Bessemer is a city in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,805. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Gogebic County. The city is surrounded by Bessemer Township, but the two are administered autonomously. It is on U.S. Route 2 with

Ironwood Ironwood is a common name for many woods that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is denser than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in English ma ...

to the west and

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

to the east. The Big Powderhorn and Snowriver ski resorts are located within a few miles of Bessemer. Cross-country skiing and snowmobiling are also very popular in this area, due to

lake-effect snow Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises through colde ...

influenced by nearby

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

; the area is often referred to as "Big Snow Country." Recreational opportunities in the summer months include Bluff Valley Park, the scenic Black River Falls, and access to the Iron Belle Trail.

History

In 1880, a hunter and trapper Richard Langford, discovered iron ore under an overturned birch tree. However, Captain N. D. Moore is credited with disclosing the ore which led to the development of the Colby property. Mining began in 1883. By 1884, the Milwaukee Lake Shore and Western Railroad (later the Chicago and Northwestern) was being built from Antigo, WI to Ashland, WI by way of the new mines. The railroad company plotted the town of Bessemer in 1884. On June 4, 1886 Gogebic County was separated from Ontonagon County. In March 1887, 360 voting members assembled and voted to organize the village of Bessemer. In the same year Gogebic County was officially created by the Michigan Legislature. Also in the year Bessemer and

called an election to see which city would be the county seat and also have the Gogebic County Courthouse.

men traveling to Bessemer to vote were made drunk and the train did not stop at the voting site.

lost and Bessemer gained the county seat. From 1884 to December 31, 1958, a period of seventy-five years, the iron ore shipment from all of Gogebic County totaled over 245 million tons. In 1966 the last mine in Bessemer, the Peterson Mine, closed. Many left the area to work in car factories in Kenosha, and the local economy underwent a serious decline. Bessemer is named for Sir Henry Bessemer (1813-1898), English inventor of steel manufacturing.

Government

Bessemer is operated by an elected 5-member city council with day-to-day operations run by an appointed city manager. Staff also consists of administrative staff, public works department, and library staff. Bessemer also belongs to the Gogebic Range Water Authority. City Council * Mayor Peter Tacconelli * Mayor Pro-Tem Mark Movrich * Councilperson Adam Zak * Councilperson Linda Nelson * Councilperson Mark Serwe City Manager * Mandy Lake (November 12, 2024 - ) * Jennifer Adams (2022 - 2024) * Charly Loper (2016 - 2022) 2009-0617-CityHall-Bessemer

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land. Majority of Bessemer is situated on the north side of Colby Hill and the city consists of many hills and valleys.

Demographics

According to the 2020 census, its population was 1,805.

News/media

Newspapers

* ''

Ironwood Daily Globe The ''Globe'' is a weekly newspaper based in Ironwood, Michigan. The ''Globe'' serves Gogebic and Ontonagon counties in Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Uppe ...

'' * ''Wakefield News/Bessemer Pick & Axe''

Area radio station coverage

* WIMI 99.7 FM (Classic Rock)-

* WJMS 590 AM (Talk/Country)-

* WUPM 106.9 FM (Top 40/Variety)-

* WHRY 1450 AM/102.9 FM (Oldies)- Hurley * WRJO 94.5 FM (Oldies)- Eagle River * WJJH 96.7 FM (Classic Rock)- Ashland * WBSZ 93.3 FM (Country)- Ashland * WUPY 101.1 FM (Country)- Ontonagon * WUWS 90.9 FM (

Wisconsin Public Radio Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is a network of 38 public radio radio station, stations in the state of Wisconsin. WPR's network is divided into two distinct services, the ''WPR News Network'' and the ''WPR Music Network''. History Wisconsin Publ ...

)- Ashland * WHBM 90.3 FM (

)- Park Falls

Local television station coverage

WLUC WLUC-TV (channel 6) is a television station licensed to Marquette, Michigan, United States, serving the Central and Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan as an affiliate of NBC and Fox. Owned by Gray Media, the station has studios on US 41/ M-28 ...

TV 6 ( Marquette)-NBC/FOX * WNMU ( Marquette)-PBS *

KDLH KDLH (channel 3) is a television station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Superior, Wisconsin–licensed dual NBC/CBS affiliate KBJR-TV, channel 6 (and its Chisholm, Minneso ...

(

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

)-CBS * KBJR (

)-NBC * WDIO (

)-ABC *

KQDS-TV KQDS-TV (channel 21) is a television station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Coastal Television Broadcasting Company, the station has studios on London Road in Duluth (along I-35), and its transmit ...

(

)-FOX

Transportation

* US Highway 2 is the Upper Peninsula's longest US Highway, stretching from St. Ignace to neighboring

. * County Road 513 (Moore Street/Black River Road) begins in Bessemer at junction with US 2 and runs north to Black River Harbor on the shore of

. A section of the road is designated the Black River National Forest Scenic Byway. * County Road 200 (Old County Road) begins at the southwest end of Bessemer and travels west to Ironwood. Indian Trails provides daily intercity bus service between St. Ignace and Ironwood, while Gogebic County operates a small public bus system, the Gogebic County Transit Authority. Commercial air service is available at the Gogebic-Iron County Airport (IWD) north of Ironwood.

Notable people

Otto Binder Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for '' Captain Ma ...

, science fiction and comic book author (''

Mary Marvel Mary Marvel (also known as Lady Shazam and Mary Shazam) is a fictional character and superheroine originally published by Fawcett Comics and now owned by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze, she first appeared in ''Captain Marvel (DC ...

'', ''

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...

'', and ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

''); born in Bessemer * Kevin Borseth, women's basketball coach at The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; born in Bessemer * Jay W. Johnson, U.S. congressmen for

Wisconsin's 8th congressional district Wisconsin's 8th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northeastern Wisconsin. It has been represented by Republican Tony Wied since November 12, 2024. It was previously vacant from ...

; born in Bessemer * Arthur Redner, halfback for Fielding H. Yost's 1901 "Point-a-Minute" football team; lived in Bessemer * Al Rossi, Olympic bronze medalist in rowing at the 1952 Summer Olympics; born in Bessemer * Richard A. Sofio, Michigan state representative and educator; born in Bessemer.'Richard A. Sofio-obituary,' Ironwood Daily Globe, March 4, 2009, pg. 8

References

External links

''Bessemer Herald,''
Google news archive. —PDFs of 1,343 issues, dating from 1894 to 1970. {{Authority control Cities in Gogebic County, Michigan Cities in Michigan County seats in Michigan 1884 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1884