Иронвуд қаласы: тарихы, халқы және географиясы

Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U. S. state of Michigan, about 18 mile (29 km) south of Lake Superior. The city is on US Highway 2 across the Montreal River from Hurley, Wisconsin. It is the westernmost city in Michigan, situated on the same line of longitude (90.2 degrees West) as Clinton, Iowa and St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 5,045 at the 2020 census, down from 5,387 at the 2010 census. The city is bordered by Ironwood Township to the north, but the two are administered autonomously. While originally an iron mining town, the area is now known for its downhill skiing resorts, including Big Powderhorn, Black River, Snow River, Mount Zion and Whitecap as well as its cross country skiing at the Wolverine Nordic Trail System and the ABR Nordic Center. Ironwood is home of the "World's Tallest Indian," a 52 feet (16 m) fiberglass statue of tribal leader Hiawatha.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.42 square miles (17 km2), all of it land. Ironwood is one of the snowiest places in Michigan, and has an average seasonal snowfall of The deepest snow cover, , was measured on February 23, 1904.

As of the census of 2010, there were 5,387 people, 2,520 households, and 1,408 families residing in the city. The population density was There were 3,175 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the city was 96.0% White, 0.5% African American, 1.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 2,520 households, of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.1% were non families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.72. The median age in the city was 45.5 years. 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.7% were from 25 to 44; 28.7% were from 45 to 64; and 21.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.

As of the census Luther L. Wright enjoys a rivalry with neighboring Hurley High. It is one of the longest running interstate rivalries in American high school sports. Ironwood was the home of the last parochial high school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Ironwood Catholic High School (formerly St. Ambrose School) closed after graduation of the senior class in 1985. Sister Mary Aquinas Kinskey taught aerodynamics and meteorology there before teaching aviation and aeronautics at Catholic University, her alma mater, to members of the United States Armed Forces. The school's mascot was the ram, with the players known as the "Ramblers". The student yearbook was known as the "Loner" in recognition of its status as the last parochial school in this part of the state. Ironwood is also the location of Gogebic Community College.

Ironwood is the only known place in the Upper Peninsula to ever host a professional sports team, with Ironwood hosting the Northwest Football League's Gogebic Panthers in 1935 and 1936. Their 1935 campaign was immensely successful as the Panthers finished with a 6–1 record, their only loss coming to the eventual league champion La Crosse Old Style Lagers. Their 1936 campaign featured a 6–0 victory over the Madison Cardinals, who folded a few days after the Lagers defeated them 100–0 in an effort to kick them out of the league.

US Highway 2 (US 2) runs west to Ashland, Wisconsin and Duluth, Minnesota, and runs east to Iron Mountain. Business US 2 serves the city of Ironwood. M 28 begins in nearby Wakefield and runs east across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Marquette and ultimately to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. US 51 ends in nearby Hurley, Wisconsin. Wisconsin State Highway 77 (WIS 77) starts just across the state line in Hurley and travels southwesterly. County Road 505 (CR 505) runs north (as Lake Road) through Ironwood Township and runs by Little Girl's Point County Park on Lake Superior and eventually meets the northern terminus of WIS 122 at the Michigan–Wisconsin border near Saxon Harbor, and runs south (as Van Buskirk Road) through Erwin Township to meet the terminus of CTH C in Oma, WI. CR 200 (Old County Road) begins at the east end of the city and runs east to Bessemer. CR 501 (Junet Road) begins at the northwest end of the city and runs north to meet CR 204 (Airport Road)}.

Indian Trails provides daily intercity bus service between St. Ignace and Ironwood and between Ironwood and Duluth, Minnesota, while Gogebic County operates a small public bus system, Gogebic County Transit (LITTLE BLUE BUS).

Ironwood is served by the Gogebic Iron County Airport (IWD), which provides commercial air service. Denver Air Connection provides scheduled commercial service to both Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport. MSP service was added on August 1, 2020. Located (7) nautical miles northeast of the city, the airport handles approximately 5,500 operations per year, with roughly 65% general aviation, 26% commercial service and 9% air taxi. The airport has a 6,502 foot asphalt runway with approved ILS, GPS and VOR/DME approaches (Runway 9 27).

The Iron Belle Trail uses Ironwood as one of its termini for the cross state hiking and biking trails.