DICKINSON COUNTY HISTORY – CITY OF IRON MOUNTAIN – BUSINESS DISTRICT STREET BY STREET 1879–1942 [Compiled and Transcribed by William J. Cummings] Much of early Iron Mountain’s historic flavor and mystique still remains in today’s downtown area, often only as the site of a former building, sometimes hiding behind a remodeled façade of wood, metal and plastic, and sometimes miraculously unchanged over the decades. While passing along Stephenson Avenue and the adjoining side streets, try to imagine you are walking the streets of downtown Iron Mountain between 1879, when the city began as a small mining settlement on the east side of what is now called the Chapin Pit, and the 1920’s, when the Ford Motor Company built a major plant south of the city. The area surrounding the Ford Plant became first the Village of Kingsford and then the City of Kingsford. The two cities are conjoined along Woodward Avenue, with Iron Mountain to the north and Kingsford’s Ford Addition to the south. The Ford era, which began in 1920 and ended in 1951, had a major impact on the entire area, and many structures still standing in both communities are products of the early Ford years. During the early last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first two decades of the twentieth century, the west side of Stephenson Avenue was largely vacant. Thus, you will note the majority of buildings on that side of Iron Mountain’s principal thoroughfare are “modern,” many having been constructed during the late Forties, the Fifties and the Sixties. Portions of some of the older areas on the east side of Stephenson Avenue are of more recent construction due to a number of devastating fires over the decades or due to frame buildings being torn down for urban renewal. AREA ENCOMPASSED BY THE HISTORIC BUSINESS DISTRICT The area encompassed by Iron Mountain’s historic business district begins at the Chapin Pit at the north and ends with the 700 Block of South Stephenson Avenue on the south. The eastern boundary is Iron Mountain Street, formerly Iron Mountain Avenue, and the western boundary is Carpenter Avenue. Merritt Avenue, a north-south street located west of South Stephenson Avenue and east of Carpenter Avenue is also included. Streets running east to west contained in this area include (from north to south): Fleshiem Street, Brown Street, Ludington Street, Hughitt Street, A Street, B Street, and C Street. The organization of the information is by street, then block, then address, just as would be found in a city directory. The information contained herein is presented in the following order, much like a walking tour: 1. Chapin Pit Area 2. 200 Block of East Fleshiem Street (North Side/South Side) 3. 100 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (East Side) 4. 200 Block of East Brown Street (North Side/South Side) 5. 200 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (East Side) 6. 200 Block of East Ludington Street (North Side/South Side) 7. 300 Block of East Ludington Street (North Side/South Side) 8. Iron Mountain Avenue/Street (From 200 Block to 600 Block – East Side/West Side) 9. 300 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (East Side) 10. 200 Block of East Hughitt Street (North Side/South Side) 1 DICKINSON COUNTY HISTORY – CITY OF IRON MOUNTAIN – BUSINESS DISTRICT STREET BY STREET 1879–1942 [Compiled and Transcribed by William J. Cummings] 11. 400 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (East Side) 12. 200 Block of East A Street (North Side/South Side) 13. 500 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (East Side) 14. 200 Block of East B Street (North Side/South Side) 15. 600 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (East Side) 16. 200 Block of East C Street (North Side/South Side) 17. 700 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (Dickinson County Court House – East Side) 18. 700 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (West Side) 19. 100 Block of East C Street (South Side/North Side) 20. 100 Block of West C Street (South Side/North Side) 21. 600 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (West Side) 22. 100 Block of East B Street (South Side/North Side) 23. 100 Block of West B Street (South Side/North Side) 24. 500 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (West Side) 25. 100 Block of East A Street (South Side/North Side) 26. 100 Block of West A Street (South Side/North Side) 27. 400 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (West Side) 28. 100 Block of East Hughitt Street (South Side/North Side) 29. 100 Block of West Hughitt Street (South Side/North Side) 30. 300 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (West Side) 31. 100 Block of East Ludington Street (South Side/North Side) 32. 100 Block of West Ludington Street (South Side/North Side) 33. 200 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (West Side) 34. 100 Block of East Brown Street (South Side/North Side) 35. 100 Block of West Brown Street (South Side/North Side) 36. 100 Block of South Stephenson Avenue (West Side) 37. 100 Block of East Fleshiem Street (South Side/North Side) 38. 