Munising ( ') is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—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 b ...

of 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, ...

. 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 ...

of Alger County, Michigan. The population was 1,986 at the 2020 census. The city is partially surrounded by Munising Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Located on the southern shore 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 ...

in the

, it serves as the western gateway to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

History

The name for the city comes from the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

word ''minisiing'', "at the island". A post office was established as the Munising post office on December 22, 1868. It was renamed as Gogarnville on October 23, 1889, when Julius Gogarn was appointed as postmaster. The office was moved to his farm. He was a German-born American Civil War veteran and first Supervisor of Munising Township. That post office continued until July 15, 1893.

Geography

Munising is located on the southern edge of Munising Bay, also known as the South Bay of Grand Island Harbor, across from Grand Island around the mouth of the Anna River. It is the primary embarkation point for cruises to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Grand Island National Recreation Area. Grand Island is located one half mile north in Munising Bay. 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 , of which is land and is water. The Munising area has many waterfalls including Alger Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Memorial Falls, Munising Falls, Miners Falls, Scott Falls, Tannery Falls and Wagner Falls.

Climate

Munising has a

warm-summer 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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb'') with cool to warm summers coupled with cold winters with heavy

lake-effect snow Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises through colde ...

fall.

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 2,355 people, 1,032 households, and 592 families living 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 1,252 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.2%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 4.8% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 3.0% 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 1.4% of the population. There were 1,032 households, of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% 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, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.6% were non-families. 37.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.76. The median age in the city was 48.6 years. 18.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.5% were from 25 to 44; 28.4% were from 45 to 64; and 26.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,539 people, 1,115 households, and 654 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,249 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.74%

, 0.16%

, 3.51% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.12%

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 ...

, 0.08% from other races, and 1.73% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population. 13.3% were of French, 12.4% German, 11.0% Finnish, 9.9% Polish, 8.8% Swedish, 7.3%

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

and 6.8% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 97.8% spoke English and 1.6% Spanish as their first language. There were 1,115 households, out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were

living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 36.3% 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 2.17 and the average family size was 2.82. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.4% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 25.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,899, and the median income for a family was $46,133. Males had a median income of $41,333 versus $24,444 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 $19,779. About 7.4% of families and 11.4% 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 11.6% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

* travels west to Marquette and east to Sault Ste. Marie. * travels westerly through Chatham toward Sawyer International Airport south of Marquette, and southerly to Manistique. * runs from H-58 just east of the city to Miner's Castle within Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. *, a north–south route, terminates at H-58 in the eastern part of the city. * begins in downtown Munising and continues northeasterly through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Notable people

* Connie Binsfeld, 60th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan * George Snow Hill, painter * Steven J. Raica, Roman Catholic priest, 5th Bishop of Gaylord, Michigan, 5th Bishop of Birmingham, Alabama * Brock Strom, professional football player * James Wickstrom, radio talk show host * Arthur DeLacy Wood, parole board chairperson

Gallery

File:2009-0618-Munising-downtown.jpg, Downtown Munising (Elm Avenue) File:2009-0618-Munising-AlgerCtyCourt.jpg, Alger County Courthouse Complex File:Harbor of Munising, Michigan.jpg, Munising Harbor File:2009-0618-Munising-CityHall.jpg, Munising City Hall File:A storm across Munising Bay, seen from the east side.jpg, A storm across Munising Bay, seen from the east side

References

External links

City of Munising official websiteMunising Visitor's BureauMunising Area Tourism and Economic Development
{{Authority control Cities in Alger County, Michigan County seats in Michigan Michigan populated places on Lake Superior Michigan placenames of Native American origin Populated places established in 1896 1896 establishments in Michigan Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore