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History · Calumet

Calumet dates to 1864, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1946 on, and the census since 1880.

1864founded
3on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Calumet’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Calumet began

When was Calumet founded?

1864

Calumet dates its founding to 1864 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 2,140 in 18802020 census: 621162 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓

What stands out about Calumet’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Calumet’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,668 in 1900; 621 people lived here in 2020.A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers, 1880–1910.
★ What stands out · The story

How Calumet came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Calumet.

Read it all →

What is now Calumet was settled in 1864, originally under the name of Red Jacket, 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 Boston-based Calumet and Hecla Mining Company produced more than half of the United States' copper from 1871 through 1880. In addition to copper mining and smelting, the region also supported the dairy industry and truck farming. Many immigrants (from Poland and other countries) settled there in the late 19th century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Calumet, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,668

Peaked at 4,668 in 1900; 621 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

By decade

Calumet, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s5 items
Calumet Stitched c19001880Calumet Stitched c1900Calumet, Michigan panorama c19001880Calumet, Michigan panorama c1900The Heart of the copper country1880The Heart of the copper countryCalumet, Hecla & Red Jacket, Mich. - 18811881Calumet, Hecla & Red Jacket, Mich. - 1881Just Up, Hecla Shaft No. 2, Calumet, Mich1898Just Up, Hecla Shaft No. 2, Calumet, Mich
1900s8 items
Tamarack no. 5, Calumet, Mich. c1900-1910c. 1900Tamarack no. 5, Calumet, Mich. c1900-1910Tamarack # 51900Tamarack # 5Hoisting engine, Tamarack No. 51900Hoisting engine, Tamarack No. 5The Palestra1905The PalestraCalumet and hecla no 2c. 1906Calumet and hecla no 2Fred Strike, Calumet Hockey Club1906Fred Strike, Calumet Hockey ClubJust up, Hecla [i.e. Calumet and Hecla Mine] shaft No. 21906Just up, Hecla [i.e. Calumet and Hecla Mine] shaft No…Red Jacket shaft1906Red Jacket shaft
1910s2 items
CalumetHecla1910CalumetHeclaStrike - Calumet, Mich1910Strike - Calumet, Mich
1920s–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
Timeline

Calumet, 1864 to 1946

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864
    FoundingCalumet is established
  3. 1880In the archiveCalumet Stitched c1900
  4. 1898In the archiveJust Up, Hecla Shaft No. 2, Calumet, Mich
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveTamarack no. 5, Calumet, Mich. c1900-1910
  7. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 4,668
  8. 1910In the archiveCalumetHecla
  9. 1946On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Calumet on the map, 1946 to 1975

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

Calumet on the 1946 USGS mapCalumet on the 1975 USGS map1946Laurium 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 Calumet.

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.

Calumet Stitched c1900
Retake this viewCalumet Stitched c1900, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 64 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
64
each building in a district counts

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

Help out

Finish Calumet’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCalumet Stitched c1900: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Calumet’s history

What year was Calumet founded?

In 1864, according to Wikidata. Calumet’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1880 counted 2,140 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.