Caspian is a city in Iron 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 so ...

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, ...

. The population was 906 at the time of the 2010 census and 805 in 2020. The city has an Italian heritage.

History

The location first received a station on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in 1884 and has been known by the names of Spring Valley and Newtown. Caspian was founded and platted with the name Palatka in 1901. It was a headquarters for a mining company, Voroner Mining Company. Voroner operated three mines, Baltic, Caspian, and Fogarty mines. With the expansion of the mines, a second adjacent village named Caspian was founded in 1908. The post office moved there. The location was poor and a new adjacent village called New Caspian was formed in 1909. The whole area was incorporated as the village of Caspian in 1918. Caspian became a city in 1949.

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.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Caspian 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 cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 906 people, 430 households, and 226 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 527 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, and 2.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to th ...

of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 430 households, of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.4% were non-families. 41.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age in the city was 46.4 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.5% were from 25 to 44; 28.2% were from 45 to 64; and 23.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 997 people, 470 households, and 266 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 518 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.09%

, 0.30%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.30% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races;

or Latino of any race were 0.30% of the population. Culturally, 26.6% were of

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

, 13.8%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 10.9% Polish, 9.2% Finnish, 8.4% Swedish and 6.4% French ancestry. There were 470 households, out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were

living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were non-families. 40.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.83. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 25.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $24,524, and the median income for a family was $31,528. Males had a median income of $25,446 versus $16,813 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $14,544. About 12.5% of families and 18.3% 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 ...

, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Caspian operates a police department and has fire service from the Caspian / Gaastra Volunteer Fire Department.

References

{{Coord, 46, 03, 51, N, 88, 37, 53, W, type:city_region:US-MI, display=title Cities in Iron County, Michigan 1918 establishments in Michigan 1949 establishments in Michigan