Hurley, Wisconsin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hurley, Wisconsin
City
Location of Hurley in Iron County, Wisconsin.
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Iron
Area
• Total	3.38 sq mi (8.76 km2)
• Land	3.23 sq mi (8.37 km2)
• Water	0.15 sq mi (0.39 km2)
Elevation	1,496 ft (456 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,558
• Density	444.31/sq mi (171.56/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Zip Code	54534
Area code(s)	715 & 534
FIPS code	55-36525
GNIS feature ID	1566822
Website	https://cityofhurleywi.org

Hurley is a city in and the county seat of Iron County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,558 at the 2020 census. It is located directly across the Montreal River from Ironwood, Michigan.

History

Hurley is located on the Montreal River, the border between Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was founded to serve the interest of both lumbermen and miners. Hurley and adjacent Gile were lumber towns, while nearby mining towns included Montreal, Ironwood, Michigan, Bessemer, Michigan and Wakefield, Michigan.

Hurley took its name from M. A. Hurley, a prominent attorney of Wausau who won a lawsuit for the Northern Chief Iron Company in 1884. The compensation for winning the suit was that he asked for no fee, but only requested that the town involved in the case be named after him. The full name "Glen Hurley" was used for one year, but in 1885, the first name was dropped and the community became known as Hurley.

Henry Meade was the first mayor of Hurley, Wisconsin. John Ankers opened Hurley’s first saloon, and served as Hurley’s first town clerk, first justice of the peace, and first fire chief.

The Gogebic Range Directory of 1888 states: "During the past summer, Hurley was twice visited by terrible fires. The first occurred of June 28 and the second on July 9. These destroyed almost the entire business portion of the city, and at first it was thought that they would prove a crushing blow to its prosperity, but later events have proven that they were blessings in disguise. The wonderful pluck and energy of its businessmen were fully demonstrated when they at once began the erection of fine brick buildings in the place of the wooden ones destroyed. The result has been that the burned portion has been rebuilt with brick and stone, making them nearly fireproof. And Silver Street is one that a much larger city could well be proud of."

Historic locations

The Old Iron County Courthouse (now the Iron County Historical Museum), is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]

The Iron Exchange Bank of Hurley, was the oldest bank of the Gogebic Range. It was organized November 26, 1885. Dr. J.C. Reynolds, the bank’s first president, and his brother, W. S. Reynolds, the bank’s first cashier, were the prime movers in the organization of the institution. Associated with them in the organization were John E. Burton, Alvin E. Tyler, Edward Ryan, Nathaniel J. Moore, James A. Wood, and Shepherd Homans, all men prominent in the mining industry in the area in the early days. By 1925, when it celebrated its 40th anniversary, it had withstood all financial depressions.

The first meat market in Hurley was kept by Ilsey and Knox and was opened in 1885.

The first newspaper in Hurley was the Montreal River Miner which was first published on October 8, 1885. After absorbing the Iron County News in 1950 the two papers names were merged to form the Iron County Miner which is still published as a weekly.

The first hotel was located at the corner of Second Avenue and Silver Street in a log building, with James Guest as the first landlord. It was far from a pretentious affair but answered the purpose and furnished food and shelter for many a pioneer and miner in its day.

The Burton House was an immense four-story frame hostelry, which was a famous gathering place in the latter part of the 19th century. John E. Burton erected the building in 1865. A mining speculator, his original wealth came from the iron range. Later he established offices in New York City and bought up other vast mining interests in Mexico and South America. The Burton Hotel contained 100 rooms, a ballroom, dining room, café, and clubrooms, all highly decorated and furnished with the best of the wood workers’ art of the time, and equipped with the best furniture. The Burton Hotel cost $35,000 to construct, and the furniture cost Burton $10,000. Many noteworthy people stayed at the Burton House. Grover Cleveland registered at the Burton House Saturday, October 5, 1889. By that time he had already served one term as president of the United States. In 1889 when he was in Hurley, he was a New York lawyer. He was elected to the presidency again in 1892.

Burton House

The Burton House was an immense four-story frame hostelry, which was a famous gathering place in the latter part of the 19th century. John E. Burton, of Lake Geneva, erected the building in 1886. A mining speculator, his original wealth came from the iron range. Later he established offices in New York City and bought up other vast mining interests in Mexico and South America. The Burton Hotel contained 100 rooms, a ballroom, dining room, café, and clubrooms, all highly decorated and furnished with the best of the woodworkers' art of the time, and equipped with the best furniture. The Burton Hotel cost $35,000 to construct, and the furniture cost Burton $10,000. Many noteworthy people stayed at the Burton House: including Benjamin Harrison, in 1888, during his campaign for president; the actress Sarah Bernhardt, who made at least three appearances in Hurley; the financier Colgate Hoyt, nephew of James Boorman Colgate, son of the British-American industrialist, Charles Colgate; the actor Edwin Booth (brother of John Wilkes Booth); and author and playwright Edna Ferber. Grover Cleveland registered at the Burton House Saturday, October 5, 1889. By that time he had already served one term as president of the United States. In 1889 when he was in Hurley, he was a New York lawyer and businessman. Cleveland was elected to the presidency again in 1892. The Burton House burned to the ground on February 2, 1947, as the result of an over-heated stove on the first floor VFW meeting room.

