Bessemer Township, Michigan Explained
| Official Name: | Bessemer Township, Michigan |
| Settlement Type: | Civil township |
| Pushpin Map: | Michigan#USA |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Label: | Bessemer Township |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of Michigan |
| Mapsize: | 250 |
| Coordinates: | 46.4206°N -89.9975°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name1: | Michigan |
| Subdivision Name2: | Gogebic |
| Leader Title: | Supervisor |
| Leader Name: | Jeffery Randall |
| Leader Title1: | Clerk |
| Leader Name1: | Debbie Janczak |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 298.9 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 115.4 |
| Area Land Km2: | 294.9 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 113.8 |
| Area Water Km2: | 4.0 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 1.6 |
| Elevation M: | 472 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1549 |
| Population Total: | 1135 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Density Km2: | 4.3 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 11.2 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code(s) |
| Postal Code: | 49911 (Bessemer)
49947 (Marenisco)
49959 (Ramsay)
49968 (Wakefield) |
| Area Code: | 906 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 26-07980[1] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1625929 |
Bessemer Township is a civil township of Gogebic County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, its population was 1,135.[2]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 115.4sqmi, of which 113.8sqmi is land and 1.6sqmi (1.35%) is water.
Communities
- Anvil Location is a community established in 1886, associated with an iron mine, the Anvil Mine, operated by Newport Mining Company. Production at this mine spanned from 1887 to 1957, 70 years of production. It had a post office from 1918 to 1971.[3]
- The City of Bessemer is situated within the township, but is administratively autonomous.
- Dunham was an unincorporated community centered on a station on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. There was a plant of the Ashland Iron and Steel Company here. It had a Post Office from 1902 until 1911.[4]
- Harding Location borders the southern parameters of the township, a farming community. Although some of this land is still used for farming, it is small compared to past years.
- Puritan Location is the westernmost populated community, established in 1886. Its mine, the Ruby was operated by Oliver Mining Company and was the first of the major iron mines on the Gogebic Range to close in 1941. It had the largest public school edifice in the township, constructed in 1920 and continued operating through the school year of 1958–59. It had a Post Office from 1910 until 1953.[5]
- Ramsay is an unincorporated community within the township at . It is on the Black River just south of U.S. Highway 2 a few miles west of Wakefield and a few miles east of Bessemer.
Keystone Arch Bridge
The Keystone Arch Bridge in Ramsay cost $48,322 (equivalent to $ in). The Chicago & Northwestern Railway built it in 1891, using limestone quarried in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. It is 45feet long, 44feet wide, and 57feet tall with wing walls of .[6] Stone arch bridges are a rarity in Michigan.[7]
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,176 people. By 2020, its population was 1,135.
Notes and References
- Web site: U.S. Census website . . January 31, 2008 .
- Web site: Explore Census Data . 2023-12-10 . data.census.gov.
- Book: Romig, Walter . 1986 . Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities . Great Lakes Books Series . Detroit . . 26 . 978-0814318386 .
- .
- Web site: Notification Service: Post Offices . PostalHistory.com . September 15, 2016 .
- Book: The Upper Peninsula of Michigan: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites . United States Department of the Interior . Charles K. . Hyde . Diane B. . Abbott . Historic American Engineering Record . 1978 . 183 . 9781528454063 .
- Web site: National Register of Historic Places registration form . Indian Lake Road Stone Arch Bridge . Robert O. . Christensen . May 2005 . June 5, 2023 .
