The village of Calumet is in northern Houghton County, in the lower Keweenaw Peninsula in the northern Upper Peninsula, about thirty miles south of Copper Harbor.
It is bordered to the north by Calumet Township, to the south by the unincorporated communities of Newton and Blue Jacket, to the east by Blue Jacket and Calumet Township, and to the west by Yellow Jacket and Calumet Township. The village includes the Calumet Downtown Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Most of the village is included in the larger Calumet Historic District, which commemorates the area's significance in the region's copper mining industry.
The village sits on two thousand miles of underground mine shafts, drifts, and stopes, which have been empty for decades. Portions of the Keweenaw National Historical Park are within the village, largely covering the complex of the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company's main operations.
The area that became known as Calumet was settled in 1864 and named Red Jacket, for a Seneca chief. Nearby Laurium was known as Calumet until 1895, and the current village of Calumet was not so named until 1929. Calumet referred to the clay or stone bowl of the Indian peace pipe. Under the name of Red Jacket, growth in the village was driven by the copper mines in the area, and was incorporated as a town in 1867. Between 1871 and 1880, the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company produced more than half of the copper in the United States. Besides copper mining and smelting, other new residents were engaged in the dairy industry and truck farming.
A post office was established in Red Jacket on December 24, 1866, with Edmund F. Krellwitz as its postmaster. The township was organized in 1866, and the village developed around the mines, and its first residents were almost exclusively officers and employees of the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company. By 1900, the village had reached its peak population of 4,668, declining nearly every decade since, to just over 700 by 2010.
In 1913, Red Jacket was hit with what became known as the Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914., after which its population began a decline that was continued in every census year except for 1980 and 2000, where there were slight increases. Near the end of 1913, the town was the site of the Italian Hall Disaster. Striking miners were gathered at Italian Hall on Christmas Eve for a party when a cry of "fire" prompted a stampede in which seventy-three victims, most of them children, were killed. There was no fire.
The decline was exacerbated by a sharp drop in demand and the price of copper following World War I. Thousands of people left Red Jacket, many of them moving to Detroit, where the auto industry was flourishing. All of the mines were shut down during the Great Depression. The mines were reopened during World War II, but not at anything approaching its previous levels, and they were shut down completely in 1968 by another labor strike.
In 1929, the Red Jacket was renamed Calumet, and incorporated as a village.
Today Calumet's economy is based largely on historical tourism and outdoor recreation, boasting several historic attractions, summer events, and year-round activities.
The 1898 Red Jacket Fire Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places, and currently houses the Copper Country Firefighters Museum. The Keweenaw National Historical Park Visitor Center features three stories of exhibits relating to Calumet's copper mining history, and the Calumet Historic District is both a National Historic Landmark District and on the National Register of Historic Places. The Calumet Colosseum, the village's main ice arena, is the oldest indoor ice rink in North America, and the Calumet and Hecla Library is said to contain more volumes in its collection than the Michigan State Library. Each June, Calumet hosts Pasty Fest, commemorating the pasty, a Cornish food staple that served as a common dinner for miners a hundred years ago, and continues to be popular throughout the Upper Peninsula.
The main routes through the village are M-203 (Pine Street) and Centennial Heights Road (6th Street). US Highway 41 is just east of the village. The village of Laurium is less than two miles south-southeast of Calumet, while the cities of Hancock and Houghton are 11.4 and 14.2 miles south-southwest.
The focus of this category is on the village of Calumet, Michigan. Websites representing the village or any businesses, industries, schools, churches, attractions, or events within the village are appropriate resources.
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Recommended Resources
The athletics programs of Calumet High School, as well as C-L-K 7th-grade, 8th-grade, and middle school athletics programs are featured here, sorted by fall, winter, and spring programs, then by sport, and by level, with game schedules, locations, scores, and other information. Other resources include a calendar of events, booster club information, the C-L-K hall of fame, and access to physical and consent forms, eligibility documents, and other publications.
https://calumetathletics.org/
Organized as the Northern Division of the Copper Country Junior Hockey Association in 1954, the association was made up of players from the Calumet, Laurium, and Keweenaw areas, it became a separate entity from the CCJHA in 1969, and took its current name in 1985. The history of the CHA is provided on its site, which posts schedules, tournaments, registration policies and schedules, and its requirements and policies for officials, coaches, and volunteers.
https://www.calumethockey.org/
The Calumet Theatre opened in 1900, attracting some of the most famous people in show business. However, from the Great Depression through the late 1950s, it served almost exclusively as a movie theater, but summer stock returned in 1958. The Calumet Theatre Company was incorporated in 1983 as a non-profit cultural organization funded through a number of venues. Seating charts, a calendar of events, volunteer opportunities, and online ticket sales are featured.
http://www.calumettheatre.com/
Copper Country Associated Artists
The community-based art organization encourages artists and helps to provide ways in which they can market their products through a member-operated art gallery and at the annual Eagle Harbor Art Fair. The CCAA gallery on 5th Street in Calumet, Michigan is open for visitors, with seasonal hours, and also hosts art classes, art workshops, and a variety of special events, such as openings for a new artist, live music, or special classes. Schedules are posted on the site.
https://ccaartists.org/
Copper Country Firefighters History Museum
Housed in the historic Calumet Village Fire Station on Sixth Street in Calumet, Michigan, the museum is one of twenty-one Heritage sites affiliated with the Keweenaw National Historical Park. The two-story structure includes a full basement, and the museum includes the station’s first mechanized fire truck, an American LaFrance pumper truck, as well as several other old fire trucks, an 1857 hand pumper wagon, and vintage fire-fighting apparatus.
https://www.coppercountryfirefightershistorymuseum.com/
Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Ann’s
Situated in the commercial district of Calumet, Michigan, the Keweenaw Heritage Center was formerly St. Anne’s Church, and currently a significant structure of the Calumet Downtown National Historic Landmark District. Purchased in 1994, the Charter Township of Calumet is the fiscal agent for the building, although it is managed by a separate management board. Its hours of operation, a calendar of events, membership information, a photo gallery, and rental policies are put forth.
http://www.keweenawheritagecenter.org/
Public Schools of Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw
Founded in 1867, C-L-K is headquartered in Calumet, Michigan, offering a K-12 curriculum through CLK Elementary School, Washington Middle School, and Calumet High School, each located in Calumet, as well as Horizons Alternative High School in Mohawk, and the Upper Peninsula Virtual Academy, a virtual K-12 school that any student in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan can enroll in. Campus addresses, schedules, contacts, and various resources are included.
https://clkschools.org/
Established in 1875, Calumet was formed to serve the copper mining industry, and known as Red Jacket until 1929. The official municipal website features a guide for local residents, visitors, and businesses. An overview of the municipal government, ordinances, meeting minutes and contacts are posted, along with information about village services, development opportunities, zoning, and business support resources, as well as a calendar of events.
http://www.villageofcalumet.com/
