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C+History
History · Ishpeming Township

15% of Ishpeming Township’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns · #478 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1880.

0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ishpeming Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Ishpeming Township’s history

How historic is Ishpeming Township?

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More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Ishpeming Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ishpeming Township is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #478 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ishpeming Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194014.7% of homes (±7.7) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 39%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 32%

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 Ishpeming Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Ishpeming Township’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 13,255 in 1900; 6,140 people lived here in 2020.A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers, 1884–1957.
★ What stands out · People over time

Ishpeming Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 13,255

Peaked at 13,255 in 1900; 6,140 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

By decade

Ishpeming Township, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s6 items
Ishpeming Michigan statue1884Ishpeming Michigan statueIsland Lake, near Ishpeming, Mich1898Island Lake, near Ishpeming, MichIsland Lake near Ishpeming, Mich1898Island Lake near Ishpeming, MichOn the eleven mile drive near Ishpeming, Mich., birch drive1898On the eleven mile drive near Ishpeming, Mich., birch…On the eleven mile drive near Ishpeming, Mich., October leaves1898On the eleven mile drive near Ishpeming, Mich., Octob…On the eleven mile Birch Drive near Ispeming [sic], Mich1898On the eleven mile Birch Drive near Ispeming [sic], M…
1900s–1910s8 items
Braastad-storec. 1904Braastad-storeDrills - Infantry - Camp Custer squad drilling on city square. Ishpening, Michigan1917Drills - Infantry - Camp Custer squad drilling on cit…Liberty Bonds - Advertising Methods - WAR ACTIVITIES. Train which is used to aid in the sale of liberty bonds. Gately-W…1917Liberty Bonds - Advertising Methods - WAR ACTIVITIES.…Liberty Bonds - Advertising Methods - WAR ACTIVITIES. Window display to aid in sale of Liberty Bonds. Gately-Wiggin's C…1917Liberty Bonds - Advertising Methods - WAR ACTIVITIES.…Liberty Bonds - Advertising Methods - WAR ACTIVITIES. Window display to aid in the raising of money for the boys over s…1917Liberty Bonds - Advertising Methods - WAR ACTIVITIES.…Liberty Bonds - Advertising Methods - WAR ACTIVITIES. Window display to aid the Liberty Loan drive. Gately-Wiggins, Co.…1917Liberty Bonds - Advertising Methods - WAR ACTIVITIES.…Recruiting and Draft Service - Enlistment Scenes [165-WW-474E-65]1917Recruiting and Draft Service - Enlistment Scenes [165…Recruiting and Draft Service - Marching to Entraining Points [165-WW-477B-40]1917Recruiting and Draft Service - Marching to Entraining…
1920s–1940snothing 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
1950s1 item
Main Street Ishpeming 19571957Main Street Ishpeming 1957
1960s–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
Today14 recent
Ishpeming (city), MI location2018Ishpeming (city), MI locationGreat lunch at Rare Earth Cafe in Ishpeming!2017Great lunch at Rare Earth Cafe in Ishpeming!Ishpeming Michigan Building2016Ishpeming Michigan BuildingIshpeming, Michigan - Paul Biegler's house in Anatomy of a Murder2014Ishpeming, Michigan - Paul Biegler's house in Anatomy…Dump truck and shaft2014Dump truck and shaftGreetings from Ishpeming, Michigan - Large Letter Postcard2012Greetings from Ishpeming, Michigan - Large Letter Pos…DocumentCleveland Mine Engine House Number 3 Ishpeming MI B2010Cleveland Mine Engine House Number 3 Ishpeming MI BCleveland Mine Engine House Number 3 Ishpeming MI A2010Cleveland Mine Engine House Number 3 Ishpeming MI AUS 41 M-28 Veterans Memorial Highway2009US 41 M-28 Veterans Memorial HighwayMather Inn Ishpeming MI 20092009Mather Inn Ishpeming MI 2009Mather Inn Ishpeming MI 2009 (cropped)2009Mather Inn Ishpeming MI 2009 (cropped)Ishpeming Municipal Building 20092009Ishpeming Municipal Building 20092009-0617-DaYooperTouristTrap20092009-0617-DaYooperTouristTrapMichigan 28 Business (Ishpeming) map2006Michigan 28 Business (Ishpeming) mapMap
The story so far

Ishpeming Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ishpeming Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ishpeming ( ISH-pə-ming) is a city in Marquette County, Michigan, United States. Located in the Upper Peninsula, the population was 6,140 at the 2020 census, less than it was in the 1950s and 1960s when the iron ore mines employed more workers. A statue of a Native American figure, erected in 1884 in the small town square, is referred to as Old Ish. Ishpeming Township is located to the northwest of the city but is administratively autonomous. Ishpeming is considered the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States and is home to the National Ski Hall of Fame. The city was also prominently featured in the 2010 documentary Catfish. The name Ishpeming comes from Ojibwa ishpiming 'above.…

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,513 to 3,392 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Ishpeming Township, 1884 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884In the archiveIshpeming Michigan statue
  3. 1898In the archiveIsland Lake, near Ishpeming, Mich
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 13,255
  6. 1904In the archiveBraastad-store
  7. 1917In the archiveDrills - Infantry - Camp Custer squad drilling on city square. Ishpening, Michigan
  8. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1957In the archiveMain Street Ishpeming 1957
On the map

Ishpeming Township on the map in 1954

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ishpeming Township.

Ishpeming Township on the 1954 USGS map1954Negaunee sheet · 1:62,500

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

Ishpeming Michigan statue
Retake this viewIshpeming Michigan statue, 1884

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
North LakeWest Ishpeming
Gone or out of use
Lloyd Minemine
1cemetery inside Ishpeming Township
Ishpeming

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Ishpeming Township’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewIshpeming Michigan statue: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Powell Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChampion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIshpeming6 historic placesANegaunee Township1 historic placeC+Ely Township1 historic placeBMarquette Township1 historic placeBTilden TownshipIts storyC+West IshpemingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNegaunee5 historic placesA

Questions about Ishpeming Township’s history

How does Ishpeming Township rank for history?

Ishpeming Township is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #478 of 701 in Michigan. 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.

How old are the homes in Ishpeming Township?

15% of Ishpeming Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (24), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.