Marquette County FAQs

• Lake Superior maintains an average temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit, although bays and inlets can warm to 60 or 70 degrees F in late summer.

• The 3 guadrillion gallons of fresh water held by Lake Superior are enough to flood all of North and South America to a depth of one foot.

• Lake Superior contains 10% of the earth's surface fresh water and half of all the water in the Great Lakes combined.

• Lake Superior's surface level is 602 feet above sea level.

• Lake Superior could contain all other Great Lakes, PLUS three more lakes the size of Lake Erie.

• Lake Superior is the largest Great Lake in surface area and volume as well as depth.

• If you kayaked every mile of Lake Superior's shoreline and islands, you would travel 2,725 miles.

• The sun takes 30 minutes to arc over the width of Lake Superior.

• Lake Superior covers about 31,700 square miles, an area equal to Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hamspire combined.

• The vertical rise of Marquette Mountain is 600'.

• The top elevation of Marquette Mountain is 1357'.

• The 1959 film, Anatomy of a Murder, was filmed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

• Westwood High School opened in 1974.

• N.I.C.E. Community School District spans more than 680 square miles.

• The acronym N.I.C.E. stands for: National Mine, Ishpeming Township, Champion – Humboldt – Spurr Townships, and Ely Township.

• November 15 marks the start of rifle hunting season, a very popular season in the UP.

• Marquette County is home to Northern Michigan University, a dynamic four-year, public, coeducational university that offers 180 degree programs to nearly 9,4000 undergraduate and graduate students.

• Kelly Johnson, who designed US Air Force aircrafts including the P-38, SR-71, and B-52 bombers, is from the Upper Peninsula.

• Ishpeming is the home to the US National Ski Hall of Fame, the only sports hall of fame in Michigan.

• Favorite local foods of Marquette County include the pasty and cudighi.

• Many people come to Marquette County seeking a chance to see moose which were air lifted into our area in 1985 and 1987.

• One major industry is iron ore mining, and Cliffs Natural Resources is the city’s and the county’s largest employer with over 2000 employees.

• At one point, Ishpeming had the largest population in the Upper Peninsula, and there was even talk about making Ishpeming the State’s capital.

• Jasper Knob, the world’s largest gemstone, is located on Jasper Street near Division Street in Ishpeming.

• Negaunee annually hosts the Heikki Lunta Winter Carnival on Teal Lake, which features snowmobile races, ice fishing derbies and fireworks.

• Negaunee annually hosts Pioneer Days celebration, a five day affair which features many unique events.

• Negaunee houses the Midwest’s only Naturbahn Luge Facility, located on Lucy Hill.

• With Negaunee’s strong mining heritage, the State of Michigan opened the Michigan Iron Industry Museum in 1987.

• Negaunee’s name originates from the Ojibwa Indian word meaning “low ground.”

• The Marquette County government was organized in 1851 with the first election being held on November 4.

• Bloom iron was made by heating large chunks of rich iron ore in a charcoal burning forge, hammering out the impurities and forming the iron ingots about 4” square, 18” long, weighing from 75 to 10lbs.

• In 1848, a forge was erected on the Carp River, 2.5 miles east of Negaunee, and on February 10th, the first iron blooms were produced. Visit the Michigan Iron Industry Museum for more details.

• In 1846, the Jackson Mine opened, the first iron ore mine on Lake Superior.

• In 1845, Chief Marji Gesick lead Philo M. Everett’s party to the “iron mountain” that became known as the Jackson Mine.

• On September 19, 1844, William A. Burt and a party of surveyors discovered iron ore near the present city of Negaunee.

• Marquette County has 8 public school districts, which consist of 8 high schools, 9 middle schools, and 12 elementary schools.

• Marquette County is home to Northern Michigan University which houses the nation’s only Olympic Education Center and the largest wooden dome stadium in the world, the Superior Dome.

• Marquette County receives approximately 185 inches of snow per year.

• Marquette County receives approximately 36 inches of rain per year.

• The mean temperature in Marquette for July is 65.1°F.

• The mean temperature in Marquette for January is 12.4°F.

• According to the 2008 population estimates, nearly 65,000 call Marquette County home.

• Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world.

• Lake Superior has a maximum depth of 1,333 feet.

• Lake Superior has a surface area of 31,820 square miles.

• Built in 1851, the Plank Road was outdated before it was even finished. It ran from the Ishpeming mines to Lake Superior, where mules hauled iron ore.

• The Tilden and the Empire Mine are the only two operating iron ore mines in the Upper Peninsula. Be sure to check out the mine tour available each summer! Contact the LSCP for details.

• Ely Township is named after Samuel Ely, who shipped the first steam locomotive to the Marquette Range in 1857.

• The Lower Harbor Ore Dock was built in 1931, and it is the largest of any ore dock in the upper lakes. While not operational anymore, it can still be seen in Lower Harbor.

• LS&I stands for the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railway, which began in 1895 and operated between Ishpeming and Presque Isle.

• Iron ore was discovered in Negaunee in 1844. Be sure to check out the Historical Marker in Negaunee’s Miner’s Park on US 41!

• KI Sawyer Air Force Base was named for Kenneth Ingalls Sawyer, a former Marquette County road commissioner who proposed an airport for the area, about twenty miles south of the city of Marquette.

• Michigan's annual iron ore production peaked at 18 million tons in 1916