Calumet Charter Township, Michigan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Calumet Township, Michigan
Charter township
Charter Township of Calumet
Community of Kearsarge along U.S. Route 41
Location within Houghton County and the administered villages of Calumet (1), Copper City (2), and Laurium (3)
Calumet Township, Michigan Location in Michigan
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Houghton
Established	1866
Area
• Total	33.3 sq mi (86.2 km2)
• Land	33.2 sq mi (85.9 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation	1,191 ft (363 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	6,263
• Density	196/sq mi (75.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	49805 (Allouez) 49913 (Calumet) 49942 (Kearsarge)
Area code(s)	906
FIPS code	26-12600
GNIS feature ID	1626023

Calumet Township is a special kind of local government area called a charter township. It is located in Houghton County, which is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In 2020, about 6,263 people lived here. Even though the population has gone down, Calumet Township is still the largest township in Houghton County.

History of Calumet Township

People have lived and worked in the Calumet Township area for a very long time.

Early Mining and Settlement

Thousands of years ago, Native Americans started mining for native copper in this area. This shows that the land was important for its natural resources even back then.

Calumet Township was officially created on November 27, 1866. The first meeting for the township was held a few weeks later, on December 17, 1866. This meeting took place at the main office of the Calumet Mining Company.

Copper Mining Era

The Wolverine Mine opened in 1882. It started producing a lot of copper in 1890. This mine was a big part of the area's history until it closed in 1925. Today, the old Wolverine Mine is known among people who collect minerals. You can find interesting samples of copper, silver, epidote, and quartz there.

Communities in Calumet Township

Calumet Township is home to several smaller communities. Some of these are villages with their own local governments, while others are unincorporated communities.

• Albion Station is a small community located south of Calumet.
• Blue Jacket is another unincorporated community. Its name might come from a Shawnee chief.
• Calumet is an important incorporated village within the township. It was once known as the "Queen City of the Copper Country" because it was the biggest city during the mining boom. It's still the main center of the Calumet area. The village was first called Red Jacket but changed its name to Calumet in 1929.
• Centennial is an unincorporated community.
• Centennial Heights is a community on a hill, offering views of the Village of Calumet.
• Centennial Mine was first called Schoolcraft. It's located north of the Calumet and Hecla Mine.
• Copper City is an incorporated village in the township. It's unique because you have to go through another county to reach it.
• Florida or Florida Location is an unincorporated community.
• Hecla is an unincorporated community.
• Kearsarge is an unincorporated community. It was named after the USS Kearsarge, a famous ship.
• Lakeview is an unincorporated community.
• Laurium is another incorporated village in the township.
• Mayflower District is an area that includes the Old Colony District. It's named after the Mayflower Mining Company.
• New Raymbaultown was established in 1900.
• Newtown is an unincorporated community.
• Phillipsville is a small community with a few homes, a rock shop, and an antique business.
• Raymbaultown Location or Old Raymbaultown was named after Charles Raymbault, a French Jesuit Missionary.
• Red Jacket Shaft is an unincorporated community.
• South Hecla is an unincorporated community.
• Swedetown got its name because many early settlers here were from Sweden.
• Tammela is located just north of Centennial Heights.
• Wolverine is an unincorporated community in the northern part of Houghton County. It was named after the Wolverine Mine, which was once one of the top copper-producing mines in the Lake Superior region.
• Yellow Jacket is a community next to Tamarack in Osceola Township.

Things to See and Do

Calumet Township has many interesting places to visit and fun activities for everyone.

Important Landmarks

• The Calumet Colosseum is a historic building. It's the oldest indoor ice rink in the world that is still being used! You can go there to skate or watch hockey games.
• The Calumet Theatre is a very special place. It's the oldest opera house in the United States that was built and is owned by a town. It's a symbol of the Calumet area's rich history.
• The Calumet Visitor Center is located in the Union Building. It gives helpful information to visitors about the area.
• The Italian Hall Memorial Park in Calumet is a quiet place to remember a sad event. It honors those who died in the Italian Hall disaster on Christmas Eve in 1913.
• The U.S.S. Kearsarge Veterans Memorial in Kearsarge is a memorial dedicated to veterans. It's named after the USS Kearsarge ship.

Parks and Outdoor Fun

Calumet Township has many parks, playgrounds, and places for outdoor activities.

• Agassiz Field in Calumet is a football field.
• Agassiz Park, also in Calumet, has a basketball court and horseshoe pits. There's also a monument to Alexander Agassiz, who the park is named after.
• The Calumet Township Indoor Shooting Range offers a safe place for supervised target practice shooting.
• The Calumet Township Recreation Park is a new park that is still being built. It already has a children's playground and will have more sports courts and walking paths in the future.
• The Calumet Township Waterworks Park & Beach Area is a large park on Lake Superior. It has a beautiful beach, picnic areas, a playground, and courts for Volleyball and basketball. There's also a ramp to help people get to the water.
• The Copper City Playground Area is in the village of Copper City.
• Daniell Park in Laurium was given to the town in 1937. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped build it. It has hosted summer concerts since 1985.
• The George Gipp Memorial Park in Laurium honors The Gipper, a famous person from Laurium.
• The George Gipp Recreation Area, also in Laurium, has a baseball field, basketball courts, and an ice arena.
• The Heights Park & Playground is in Centennial Heights.
• Kearsarge Park has a basketball court and a children's playground.
• Legion Field is a softball field (it used to be a soccer field) just outside Calumet.
• The Lions Club Park, also known as Calumet Lake Park, is next to Calumet Lake. It has a walking trail, picnic tables, and a place to launch canoes or kayaks.
• The Swedetown Recreation Area is a huge park with lots of trails for skiing and biking. It also has a popular sledding and snowboarding hill. In the summer, people enjoy hiking and running here.
• The Wolverine Field is the baseball field in the community of Wolverine.

Geography

Calumet Township covers an area of about 86.2 square kilometers (33.3 square miles). Most of this area, about 85.9 square kilometers (33.2 square miles), is land. The rest, about 0.3 square kilometers (0.1 square miles), is water.

Population Information

The population of Calumet Township has changed over the years. Here's how it has grown and shrunk:

In 2000, there were 6,997 people living in the township. The population density was about 75.6 people per square kilometer. Most people (98.37%) were White. Other groups included Native American, African American, and Asian people. About 0.89% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

Many people in Calumet Township have roots from different countries. In 2000, the largest groups were:

• 40.7% Finnish
• 10.1% German
• 8.1% Italian
• 6.8% French
• 6.2% English

The average age of people in the township in 2000 was 39 years old. About 25.8% of the population was under 18, and 19.9% were 65 or older.