Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain: Dickinson county courthouse

Iron Mountain, city, seat (1891) of Dickinson county, southwestern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, U.S., about 50 miles (80 km) west of Escanaba. Settled in 1879, it was named for its proximity to a bluff heavily stratified with iron ore. Iron Mountain was incorporated as a village in 1887 and as a city in 1889. In the 1930s underground mining became uneconomic; for a time the industry revived with open-pit mining and the pelletizing of ore, but those operations ceased in the early 1980s. Logging, tourism, and winter sports (based at nearby ski resorts) are significant economic factors. Manufactures include wood products, concrete, and machinery. Guided tours are given of the underground shafts of the Iron Mountain Iron Mine, which ceased production in 1945; the mine has since been designated a state historical landmark. The adjoining city of Kingsford (inc. village, 1924; city, 1947) developed first with the establishment of a Ford Motor Company plant and later through charcoal production (both operations now ceased). Pop. (2000) 8,154; (2010) 7,624.