Strategic Air Command Radar Bomb Scoring site

In the early 1960s, the US Air Force established a Strategic Air Command (SAC) Radar Bomb Scoring site atop Norrie Hill in neighboring Ironwood, Michigan to track and score high altitude and treetop level simulated bomb runs by B-52s and B-47s on targets in the Hurley area. A monument is erected outside of Hurley to remember six crew members who were killed in two B-47 low level runs in 1961. The Radar Bomb Scoring site was moved to Charlevoix, Michigan in the mid-1960s.

Mining

Hurley and the adjacent communities were founded upon the discovery of iron ore.

In 1965, the last mine in Hurley, the Cary Mine, closed. Following the closing of the Range's mines, many residents left the area, especially to factories in Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the economy of Hurley and the surrounding region went into serious decline. Some of the former iron miners obtained employment at the White Pine Copper Mine, White Pine, Michigan, and commuted to work 60 miles each way.

Geography

Hurley is located at 46°27′1″N 90°11′23″W / 46.45028°N 90.18972°W / 46.45028; -90.18972 (46.450361, -90.189802).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.58 square miles (9.27 km²), of which 3.42 square miles (8.86 km²) is land and 0.16 square miles (0.41 km²) is water.

It is across the state border and the Montreal River from Ironwood, Michigan.

Climate

Hurley has a cool humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), with long, cold winters and short, mild summers. In an average year the temperature drops below 32 °F (0 °C) on 192 days, and below 0 °F (-17.8 °C) on 40 days. Hurley is also one of the snowiest cities in the United States with an average of over 160 inches of snow per year.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,547 people, 771 households, and 360 families residing in the city. The population density was 452.3 inhabitants per square mile (174.6/km²). There were 1,032 housing units at an average density of 301.8 per square mile (116.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.5% White, 0.1% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.8% of the population.

There were 771 households, of which 20.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.1% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 53.3% were non-families. 47.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.89 and the average family size was 2.66.

The median age in the city was 49 years. 16.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.5% were from 25 to 44; 30.3% were from 45 to 64; and 26.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female.

Education

Gogebic Community College, a two-year public community college, is located in adjacent Ironwood, Michigan. It was founded in 1932, and has a student body of approximately 1,000.

The Hurley K-12 School is located just outside of Hurley in the Town of Kimball. It was built in 1991 and serves students from Northern Iron County in Four Year Old Kindergarten through Grade 12. Approximately 550 students are enrolled as of the 2021–2022 school year.

Religion

At various times, Hurley was the site of six Christian and one Jewish house of worship.

Transportation

Roadways

• US 2 runs west to Ashland, Wisconsin and Duluth, Minnesota, intersecting US 51 at the Michigan–Wisconsin border at Ironwood and then goes east to Iron Mountain.
• US 51 terminates at Hurley. Southbound, US 51 routes to Wausau, Wisconsin; where it intersects with Interstate 39.
• WIS 77 starts just at the state line in Hurley and travels southwest.

Transit

Intercity bus service to the city is provided by Indian Trails.

Airport

• KIWD - Gogebic-Iron County Airport – Commercial air service is available.

Railroads

Hurley was served by the Chicago & North Western Flambeau Line with the Flambeau 400 train between Chicago and Ashland, and the Soo Line Railroad [formerly Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad] between Minneapolis and Bessemer.

The Duluth, South Shore, & Atlantic Railroad Line [now Canadian National Railroad] skirted Hurley a few miles to the north. This line originally ran from Superior to Sault Ste Marie.

Media

WHRY-AM and WUPM-FM are the two local radio stations, along with stations from Ironwood, Michigan.

Recreation and tourism

The western terminus of the Iron Belle Trail, a non motorized path, begins in Hurley. The trail runs along the former Soo Line Railroad tracks from Hurley to Ramsay, Michigan. Hurley is located near numerous waterfalls. The SISU Cross Country Ski Race is held each January in neighboring Ironwood, Michigan. The Paavo Nurmi Marathon, one of the first US marathons, is held in Hurley the second Saturday of every August.

Hurley commemorates its Italian heritage at the annual Festivale de Italiano, held every Labor Day weekend.

The National Finnish American Festival Cultural Center (NFAF) is located on US 2, near US 51 south. Viola Turpeninen Day, held annually in the summer, commemorates the legendary Finnish-American accordionist and singer. Other events take place on Mothers' day and Juhannus as well as throughout the year. The NFAF museum is open from April through December.

Hurley is also known for its ATV Hurley Rally held on Memorial Day weekend, a Pumpkin ATV rally held the second weekend of October, and the Red Light Snowmobile Rally. Both attract thousands of visitors to the area each year. At the 2005 ATV rally, a new Guinness World Record was set for the largest ATV parade, with 687 participants.

Riccelli Park is located in Hurley. The park provides picnic and playground areas, as well as the Nestor Laspa pavilion for gatherings. The Felix Patritto baseball field is located adjacent to Riccelli Park.

Popular culture

Looking west at downtown Hurley

A fictionalized version of Hurley was the subject of Edna Ferber's 1934 novel Come and Get It. Ferber did most of her research for the novel while staying at Hurley's Burton House hotel.

Ralph Capone, the older brother of famed Chicago mobster Al Capone, died in Hurley in 1974.

Notable people

See also

In Spanish: Hurley (Wisconsin) para niños