IRONWOOD

city, Gogebic county, western Upper Peninsula of Michigan, U.S. Ironwood lies along the Montreal River at the Wisconsin border, 90 miles (145 km) east of Duluth, Minn. It is the retail centre of a bistate urban complex in the Gogebic Range that includes the communities of Wakefield and Bessemer (Michigan; east) and Hurley, Saxon, and Iron Belt (Wisconsin; west). The settlement was laid out in 1885 and named for iron dealer James R. (Iron) Wood. The Gogebic Range was formerly the site of a prosperous deep-shaft iron-mining industry. Iron mining, which reached its peak in 1920, ceased in 1967, and many miners shifted to work in the copper mines in adjacent Ontonagon county. Ironwood's economy also relies upon tourism, food processing, and the manufacture of clothing and sports equipment. Ironwood is the seat of Gogebic Community College (1932). It is headquarters for the Ottawa National Forest and is a recreation centre noted for its skiing. A 52-foot (16-metre) statue of Hiawatha is an imposing city landmark. Inc. village, 1887; city, 1889. Pop. (1994 est.) 6,806.