Houghton (; ) is the largest city and

seat of government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...

of Houghton County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. Located on the

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula ( , sometimes locally ) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of "Copper Country." As o ...

, Houghton is the largest city in the

Copper Country The Copper Country is an area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States, including Keweenaw County, Michigan, Houghton, Baraga and Ontonagon counties as well as part of Marquette County. The area is so named as copper mining was ...

region. It is the fifth-largest city in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

, with a population of 8,386 at the 2020 census. Houghton is the principal city of the Houghton micropolitan area, which includes all of Houghton and

Keweenaw County Keweenaw County (, ; , ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, the state's northernmost county. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the ...

. The city of Houghton and the county were named after

Douglass Houghton Douglass Houghton (September 21, 1809 – October 13, 1845) was an American geologist and physician, primarily known for his exploration of the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. It was the site of a copper boom and extensive copper mining beginnin ...

, an American

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, primarily known for his exploration of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Houghton has been listed as one of the "100 Best Small Towns in America" despite it being considered a city. Houghton is home to Michigan Technological University, a public research college founded in 1885. Michigan Tech hosts a yearly

Winter Carnival Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures d ...

in February, drawing thousands of visitors from around the world.

History

Native Americans mined copper in and around what would later be Houghton thousands of years before European settlement. "French explorers had noted... tsexistence n the areaas early as the seventeenth century, nd in1772 Alexander Henry had prospected for copper on the

Ontonagon River The Ontonagon River ( ) is a river flowing into Lake Superior at the village of Ontonagon, on the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The main stem of the river is long''The American Rivers Outstanding Rivers List'', Sec ...

near

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Many Cornish and

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

immigrants arrived in the Houghton area to work in the copper mines in the mining boom that made

on the Keweenaw Peninsula; both groups have had a great influence on the culture and cuisine of the local area. The Finns and others called much of the area

Copper Island Copper Island is a local name given to the northern part of the Keweenaw Peninsula (projecting northeastward into Lake Superior at the western end of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States of America), separated from the rest of the Kewe ...

. Smaller numbers of

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

immigrants moved to Houghton, while more of them settled elsewhere in Houghton County. The last nearby mines closed in the late 1960s, but a school founded in 1885 by the

Michigan State Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution ...

to teach metallurgy and mining engineering, the Michigan College of Mines, continues today under the name of Michigan Technological University and is the primary employer in the city. The first known European settler of Houghton was named

Ransom Shelden Ransom Bird Shelden Sr. (July 7, 1814 – May 17, 1878) was the founder of Houghton, a city in the county of Houghton County, Michigan. Early life Shelden was born in Essex County, New York on July 7, 1814. Shelden's father George Shelden w ...

, who set up a store named Ransom's near Portage Lake, though it is unclear whether this was in the same building as the 1852 Shelden and Shafer drugs, sometimes described as "the first commercial building constructed in Houghton," which Shelden owned with his son Ransom B. The main street of Houghton, variously called "Sheldon Avenue," (incorrectly) Sheldon Street, and Shelden Avenue, is named for him. In the 1970s the construction of a parking deck and the connection of downtown stores to create Shelden Center significantly changed the downtown. William W. Henderson was appointed the first postmaster of Houghton in 1852. In 1854, Ernest F. Pletschke platted Houghton, and was incorporated as a village in 1861. In Houghton's first days it was said that "only thieves, crooks, murderers and Indians" lived there. The postwar boom and increasing demand for copper wiring fueled the development of Houghton in the 1860s and 1870s. Houghton gained in importance as a port with the opening of the Keweenaw Waterway in 1873, the waterway being the cumulative dredging and extension of the Portage Lake, Portage Shipping Canal and Lily Pond so as to isolate the northern part of the Keweenaw Peninsula into Copper Island. By 1880 Houghton had become "a burgeoning city" and in 1883, the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

was extended from Marquette. 1909 saw the founding of what would later become Portage Lake District Library. During the bitter

Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914 Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-or ...

, the

Michigan National Guard The Michigan National Guard consists of the Michigan Army National Guard and the Michigan Air National Guard. The State adjutant general is Major general Paul D. Rogers. Units Michigan Army National Guard units include: * Recruiting Office: Ba ...

was called in after the sheriff petitioned the governor. Houghton was the birthplace of professional ice hockey in the United States when the Portage Lakers were formed in 1903. Houghton is the home of the Portage Lake Pioneers Senior Hockey Team. The team's home ice is

Dee Stadium Dee Stadium, also called The Dee, is an ice hockey arena in Houghton, Michigan, that replaced, and is located on the same site as, the Amphidrome. It is regarded as the birthplace of professional hockey, and is the seventh oldest indoor ice rin ...

