Dakota Heights is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Portage Charter Township, Houghton County in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. It is an

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

surrounded on all four sides by the extreme western part of the city of

Houghton Houghton may refer to: Places Australia * Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide * Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland * Houghton Island (Queensland) Canada * Houghton Townshi ...

(on the fourth by Portage Lake (or, depending on the definition of terms, the Portage Lake Shipping Canal)); it is non-contiguous with any other part of Portage Township. (However, it was formerly served by the water lines of Adams Township.) Living in Dakota Heights is at least sometimes regarded as living "in town" (Houghton).

History

Dakota Heights was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted in 1906 and named after the Dacotah Mining Company, which operated briefly in its vicinity. It provided housing for workers on the

Copper Range Railroad The Copper Range Railroad was a former United States, U.S. Class I railroad that operated from 1899 to 1972 in the western Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan. History The Copper Range Railroad was incorporated in 1899 as a successor to ...

, which had a number of facilities immediately to the north; the company owned most of the housing. It remains "primarily residential," though some businesses have opened (and closed) in it over the years, including a former motel, and currently a podiatrist's office, restaurant

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

, and bank.

Geography

Dakota Heights originally sat at the west end of Houghton's Shelden Avenue. West of Dakota Heights was originally

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, ...

, prior to the development of the M-26 corridor that began in the mid-1970s.

Climate

Dakota Heights has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

but winters are typically long and snowy with much

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 up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up through ...

Environmental issues

Pollution in Huron Creek, arguably from inadequate private septic systems has contributed to the growth of

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

Education

The local school district is

Houghton-Portage Township Schools Houghton-Portage Township Schools ( abbr. HPTS) is a school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, ...

. Students K-12 are served by Houghton Elementary (K-5), Middle (6-8), and High (9-12) school
Houghton-Portage Township Schools
The Rock School formerly served Dakota Heights and the surrounding area.

Infrastructure

Transportation

In 1979 Highway M-26 was rerouted through the community, bisecting it. Park Avenue had formerly served as the main route from Houghton to Atlantic Mine, but this was replaced by the new route of the highway. Houghton Motor Transit operates a demand bus that serves the community, but "curb to curb" services is only for Houghton residents, and as it is outside the

city limit City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...

s of Houghton rates with one terminus in Dakota Heights are higher. However, there are no regularly scheduled route buses operating in the community. A snowmobile trail runs along Dakota Heights' Park Avenue.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Houghton County, Michigan Houghton micropolitan area, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan 1906 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1906