Ханкок: История и культура города в Верхнем полуострове Мичигана

Hancock is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U. S. state of Michigan. The population of Hancock was 4,501 at the 2020 census. The city is located within Houghton County, and is situated upon the Keweenaw Waterway, a channel of Lake Superior that cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula. Hancock is located across the Keweenaw Waterway from the city of Houghton, and is connected to that city by the Portage Lake Lift Bridge. The city is located within Michigan's Copper Country region. Hancock is considered a "cultural capital" for Finnish Americans. The city is home to the Finnish American Heritage Center, and was home to Finlandia University from 1896 to 2023. Some street name signs in Hancock are bilingual, reading in both English and Finnish. The Weather Channel has consistently ranked Hancock as the third snowiest city in the U. S.

The story of Hancock began during the summers of 1847 and 1848, when a small group of prospectors laboring on a rugged hillside (later named Quincy Hill) discovered a sequence of prehistoric Ojibwe copper mining pits, stretching out for 100 feet along the local amygdaloid lode. Upon inspecting one, they realized that the Native Americans were able to take copper in small quantities through these pits. The discovery formed the basis upon which the Quincy Mining Company was created in October 1848, under a special charter granted by the legislature. The earliest building in what is now the City of Hancock was a log cabin erected in 1846 on the site of the Ruggles Mining Claim, halfway up atop the hillside; it is no longer standing as the site has been taken up by the Houghton County Garage buildings. It was owned by Christopher Columbus (C. C.) Douglass, who came to live there in 1852. The Quincy Mining Company founded Hancock in 1859 after purchasing the land from Douglass and building an office and mine on the site. The city was named after John Hancock, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Hancock's first store was built by the Leopold brothers in 1858; the store also housed the first post office. Samuel W. Hill, an agent for the Quincy Mining Company, platted the Village of Hancock in 1859. On 20 August 1860, Bishop Frederic Baraga and Reverend Edward Jacker selected lots nine and ten of block eight in the village for the purpose of constructing a church. It was on the northeast corner of what is now Quincy and Ravine Streets. The Quincy Mining Company donated this ground, but for some reason the official paperwork didn't go through for it until 2 July 1875. In Hancock's earliest days, the village had been within the borders of what is now the Portage Charter Township, but on 1 April 1861 the area was set off and organized into a new township called Hancock Township. Also in 1859 was the debut of the Hancock Mine, later called the Sumner Mine before being renamed the Hancock Mine once more. The mine was on Quincy Hill near both Summit and Franklin Streets in an area that is now part of Finlandia Campus. On 1 March 1871, in response to the devastating fire of 1869, the Hancock Fire Department was officially organized. In an 1883 publication the fire chief, Archibald J. Scott, stated that the fire department had 2,500 ft of hose on hand and that the water supply was ample. In 1872 the Hancock and Calumet Railroad (H&C RR) and the Mineral Range Railroad (MRRR) began their operations. The MRRR provided passenger and freight service between Houghton, Hancock, Dollar Bay and Calumet. The Mineral Range's yards were along Portage Lake near Tezcuco Street. Backman later found the situation too unstable and was replaced by Juho Kustaa Nikander, who arrived in January 1885. In 1893 both the H&C RR and the MRRR were administered by the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad (DSA). In fall of 1902 the Kerredge Theatre was completed by William and Ray Kerredge in response to the wildly popular Calumet Theatre. Hancock was officially incorporated as a city on 10 March 1903 and subsequently divided into four wards. The then incumbent village president Archibald J. Scott was elected the city's first mayor. A year later, the Copper Country Limited line of both the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway, began operations. The line went to Calumet in the north, through Hancock, connecting the Keweenaw to Chicago, Illinois, where it began. In 1906, the Scott Hotel, adjacent to the previously erected Kerredge Theater, was built and named after the prominent city businessman and mayor Archibald J. Scott. The Scott Hotel was constructed as a symbol of Hancock's size and importance. In 1906, the Hancock Mine expanded its operations and sank the No. 2 vertical shaft. Before World War I, around the time of the tempestuous Copper Country Strike of 1913–14, the city population had dropped from its all time high of 8,981 to 7,527, as many families moved away with the heads of their households to seek a means of living in the factories of Lower Michigan and Wisconsin or in other copper mines in Montana. In 1990, a rundown former Catholic church on Quincy Street was renovated extensively with traditional Finnish architectural styles and officially became the Finnish American Heritage Center. In 2023, Finlandia University, which had been in operation since 1896, closed.

