Eagle River 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 ...

(CDP) 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, ...

. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

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 ...

. Its population was 65 at the 2020 census, which makes it by far the least-populated county seat in the state of Michigan. As an unincorporated community, Eagle River has no legal autonomy and is part of Allouez Township and Houghton Township.

History

Eagle River was a boom town of the copper mining era in the Keweenaw. Copper was discovered in 1845 at the Cliff Range nearby, the so-called "Cliff Lode". The land of the Eagle River community had been leased by the Keweenaw Copper Company in 1843. It was later platted by the Phoenix Company and sold as individual lots. The first postmaster was named on October 24, 1845. It was part of Houghton County until Keweenaw County was organized in

1861 This year saw significant progress in the Unification of Italy, the outbreak of the American Civil War, and the emancipation reform abolishing serfdom in the Russian Empire. Events January * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico Ci ...

. The profitability of the area's copper mines had begun to decline sharply by around 1870. The Eagle River Timber Bridge is a wooden

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

that carries highway M-26 over the Eagle River. It opened in 1990 as a replacement for the historic Lake Shore Drive Bridge that runs parallel to it. Eagle River is home to the Holy Transfiguration Skete, a Byzantine Catholic monastery and community, which is known for producing jams and other foodstuffs from berries collected in the nearby forests. Holy Transfiguration is one of only a few Byzantine Catholic monasteries in the United States. The community of Eagle River was listed as a newly-organized

for the 2010 census, meaning it now has officially defined boundaries and population statistics for the first time.

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 ...

, Eagle River has a total area of , of which is land and (0.34%) is water. Eagle River is listed as being part of both Allouez Township and Houghton Township. Only a very small portion of and no residents are within the Allouez Township portion of the community, while the majority of land and all residents are within Houghton Township. The community is on M-26 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 ...

on the shores of

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 ...

. It is about northeast of Houghton and is situated on the mouth of the Eagle River. The Mohawk 49950 ZIP Code serves the community. The decommissioned Eagle River Light is on the west bank of the river on a sand bluff overlooking Lake Superior, although the view is partially obscured by condominiums.

Demographics

As of 2020, its population was 65. Its median household income was $57,500.

Transportation

* *

Notable people

* Edward Thomas Abrams (1860–1918), doctor and legislator

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Keweenaw County, Michigan County seats in Michigan Houghton micropolitan area, Michigan Populated places established in 1843 Unincorporated communities in Michigan Census-designated places in Michigan Census-designated places in Keweenaw County, Michigan 1843 establishments in Michigan Michigan populated places on Lake Superior