Eagle Harbor is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

located on the north side of the

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the greater landmass of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula projects about northeasterly into Lake Superior, forming Keweena ...

within Eagle Harbor Township, located on the tip of Michigan's northernmost county,

Keweenaw County Keweenaw County (, ) is a county in the western Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the state's largest county by total ...

, 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, ...

. Its population was 69 as of the 2020 census. M-26 passes through this community. This hamlet was especially popular with the sailors in days past, as it had a good

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

landing and is about equally distant from Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, and

Duluth, Minnesota 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 ...

. It was the first stop for supplies for the many boats on

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 ...

History

Eagle Harbor is known in the

Ojibwe language Ojibwe ( ), also known as Ojibwa ( ), Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous la ...

as , meaning "place of the

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

". The earliest known non-indigenous settlement at Eagle Harbor was a log warehouse built in 1844. In 1845, the Eagle Harbor Mining Company was established there to mine copper. In 1853, the Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse was established. A post office operated at Eagle Harbor from 1857 through 1959. The Eagle Harbor Light was first constructed in 1851. A rocky ledge originally obstructed entrance to the harbor for larger ships, but in the late 1870s a -deep channel was dredged at the entrance to the harbor.

Recent history

In 1958, the sport of

guts The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The tract is the largest of the body's systems, after the cardiovascular system. ...

was invented at a picnic in Eagle Harbor. In 1983, the Holy Protection Monastery of the Society of St. John belonging to the Ukrainian Metropoly was formed in Eagle Harbor and is known for its Poorrock Abbey brand of

fruit preserves Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

. Eagle Harbor was listed as a newly organized

for the 2010 census, giving it officially defined boundaries and population statistics for the first time.

Climate

Eagle Harbor 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 ...

( Dfb). Summers are short but warm with cool nights. Winters are long, cold, and very snowy due to lake effect snow from

. Precipitation is relatively uniform year round.

Demographics

As of 2020, the population of Eagle Harbor was 69 and its median household income was $76,406.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Keweenaw County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan Census-designated places in Michigan Census-designated places in Keweenaw County, Michigan Michigan populated places on Lake Superior Populated places established in 1844 1844 establishments in Michigan