100 Block of West Fleshiem Street (South Side/North Side) 39. Merritt Avenue (East Side for Merritt Avenue and North Merritt Avenue) 40. Merritt Avenue (West Side for Merritt Avenue and North Merritt Avenue) 41. Carpenter Avenue (East Side from West B Street to West Fleshiem Street) 42. Carpenter Avenue (West Side from West B Street to West Fleshiem Street) INFORMATION RESOURCES The seven directories listed below are the first seven such volumes published with such contents in Dickinson County. The 1905-1906 volume was not used in this compilation because there is no street index. There is an alphabetical name listing and a classified business directory. Additional information has been taken from a variety of contemporary area newspapers and some other sources. 1892-1894 2 DICKINSON COUNTY HISTORY – CITY OF IRON MOUNTAIN – BUSINESS DISTRICT STREET BY STREET 1879–1942 [Compiled and Transcribed by William J. Cummings] Bunn & Simmons’ Iron Mountain City Directory. 1892-94. Comprising an Alphabetical List of Names, Business Department, Churches, Schools, Societies, Duplicate Directory by Streets and Numbers, Giving the Resident, Editorial Review, Etc. Sold Only on Subscription. Price $5.00 Menominee, Mich., Soults & O’Donnell, Printers. August, 1892. 1902-1903 Directory of the Cities of Iron Mountain and Norway and Villages of Quinnesec and Vulcan, Mich. with a List of the Residents of Niagara, Wis., Containing An Alphabetically arranged list of business firms and private citizens in the Cities of Iron Mountain and Norway, Mich., and the Villages of Vulcan and Quinnesec, Mich., and Niagara, Wis.; a complete Street Directory of Iron Mountain; a classified list of business, trades and professions; a directory of National, State, County and Township officers, schools, churches, banks, fraternal, secret and beneficiary societies; postal, bank and express information; list of postoffices in Michigan; Iron Mines of Dickinson County, etc., 1902-1903, Vol. II – Price, Three Dollars; A.H. Storms, Publisher, Iron Mountain, Mich. 1905-1906 J.W. Shannon & Co.’s Directory of Iron Mountain for 1905-1906, Comprising An Alphabetically Arranged List of Business Firms and Private Citizens; A Classified List of All Trades and Professions; A Miscellaneous Directory of City and County Officers, Schools, Churches, Banks, Societies. Together With a Complete List of the Rural Delivery Route. Price Three Dollars by Subscription Only; Advocate Print, Green Bay, Wis. 1907-1908 The Inter-State Directory Company’s Directory of Iron Mountain and Norway and Dickinson County Gazetteer For the Years 1907-1908, Containing an Alphabetical List of Private Citizens and Business and Professional People and Their Addresses. A Complete, Classified Business and Professional Directory, together with a Street and Avenue Guide. A World of Miscellaneous and Useful Information, viz: A List of Churches, Public Schools, National, State, County and City Officials, Secret and Benevolent Societies, Postoffice Department and Fire Alarm, etc. A Complete List of all the Farmers, Taxyapers and Country Residents of Dickinson Co., Giving Their Rural Route or Postoffice Address, the Township They Reside In, and the Number of Acres Standing of Record in Their Name, an Encyclopedia of Dickinson County, Michigan, Compiled and Published by the Inter-State Directory Co., 207 Iroquois Building, Marion, Ind., Price $4.00, Tribune Company, Printers, Marion, Indiana University. 1913 3 DICKINSON COUNTY HISTORY – CITY OF IRON MOUNTAIN – BUSINESS DISTRICT STREET BY STREET 1879–1942 [Compiled and Transcribed by William J. Cummings] Directory of the Cities of Iron Mountain and Norway and Dickinson County with a List of Residents of Homestead, Wisconsin 1913, Comprising an Alphabetically Arranged List of Business Firms and Private Citizens – a Complete Street Directory of Iron Mountain, Miscellaneous Directory, City and County Officers, Schools, and Secret and Benevolent Societies. And a Complete Classified Business Directory of Iron Mountain and Norway. Price $4.00. Douglas Anderson, Publisher, Rhinelander, Wis. 1925 Polk’s Iron Mountain and Dickinson County Directory 1925, Containing Complete Directories of Channing, Felch, Foster [City], Hardwood, Iron Mountain, Kingsford, Loretto, Metropolitan, Norway, Quinnesec, Ralph, Sagola, Vulcan and Waucedah; A Street and Avenue Guide and Directory of Householders for Iron Mountain; Also a List of Taxpayers in Dickinson County, Alphabetically Arranged; A “Buyer’s Guide” And a Complete Classified Business Directory, Volume 1, Price $12.00, R.L. Polk & Co., Publishers, Directory Building, Detroit, Mich., Member Association of North American Directory Publishers, Copyright 1925, by R.L. Polk & Co. 1935 Polk’s Iron Mountain (Dickinson County, Mich.) City Directory 1935 Including Dickinson County, Containing an Alphabetical Directory of Business Concerns and Private Citizens, a Directory of Householders, occupants of Office Buildings and Other Business Places, Including a Complete Street and Avenue Guide, a Taxpayers Directory and Much Information of a Miscellaneous Character; also a Buyers’ Guide and a Complete Classified Business Directory (For detailed Contents See General Index) Price $12.00, R.L.