, named after James R. Dee. Dee Stadium was originally called the Amphidrome, before it was severely damaged in a 1927 fire. Houghton was incorporated as a city in 1970. In the winter of 2001, Houghton was the site of one of the first lumitalos (Finnish temporary snow houses) to be constructed in the United States.

Philatelic history

On October 28, 2002, the first day of issue ceremony was held in Houghton for the "

snowman A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a man often built in regions with sufficient snowfall and is a common winter tradition. In many places, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs of different sizes with some additional ...

stamps" issued by the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

. One of the 2006 United States Postal Service snowflake stamps ("photographed in Houghton by Caltech physicist Kenneth Libbrecht using a digital camera and special microscope") were unveiled in Houghton. A pictorial postmark commemorating

2007, "Ancient Worlds Come to Play in Snowy Drifts of Modern Day", was applied at the Winter Carnival temporary station in Michigan Technological University's Memorial Union Building, February 10, 2007. Houghton, Michigan panorama c1900

Geography

The city is located on the south shore of the Keweenaw Waterway, primarily "on rolling wooded hills less than a mile" across Portage Lake." from

Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...

. The city is bounded on the east by Portage Township and Pilgrim, on the west by Dakota Heights and on the south by Hurontown and Isle Royale Location, unincorporated communities that are part of Portage Township; and also on the west by Adams Township. Houghton is named after

, discoverer of

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

nearby. Houghton is also the home of Michigan Technological University. The city is served by

Houghton County Memorial Airport Houghton County Memorial Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) southwest of the central business district of Calumet, a village in Houghton County, Michigan, United States. The ai ...

in nearby Oneco. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. In the

West Houghton Westhoughton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester.West Houghton Park, containing an outdoor ice rink and lawn tennis courts. Along Portage Lake is the Raymond Kestner Waterfront Recreation Area, the principal feature of which is a large " Chutes and Ladders"

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...

; it also includes Houghton Beach. Along the waterfront, in the area that used to be occupied by the railroad tracks, runs the "flat, paved"Art and Music Festival May 2005
/ref>

Waterfront Trail Stretching over 3600 km (2236 miles) from Prince Township, west of Sault Ste. Marie, to the Quebec border, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is a signed route of interconnecting roads and off-road trails joining over 150 communities and First Na ...

for bikers and pedestrians; at one end of this is the Houghton RV Park, at the other end the Nara Nature Park and midway along this corridor is " Mattila Square". Prince's Point is also along this trail. Veterans Park is just across the

Portage Lake Lift Bridge The Portage Lake Lift Bridge (officially the Houghton–Hancock Bridge) connects the cities of Hancock and Houghton, in the US state of Michigan. It crosses Portage Lake, a portion of the waterway which cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula with a ...

from Hancock, and contains the memorial to the Houghton Company, which fought in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Houghton is the headquarters for

Isle Royale National Park Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan ...

. The Portage Lift Bridge connects

and Houghton, Michigan, by crossing over Portage Lake, which is part of the river and canal system that crosses the entire peninsula. The Portage Lift Bridge is the world's heaviest and widest double-decked vertical lift bridge. Its center span "lifts" to provide of clearance for ships. Since rail traffic was discontinued in the Keweenaw, the lower deck is used to accommodate

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

traffic in the winter. This is the only land based link between the north and south section of the Keweenaw peninsula, and is crucial.

Climate

Houghton 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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Dfb'') but the (typically) long and snowy (due to lake-effect snow, with an average of ) winters make the city feel as though it is in a climate much farther north. It holds the distinction of having the third-most (behind

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

and

International Falls International Falls (sometimes referred to as I-Falls) is a city in and the county seat of Koochiching County, Minnesota. The population was 5,802 at the time of the 2020 census. International Falls is located on the Rainy River directly acro ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

) maxima below of any incorporated city in the contiguous US, with the top temperature failing to reach freezing on 100.9 days per year. It is sometimes said that Houghton has “two seasons: winter’s here and winter’s coming.” While Houghton's winters may be the subject of humor, residents take the subject of snow and winter very seriously. Houghton is one of the premier “Winter Cities” found anywhere. A “ Winter City” is a community that accommodates winter, celebrates it, and whose residents generally enjoy the season by participating in a variety of outdoor activities. Among those activities are cross country skiing, snow-shoeing, ice fishing, snowmobiling, ice skating and outdoor ice hockey, among other activities. Houghton celebrates winter through the “Winter Carnival” organized by Michigan Tech every year in February. Houghton's summer climate tends to be especially pleasant, as hot temperatures are often moderated by the cool waters of nearby Lake Superior. The city's record high temperature of was recorded July 7, 1988; this is the only day in the city's history with a temperature over . Temperatures below are also relatively infrequent due to the moderating effect of the lake, being reached only on 18.3 nights per year as against over fifty at International Falls. The coldest temperature on record is , set on February 9, 1951. The heaviest monthly snow total was in December 1978; the winter of 1978–1979 saw of snow fall, making it the snowiest in 109 years of continuous records at the county airport (1891-2000). The greatest snow depth recorded was at the end of February 1937; in only two winters between 1891–1892 and 1999–2000 (1925–26 with and 1932–33 with ) did the snow depth never reach at least two feet ().

