History · Bessemer Township

Bessemer Township dates to 1884, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Main Street-Black River Bridge. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1890.

1884founded

1on the National Register

43%homes built before 1940

3old photos & papers

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Bessemer Township’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Bessemer Township began

When was Bessemer Township founded?

1884

Bessemer Township dates its founding to 1884 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 2,566 in 18902020 census: 1,135142 years

How historic is Bessemer Township?

A⁻

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Bessemer Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bessemer Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bessemer Township’s overall grade.

Founding era1884, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194043.4% of homes (±7.6) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A⁺National Register1 listing, 8.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%

NewerOlder

Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bessemer Township’s 8.2 sits above most of its state (81% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1884.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Bessemer Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bessemer Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 5,482 in 1920; 1,805 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Bessemer Township’s homes were built before 1947.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bessemer Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bessemer Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewBessemerCH1920: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Irondale

1887–1888

Ramsay

1888–today

Puritan

1910–1953

Anvil Location

1918–1971

18801950today

Hamlets and corners on the map

AnvilRamsaySiemens

Gone or out of use

Anvil Location Post Officepost officeAnvil MinemineGeneva MineminePuritan Post Officepost officeRamsay Stationlocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

People over time

Bessemer Township, census by census

Peaked at 5,482 in 1920; 1,805 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bessemer Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Bessemer Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bessemer Township.

Read it all →

In 1880, a hunter and trapper Richard Langford, discovered iron ore under an overturned birch tree. However, Captain N. D. Moore is credited with disclosing the ore which led to the development of the Colby property. Mining began in 1883. By 1884, the Milwaukee Lake Shore and Western Railroad (later the Chicago and Northwestern) was being built from Antigo, WI to Ashland, WI by way of the new mines. The railroad company plotted the town of Bessemer in 1884. On June 4, 1886 Gogebic County was separated from Ontonagon County. In March 1887, 360 voting members assembled and voted to organize the village of Bessemer. In the same year Gogebic County was officially created by the Michigan Legislature. Also in the year Bessemer and Ironwood called an election to see which city would be the county seat and also have the Gogebic County Courthouse. Ironwood men traveling to Bessemer to vote were …

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bessemer Township, 1884 to 1955

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1884
FoundingBessemer Township is established
1887Post officeThe Irondale post office opens
1888Post officeThe Irondale post office closes
1888Post officeThe Ramsay post office opens
20th century
1910Post officeThe Puritan post office opens
1920In the archiveBessemerCH1920
1920CensusPopulation peaks at 5,482
1938In the archivePhotograph of Ranger Station Warehouse in
1953Post officeThe Puritan post office closes
1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Bessemer Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s3 items

c. 1920BessemerCH1920

1938Photograph of Ranger Station Warehouse in

1940s–1990snothing yet

Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Add from your album

Today6 recent

2014Vintage picture of Downtown Bessemer (Sophie Street)

2014Gogebic County Courthouse

2011Black River - panoramio (3)

2010Powdermill Creek Bluff

2010Powdermill Creek Bluff - panoramio (1)

20092009-0617-CityHall-Bessemer

On the map

Bessemer Township on the map, 1955 to 1999

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bessemer Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1955Wakefield sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bessemer Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewBessemerCH1920, c. 1920

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bessemer Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

1 historic place in Bessemer Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1999

Main Street-Black River Bridge

Structures

Architectural styles listings

Concrete Through Girder Bridge1

Main Street-Black River BridgeConcrete Through Girder Bridge

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Wakefield Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Marenisco TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Erwin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Ironwood Township1 historic placeB⁺WakefieldIts storyB⁻

Questions about Bessemer Township’s history

What year was Bessemer Township founded?

In 1884, according to Wikidata. Bessemer Township’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1890 counted 2,566 people here.

How does Bessemer Township rank for history?

Bessemer Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Bessemer Township?

One place: the Main Street-Black River Bridge (listed 1999).

How old are the homes in Bessemer Township?

43% of Bessemer Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1947.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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