The City of Hancock is further north than Montreal in Quebec, Canada. Hancock is connected to Houghton by the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, which crosses the dredged Keweenaw Waterway. The Keweenaw Waterway effectively slices the Keweenaw in two. Both Houghton and Hancock are on 500 foot bluffs.|date=September 2015

The 1899 historic, NRHP listed and Michigan State Historic Site Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall on Quincy Street is certainly a local landmark of sorts. The red block used to construct the building is Jacobsville Sandstone, a locally quarried stone from the town of Jacobsville. Old Main, the first building of Suomi College (now Finlandia University), which is recognized as nationally historically significant. The Scott Hotel, one of the preeminent hotels of the Upper Peninsula, which served as the setting for much of the Upper Peninsula's and the Keweenaw Peninsula's historic events. Many performers who played at the neighboring former Kerredge Theatre, which burned in 1959, stayed at the Scott Hotel. The Hotel was also witness to the kidnapping of Western Federation of Miners trade union President Charles Moyer and his counterpart bodyguard Charles Tanner during the close of the Copper Country Strike of 1913–14. The Detroit & Northern Savings and Loan Association building on Quincy Street, the city's only high rise building. The Finlandia Reflection Gallery in the Jutila Center on Michigan Street has a display of various artwork from students of the University's International School of Art & Design program. Finlandia University, the only private university in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and the only operating university in the U. S. founded by Finnish immigrants. Temple Jacob, the only synagogue in the Copper Country, is on Front Street. The Turquoise Art Gallery, established in April 2003, is host to many national and international exhibitions annually. The headquarters of Vollwerth's, an Upper Peninsula based sausage manufacturer, is on Hancock Street. The company was founded in 1915 in the Hancock basement of the German immigrant Richard Vollwerth. Since then, it has regionally been acclaimed as the "King of Meats". Among many sausage and hot dog products, it manufactures a "Michigan Sauce" that is their version of a Coney sauce. Another popular product is Baroni's Spaghetti Sauce with Meat, "A favorite in Copper Country kitchens since 1935."

One mile west of Downtown Hancock on M 203 is the Hancock Recreation Area on the shores of Portage Lake. It is over 28 acres in size and is considered one of the best campgrounds in the Upper Peninsula.

Hancock has been called "the focal point of Finns in the United States. Many Finns settled in Hancock because the forests, the lakes, and the clear blue skies reminded them of home. Since 1983, Hancock has had an active Finnish Theme Committee entrusted with preserving the region's Finnish heritage.

Hancock hosts an annual midwinter festival called Heikinpäivä (Henry's Day) on 19 January, celebrating the feast day of Saint Henrik of Uppsala, the patron saint of Finland, and Heikki Lunta. Heikinpäivä includes a traditional wife carrying competition. The Keweenaw Trail Running Festival takes place each July.

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,634 people, 1,882 households, and 934 families residing in the city. The population density was There were 2,111 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the city was 94.7% White, 1.2% African American, 1.0% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.1% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population. There were 1,882 households, of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 50.4% were non families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the city was 34.1 years. 16.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 21.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.8% were from 25 to 44; 21.5% were from 45 to 64; and 19.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.

The Keweenaw Trail or Trail 3 is the main snowmobiling route to and from Houghton and Hancock. It connects to other nearby trails, including the North and South Freda Trails, which lead to Lake Superior, and the Stevens Trail, which goes to Calumet. Several parts of the campus of Michigan Technological University are also in Hancock, including a former MTU "underground classroom" in the Quincy Mine.

courses north on a scenic drive to Calumet and Copper Harbor. To the south and east U S41 routes to Houghton and Marquette. Also on US 41 is the Copper Country Trail National Scenic Byway. routes north to Hubbell, Lake Linden and Laurium, Michigan. Before reaching its ending in Copper Harbor, M 26 follows a winding, scenic stretch along Lake Superior
serves as a connector to McLain State Park.

Indian Trails bus lines operates a terminal at the Shottle Bop Party Store, 125 Quincy Street. The service runs between Hancock and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Until January 31, 2007, this was operated by Greyhound Bus Lines.

In the very late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Houghton County Traction Company ran a trolley system with service from Houghton, through Hancock, and on to other destinations, with the other boundaries being Hubbell to the northeast and Mohawk to the far north.

Hancock is the sister city of Porvoo, Finland.