People and culture

Every summer, the city of Houghton hosts a festival known as "Bridgefest", to commemorate the building of the

; this is often held in conjunction with "Seafoodfest". Every fall, the Parade of Nations takes place in downtown Houghton to commemorate the ethnic diversity of Michigan Technological University. "Strawberry Fest" is held in neighboring Chassell every summer, which not only celebrates the

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

, but also includes an art market with paintings, photos, sculptures, and crafts. The city houses two museums. The Carnegie Museum, located in the former Portage Lake District Library building, contains photographs from the Raffaelli Historical Photo Collection, other artifacts on the history of the local area, a mural depicting the history 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 ...

, Ontonagon, Baraga and

Keweenaw The Keweenaw Peninsula ( , sometimes locally ) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of "Copper Country." As ...

Counties and exhibits of artwork. The

AE Seaman Mineral Museum The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, currently located on the campus of Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, is the official mineral museum of the state of Michigan and is a heritage site of the Keweenaw National Historical Park. Th ...

, state mineral museum of Michigan, is located on the campus of Michigan Technological University. Houghton is often the host of winter sporting events, due to its long winters and many ski hills. The 2006

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

Junior Olympics took place in Houghton. The US National Championships for

Nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the Ski binding, binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe ...

took place in Houghton in January 2007. In addition, the International

Frisbee A frisbee (pronounced ), also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item that is generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitive ...

Tournament (IFT) takes place every year in Houghton and the roll-out of the distance events of the Keweenaw Chain Drive bike races of Houghton and Hancock takes place in downtown Houghton. Other winter events focus around Michigan Technological University. Michigan Tech hosts a yearly Winter Carnival in which thousands of visitors come to see snow sculptures built by members of fraternities, sororities, other student organizations, as well as a few community groups, and participate in the week-long celebration. Students at the university also receive several days of vacation for Carnival. As part of Winter Carnival 2006, the city of Houghton and the university broke three world records: the largest

snowball A snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and pressing the snow together to compact it into a ball. Snowballs are often used in games such as snowball fights. A snowball may also be a large ...

, the largest

snowball fight A snowball fight is a physical game in which balls of snow are thrown with the intention of hitting somebody else. The game is similar to dodgeball in its major factors, though typically less organized. This activity is primarily played during ...

, and the largest number of people making

snow angel A snow angel is a design, made in fresh snow, by lying on one's back and moving one's arms up and down, and one's legs from side to side, to form the shape of an angel. Technique The creation of the snow angel is a simple process. The first s ...

s in one place. They currently still hold two of these records: largest snowball and largest snowball fight. ''

The Daily Mining Gazette ''The Daily Mining Gazette'' is a newspaper published in Houghton, Michigan. The paper is also distributed over most of the Upper Peninsula and some northern parts of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is a daily Monday through Friday, with an ...

'' (formerly ''The Mining Gazette'') is a daily newspaper published in Houghton. The town is sometimes referred to by locals as "Hoton" or "Ho-town." "Hoton" is even stenciled on city property. Since Houghton and

are very near each other, their combined area is often referred to as "Houghton-Hancock," though the towns are often fierce rivals, something particularly manifested by the sports rivalry between

Houghton High School Houghton High School is a high school in Houghton, Michigan. It is located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Houghton High School and Houghton Middle School share a building. History Three high schools predate the current building, all located on ...

and Hancock Central. Tourism is a major industry in Houghton. Summer tourism is very popular, especially among those wishing to tour old mines, visit various historical sites, and camp. Winter tourism is also very active from November through April, for snowmobiling, skiing and other winter sports.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2020, there were 8,386 people residing in the city, living in 2,533 households with an average of 2.30 people per household.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 7,708 people, 2,380 households, and 907 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 2,516 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1.0%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.4% Native American, 11.2%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.4% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

residents of any race were 1.8% of the population. There were 2,380 households, of which 18.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 61.9% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age in the city was 22.1 years. 10.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 56.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16.1% were from 25 to 44; 10.5% were from 45 to 64; and 7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 64.3% male and 35.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 7,010 people, 2,114 households, and 877 families residing in the city. The

was 1,625.5 per square mile (628.0/km²). There were 2,222 housing units at an average density of 515.2 per square mile (199.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.24%

