Houghton, Michigan

Houghton, Michigan is the county seat of Houghton County, Michigan and largest city in the Copper Country[?]. The city is located on the south shore of Portage Lake, primarily on the slope of a hill on the opposite side of the Portage Lake valley from Hancock. Portage Lake separates Copper Island, which is often mistakenly referred to as part of the Keweenaw Peninsula[?], from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; both ends of the lake connect to Lake Superior. Houghton is named after Douglass Houghton[?], discoverer of copper nearby (though there is evidence indigenous peoples had mined copper in the area thousands of years before). As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 7,010.

Table of contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 External Links 5 References

History Many Cornish and Finnish immigrants arrived in the Houghton area to work in the copper mines; both groups have had a great influence on the culture and cuisine of the local area.

In the East Houghton neighbourhood is East Houghton Park, and along Portage Lake is the Raymond Kestner Waterfront Recreation Area[?], the principal feature of which is a large "Chutes and Ladders" playground. Along the waterfront, in the area that used to be occupied by the railroad tracks, runs the Waterfront Trail[?], at one end of which is the Houghton RV Park[?]; at the other end is the Nara Nature Park[?]. Veterans Park[?] is just across the Portage Lake Lift Bridge from Hancock, and contains the memorial to the Houghton Company[?], which fought in the Civil War.

The last nearby mines closed in the late 1960s, but a school founded in 1885 by the Michigan State Legislature to teach metallurgy and mining engineering, the Michigan College of Mines, continues today under the name of Michigan Technological University and is the primary employer in the city.

The first settler of Houghton was named Ransom Sheldon[?], who set up a store named Ransom's near Portage Lake. The main street of Houghton, variously called "Sheldon Avenue[?]," Sheldon Street and Shelden Avenue, is named for him. A number of downtown stores and restaurants on Sheldon Avenue and adjacent side-streets are connected by common doors, passageways and street overpasses, and collectively called "Sheldon Center[?]."

William W. Henderson[?] was appointed the first postmaster of Houghton in 1852.

In 1854 Ernest F. Pletschke[?] platted Houghton, which was incorporated as a village in 1861. In Houghton's first days it was said that "only thieves, crooks, murderers and Indians" lived there.

In 1883 the railroad was extended from Marquette.

In 1913 there was a bitter strike of copper miners in the area that the police attempted to violently repress. The Michigan National Guard[?] was called in after the sheriff petitioned the governor.

Houghton was the birthplace of professional ice hockey in the United States when the Portage Lakers were formed in 1899. Houghton is the home of the Portage Lake Pioneers[?] Senior Hockey Team. The team's home ice is Dee Stadium, named after James R. Dee[?]. Dee Stadium was originally called the Amphidrome[?], before it was severely damaged in a 1927 fire. (The stadium also contains a ballroom and a skate park for skateboarding.)

In the winter of 2001 among the first lumitalos to be constructed in the United States was built in Houghton.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.8 km² (4.6 mi²). 11.2 km² (4.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.48% water.

Demographics As of the census of 2000, there are 7,010 people, 2,114 households, and 877 families residing in the city. The population density is 628.0/km² (1,625.5/mi²). There are 2,222 housing units at an average density of 199.1/km² (515.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 89.24% White, 1.87% African American, 0.40% Native American, 6.79% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. 0.77% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 2,114 households out of which 21.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.6% are married couples living together, 7.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 58.5% are non-families. 35.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.34 and the average family size is 2.94.

In the city the population is spread out with 12.0% under the age of 18, 55.2% from 18 to 24, 15.3% from 25 to 44, 10.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 22 years. For every 100 females there are 160.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 173.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $21,186, and the median income for a family is $41,779. Males have a median income of $36,161 versus $28,639 for females. The per capita income for the city is $11,750. 36.9% of the population and 20.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 21.9% are under the age of 18 and 18.2% are 65 or older.

External Links

• City of Houghton -- History (http://history.cityofhoughton.com/)

References

• Maki, Wilbert, "Hockey finals here?" (letter to the editor), The Daily Mining Gazette[?], January 27, 2001.