Laurium, Michigan
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Laurium (; or ) is a village in Calumet Township, 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 so ...
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, ...
, in the center 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 ...
. The population was 1,977 at the 2010 census. The village is mostly surrounded by Calumet Township, with a small portion bordering Schoolcraft Township on the east.  The portion of Calumet Township south of Laurium is considered part of the Florida (or Florida Location) unincorporated community.


History

Until 1895, Laurium was known as "Calumet" (not to be confused with the present nearby town of Calumet,
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, ...
, which was known as "Red Jacket" until it adopted the name Calumet in 1929). In 1895 the legislature changed Calumet's name to
Laurium Lavrio, Lavrion or Laurium (; (later ); from Middle Ages until 1908: Εργαστήρια ''Ergastiria'') is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greece. It is part of Athens metropolitan area and the seat of the municipality of Lavreotik ...
, after the famous mining town in ancient
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. Laurium is located in the center of 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 wa ...
, the first major copper mining region in the United States. It was founded as a
company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...
serving the Laurium copper mine, which later became part of the Calumet & Hecla mine. The town was generally home to the wealthier members of Keweenaw society, such as mine owners and captains. Although the mines have long since closed, the town still sports many large houses and mansions built by the wealthy mine owners. Today, many of the houses are participating locations in the Keweenaw National Historical Park. The population in 1900 was 5643, of whom 2286 were foreign-born. Noted 20th-century
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player George Gipp ("the Gipper") was born in Laurium. A small memorial to the football legend is located on the corner of Lake Linden Avenue and Tamarack Street and his grave is in nearby Lake View Cemetery. The
Palestra The Palestra, often called the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the Penn Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 235 So ...
was a noted hockey arena, built in Laurium in 1904. It is thought to have been the first purpose-built indoor hockey venue in the United States. In 1921, the entire arena was moved to Marquette, Michigan, and remained there until being razed in 1974.


Laurium Historic District

In 2005, the Laurium Historic District was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. The district is roughly bounded by Calumet Street on the west and south, Stable Street on the north, and North Florida and Isle Royale Streets on the east. This area contains the entire village of Laurium save two areas added in the 1970s.Recognition of Laurium Historic District
from the National Park Service
Keweenaw National Historical Park Keweenaw National Historical Park is a unit of the U.S. National Park Service. Established in 1992, the park celebrates the life and history of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a federal-local ...
, posted May 4, 2006, retrieved 8/24/09
The vast majority of the structures in Laurium were constructed during the 35 years between 1880 and 1915, and the common architectural styles in the village reflect what was popular at the time. Over 90% of the structures in the historic district are residential in nature, and most of those are single-family houses.National Register Nomination form
Probably the grandest of these is the Thomas H. Hoatson House (now known as the Laurium Manor Inn), a large
Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...
style house. The most common houses are more modest in scale and ornamentation, with two-story front-gabled houses of predominantly frame construction being the most common. Five churches and two schools are spread through the community, and most commercial structures are near the intersection of Hecla and Third Streets; this includes the J. Vivian, Jr. and Company Building, which is separately listed on the National Register. These buildings are often constructed of brick and/or sandstone.


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 village has a total area of , all land.


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 1,977 people, 814 households, and 491 families residing in the village. 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 1,059 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.6%
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 ...
, 0.7%
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 ...
, 0.7% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.5% 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 ...
or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 814 households, of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% 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, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.7% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.19. The median age in the village was 38.1 years. 27.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.2% were from 25 to 44; 27% were from 45 to 64; and 15.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 49.7% male and 50.3% female.


2000 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 2000, there were 2,126 people, 897 households, and 540 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,082 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.12%
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 ...
, 0.24%
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 ...
, 0.61% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...
, 0.19% from other races, and 0.61% 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 ...
or Latino of any race were 0.52% of the population. 38.9% were of Finnish, 9.6%
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 ...
, 9.1%
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 ...
, 7.5% French and 7.2% English ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 897 households, out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% 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, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.14. In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $30,404, and the median income for a family was $40,556. Males had a median income of $28,571 versus $23,824 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 village was $16,686. About 8.8% of families and 12.4% 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 12.6% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.


Education

The Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw (C-L-K) School District, established in 1867, remains one of the most populous school districts in the area. It serves the two towns named, as well as almost all of Keweenaw County.


Notable people

* George Gipp - University of Notre Dame football star * Percy Ross - philanthropist, newspaper columnist * James Quello - FCC Commissioner and broadcast pioneer


Images

File:LauriumMichiganSign.jpg, Welcome to Laurium Sign File:LauriumMichiganPark.jpg, George Gipp Park, known to the locals as the Bicentennial File:Victorian Hall in winter.JPG, Victorian Hall in winter File:Private residence in Laurium, Michigan in winter.JPG, Private residence in winter


References


External links


Laurium official website
{{authority control Villages in Houghton County, Michigan Villages in Michigan Houghton micropolitan area, Michigan Company towns in Michigan Populated places established in 1889 1889 establishments in Michigan