, 1.87% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 6.79%

, 0.01%

, 0.24% from

, and 1.44% from two or more races.

of any race were 0.77% of the population. 16.4% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 12.7%

, 8.2%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 8.0%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, 6.0%

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

and 5.1%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

ancestry according to

Census 2000 The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

. 94.8% spoke

, 1.8%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and 1.2%

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

as their first language. There were 2,114 households, out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.6% were

living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 58.5% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were one-person households, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.94. In the city, the population was spread out, with 12.0% under the age of 18, 55.2% from 18 to 24, 15.3% from 25 to 44, 10.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 160.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 173.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $21,186, and the median income for a family was $41,779. Males had a median income of $36,161 versus $28,639 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $11,750. About 20.3% of families and 36.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 21.9% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over.

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) Schools. Houghton is also the home of Michigan Technological University.

Transportation

Highways

* courses north to

and Copper Harbor. To the south and east US 41 routes to L'Anse and Marquette. * connects Houghton southwest to

US 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporatin ...

. * provides a loop route from US 41 in neighboring Hancock to

McLain State Park F.J. McLain State Park is a public recreation area on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Houghton County, Michigan. The state park is located on M-203 halfway between Hancock and Calumet. It is about from each city. The park's offshore sights inclu ...

. and then back to US 41.

Bus

Indian Trails Indian Trails, Inc. is an inter-city bus company based in Owosso, Michigan, with offices in Romulus (in Metro Detroit) and Kalamazoo. History Indian Trails was founded in 1910 in Owosso as the Phillips-Taylor Livery Service, whose main busi ...

bus lines operates daily intercity bus service between

Hancock, Michigan Hancock is a city in Houghton County, Michigan, Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is across the Keweenaw Waterway from the city of Houghton, Michigan, Houghton on the Keweenaw Peninsula. The population was 4,634 at the 2010 United ...

and

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. Houghton Motor Transit operates both a demand bus and a route bus throughout Houghton and in nearby parts of Portage Township; there are also night trips to Mont Ripley in Ripley.

Ferry

Houghton is the port of departure for

. Cruise ships on the great lakes formerly (in the 1950s) used to frequently stop in Houghton, but this is now an exceedingly rare occurrence.

Airport

Houghton is served by the

, which has limited commercial service. Houghton was formerly served by airship. A

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

departs from Houghton to Isle Royale National Park.

Snowmobiling

Snowmobiling is a major winter activity in the area, both locally (snowmobiles are often the best available means of transportation after a blizzard) and as a tourist industry. The Bill Nichols Snowmobile Trail has a terminus in Houghton.

Local radio

WMPL WMPL (920 AM, ''Wimple'') is a radio station located in Hancock, Michigan which broadcasts a talk radio format during the day and a sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast ...

AM 920 * WCCY (AM) 1400 *

WKMJ-FM WKMJ-FM (93.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format, licensed to Hancock, Michigan. Mix 93 airs Westwood One's Hot AC format with a local morning drive show during the day on weekdays. Mix93 is also the exclusive rad ...

FM 93.5 * WOLV 97.7 *

WUPY WUPY 101.1 FM (also called "Y-101") is a radio station broadcasting a country music format in Ontonagon, Michigan, where it is licensed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The station is owned by J & J Broadcasting. The studios are ...

FM 101.1 *

WHKB WHKB (102.3 FM, "K-Bear 102") is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. The studios are at 313 E. Montezuma, Houghton. It shares this location with its sister stations, WOLV and WCCY. Licensed to Houghton, Michigan Houghton ...

FM 102.3 * WMTU-FM 91.9 *

WGGL-FM WGGL-FM (91.1 FM) is an NPR member station in Houghton, Michigan. It first began broadcasting in 1968 and has been owned and operated by Minnesota Public Radio since 1982. It carries a mix of classical music and NPR news-talk programming, runni ...

91.1

Neighborhoods

Houghton is generally said to be divided into East Houghton, the Central Houghton area (which includes the

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

) and West Houghton. *East Houghton runs from Franklin Square to the eastern city limits. A principal street is College Avenue, characterized by Colonial Revival homes, which formerly ran from urbanized Houghton "farms, villas and mining operations... and the Michigan School of Mines, now Michigan Technological University;" today the main campus of MTU has taken over much of the College Avenue area and some of East Houghton generally, though it remains a primarily residential neighborhood. (However, this has changed somewhat with construction of the

Pearl Street Mall The Pearl Street Mall (also referred to as Pearl Street, or Downtown Boulder) is a four-block pedestrian mall in Boulder, Colorado. The pedestrian area stretches from 11th Street to 15th Street along Pearl Street and is home to a number of busines ...

