the Wisconsin River flows south into
the Mississippi River, and the Paint River flows east into Lake Michigan.
Also, the town is the meeting place of the water of Duke Creek, flowing
north, and the Ontonagon River flowing east and north. The
Indian word for Watersmeet is 'Ticonderoga.'
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