Calumet, Michigan

The Calumet Theatre, built in 1900

Calumet is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. The unincorporated towns of Blue Jacket[1]".

and Newton bordering it on the northwest and south respectively.  Calumet is famously known as the runner up in the decision of the location of the Michigan State Capitol, having lost to Lansing by one vote .  The population was 879 at the 2000 census.

History

Fifth Street, looking north, Red Jacket circa 1910

View of Calumet & Hecla Company town circa 1910

What is now Calumet was settled in 1864, originally under the name of "Red Jacket", named for a Native American Chief of the Seneca tribe. Until 1895 the name "Calumet" was used by the nearby town of Laurium, Michigan; present day Calumet was not legally named so until 1929.

Red Jacket grew due to the copper mines in the area. It was incorporated as a town in 1867. The copper mines were particularly rich; the Red Jacket based Calumet & Hecla Mining Company produced about half of the USA's copper in the 1870s and 1880s. In addition to copper mining and smelting, the region also supported the dairy industry and truck farming.

By 1900, Red Jacket and the surrounding company towns had a population of some 60,000.

In 1913, Red Jacket suffered from mining labor strikes, and the population began to decline.

In the Italian Hall Disaster, seventy-five people died in a stampede when someone falsely shouted "fire". Striking miners and their families were gathered on Christmas Eve for a party in Italian Hall, when the cry of "fire" precipitated a stampede that crushed or suffocated the victims. The identity of the person(s) who started the stampede has never been determined. Folk singer Woody Guthrie's song, "1913 Massacre", is based on this event.

Calumet was also known for its wild, frontier lifestyle, which conflicted often with the conservative "eastern" money that was in control of the mining companies.

In 1921, the United States Federal Government stopped buying copper, as it had a large surplus stockpile. With the decreased demand for copper, thousands left Red Jacket in the 1920s, many moving to Detroit, Michigan where the automobile industry was booming.

In 1929, Red Jacket and surrounding company towns including "Laurium, Hecla, and South Hecla"[2] were reincorporated as the town of "Calumet". To be even more confusing, the area once officially known as Calumet was then re-named to Laurium.

In May 1932, during the Great Depression, the mines were shut down, and the majority of the remaining population left. In 1950, the population of Calumet was 1,256 people. Mining continued in the area until shut down by a labor strike in the late 1960s.

In 1984, Calumet's name was borrowed by Hollywood. Calumet was moved from Michigan to Colorado, where it was invaded by Soviet paratroopers in the film "Red Dawn." One of the film's producers grew up on the Keweenaw Peninsula.

In 2004 a game based on Monopoly, Calumetopoly, was released, with squares named after local businesses; the game quickly sold out.

Geography

Location of Calumet, Michigan

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²), all land.

Calumet is at an elevation of 1,209 feet above sea level.

Parts of the Keweenaw National Historical Park are located inside the village limits.

The village of Calumet now sits on over 2,000 miles of underground mine shafts, drifts and stopes, all empty since 1968. As the geology of the area matures, it can be expected that some areas of the village could be susceptible to "caving" or sink holes as the old stopes near surface move and cause the surface to depress, in particular areas located near the oldest workings.

There is no current interest in re-opening these old mines, however with world copper prices reaching over $2 per pound in December 2005 hope of dewatering these mines was regenerated, especially the largest vertical shaft, the Red Jacket mine, located just west of Calumet. In summer 2003, mine site remediation work on the old Calumet and Hecla #17 shaft, located at US41 and M203, indicated shaft stability, water levels and quality to be consistent with historical interpretations. This has given promise to the condition of the shafts in surrounding vicinities.

People and Culture

One of the biggest part of the culture of not only Calumet, but the entire Copper Country is the pasty. This was a main part of copper miners' diets. A pasty is a mixture of meat, potatoes, rutabaga, carrots and onions wrapped in a crust made of flour and lard. Traditionally Cornish, they have even sparked local events such as the Pasty Fest.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 879 people, 387 households, and 136 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,786.2/km² (4,524.2/mi²). There were 491 housing units at an average density of 997.8/km² (2,527.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.98% White, 0.23% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 387 households out of which 20.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 19.9% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 64.6% were non-families. 58.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 25.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.85 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the village the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 24.8% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $17,404, and the median income for a family was $22,750. Males had a median income of $21,667 versus $18,125 for females. The per capita income for the village was $12,111. About 29.0% of families and 35.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 50.5% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.

Museums and Galleries

• Copper Country Associated Artists
• The Omphale Gallery is a not-for-profit contemporary art gallery in Calumet.
• Spare Room Gallery
• The Vertin Gallery is another gallery with works by local artists.

External links

• Calumet Public Schools
• Calumet JROTC
• Copper Country: Calumet and Hecla Mining
• Calumet Pasty Festival
• Hunts' Guide to the Upper Peninsula: Calumet
• Calumet Views At Copper Country Explorer
• Main Street Calumet, Michigan: Commercial District Revitalization through Historic Preservation and Economic Development

Notes and references

47°14′48″N 88°27′14″W