. The Chassell Sands, which are usually considered apart from it, are partially zoned "Industrial.") It is home to East Houghton Park. The park was established in 1974 and contains

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

courts and

equipment. The Chassell sands may be technically said to be part of this neighborhood, but are usually considered as apart from it, as is

Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward ...

-designed Daniell Heights, married-student housing at Tech. *Central Houghton is a relatively urbanized area of the town, generally considered as being roughly between Franklin Square and the Portage Lake Lift Bridge. The "heart of Houghton's commercial district" is characterized by

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

(frequently mined from Jacobsville or Portage Entry) buildings with the frequent "classical detail"; it is centered on Shelden Avenue, the downtown lying in Central Houghton between Montezuma Avenue and Lake Street / Brew Alley / Lakeshore Drive, which are generally considered one continuous street. South of this area are a series of streets with small wooden houses, primarily from mining days, rising over the arc of the hills that the city is built upon. Northward is the waterfront, which has several

dockyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...

s, and older buildings alongside it. While Corktown is the area around St. Ignatius Catholic Church, this neighborhood is rarely spoken of today. *West Houghton is the site of more recent construction compared to the other two neighborhoods. Therefore, the area has a more modern,

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

feel to it than the other areas. This includes larger middle-class houses built with large wooded lots between them. Most prominent in this area, however, are the retail stores which are becoming the new commercial heart of the city. These include

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

and several recent strip malls, with numerous small stores housed under a single roof. Several prominent beach areas are located on this side of the city. It is often referred to by locals as "ShopKo Heights (Sho Hi)," the "neighborhood behind ShopKo," or "ShopKoville" as a ShopKo store had been located there prior to the company's closure.

Micropolitan area

The Houghton, Michigan micropolitan area is a statistical aggregation of the United States census bureau.

In popular culture

Houghton figures in the novels ''A Superior Death'' and ''Winter Study'' by

Nevada Barr Nevada Barr (born March 1, 1952) is an American author of mystery fiction. She is known for her Anna Pigeon series, which is primarily set in a series of national parks and other protected areas of the United States. Early life Although Barr w ...

and the Robin Hamilton mystery series by Nancy Barr. Much of Ander Monson's ''Other Electricities'' takes place in Houghton.

Notable people

Norm Breyfogle Norman Keith Breyfogle (; February 27, 1960 – September 24, 2018) was an American artist, best known for his comic book art on DC Comics' Batman franchise from 1987 to 1995. During this time, he co-created the villains Ventriloquist and Ratca ...

, American comic book artist *

George Brunet George Stuart Brunet (June 8, 1935 – October 25, 1991) was an American professional baseball pitcher who also went on to a Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame career in Mexico. Brunet pitched for nine different Major League clubs during ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher for nine teams *

Avis DeVoto Avis is Latin for bird and may refer to: Aviation * Auster Avis, a 1940s four-seat light aircraft developed from the Auster Autocrat (abandoned project) *Avro Avis, a two-seat biplane * Scottish Aeroplane Syndicate Avis, an early aircraft built b ...

, American culinary editor, book reviewer, and cook * Dolly Gray, baseball player,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

and

Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Chuck Klingbeil Charles E. Klingbeil (November 2, 1965 – June 19, 2018) was an American football and Canadian football defensive tackle in the National Football League and Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders as an undrafted ...

, former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

player for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

Nancy Harkness Love Nancy Harkness Love (February 14, 1914 – October 22, 1976), born Hannah Lincoln Harkness, was an American pilot and airplane commander during World War II. She earned her pilot's license at age 16. She worked as a test pilot and air racer in t ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

pilot * William A. Longacre, archaeologist * P.J. Olsson, rock singer *

Eugene Parker Eugene Newman Parker (June 10, 1927 – March 15, 2022) was an American solar and plasma physicist. In the 1950s he proposed the existence of the solar wind and that the magnetic field in the outer Solar System would be in the shape of a Pa ...

, solar astrophysicist * Percy Loomis Sperr, historical photographer

References

* *

External links

City of HoughtonThe Daily Mining Gazette Web site
{{Authority control . Cities in Houghton County, Michigan County seats in Michigan Populated places established in 1854 1854 establishments in Michigan Finnish-American culture in Michigan