Ironton 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 ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in Charlevoix 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 ...

. The population of the CDP was 148 at the 2020 census. It is located within Eveline Township on a narrow portion of

Lake Charlevoix Lake Charlevoix ( ) is a lake in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the third largest inland lake in the state with a surface area of over 17,200 acres (70 km2) and 56 miles (90 km) of shoreline. The maximum depth in ...

that is traversed by the

Ironton Ferry Ironton Ferry is a four-car cable ferry that crosses a narrow point on the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix in the U.S. state of Michigan in the unincorporated community of Ironton. The ferry connects Ironton, located about from Charlevoix, to B ...

History

In 1879, Robert Cherry settled here along the shores of Pine Lake (now known as

). Cherry worked for the Pine Lake Iron Company of Chicago and built a plant here that opened in 1881. The plant used

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

brought in by barges from 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 ...

and turned it into

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...

. A post office opened in Ironton on January 31, 1881, and the community was platted in 1884. The iron operation ultimately failed in 1893, but the community remained. The post office closed on December 30, 1965. The community of Ironton was listed as a newly-organized census-designated place for the 2010 census, meaning it now has officially defined boundaries and population statistics for the first time.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 Ironton CDP has a total area of , all land. Ironton is located in the western segment of Eveline Township, which is divided by

. The

within the community connects the two segments of the township along a narrow stretch of the lake.

Major highways

* runs south–north through the community.

Demographics

Education

Ironton is served primarily by Charlevoix Public Schools to the northwest in

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...

, while some southwestern portions of the community may be served by

East Jordan Public Schools East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

farther to the south in East Jordan.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Charlevoix County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan Census-designated places in Charlevoix County, Michigan Census-designated places in Michigan Populated places established in 1879 1879 establishments in Michigan