Editing Escanaba, Michigan (section)

== History ==
[[Image:Chicago and North Western Railway Station Escanaba Michigan.jpg|thumb|left|[[Chicago and North Western Railway|C&NW railway]] station in Escanaba, Michigan, 1953]]
Escanaba was the name of an [[Ojibwe]] village in this area in the early 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tanner |first=Helen Hornbeck |author2=Adele Hast |author3=Jacqueline Peterson |author4=Robert J. Surtees |author5=Miklos Pinther |title=Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History |url=https://archive.org/details/atlasofgreatlake0000unse/page/131 |year=1987 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=0-8061-2056-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/atlasofgreatlake0000unse/page/131 131, 144]}}</ref> The Ojibwa are one of the [[Anishinaabe]], Algonquian-speaking tribes who settled and flourished around the Great Lakes. The word "Escanaba" roughly translates from Ojibwe and other regional Algonquian languages to "land of the red buck", although some people maintain that it refers to "flat rock".

As a European-American settlement, Escanaba was founded in 1863 as a port town by surveyor Eli P. Royce. Early industry was the processing and harvesting of lumber, dominated in this area by [[Daniel Wells Jr.]], Jefferson Sinclair, and [[Nelson Ludington]]. Ludington later moved his headquarters to Chicago, where he also entered banking. I. Stephenson established a successor lumber company in the area and also became a capitalist.

Before the war, iron ore was being mined from the [[Marquette Iron Range]], which shipped out on barges from Escanaba.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |url=http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/02/minings_last_stand_a_up_way_of.html |title=Mining's last stand? A UP way of life is threatened |last=Roelofs |first=Ted |date=18 February 2016 |work=MLive.com |access-date=2018-03-19 |publisher=Bridge Magazine |language=en-US |archive-date=2018-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319214139/http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/02/minings_last_stand_a_up_way_of.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By the time of the [[American Civil War]], this port was important to the Union as a shipping point for these ores, in addition to lumber.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=http://geo.msu.edu/extra/geogmich/iron.html |title=IRON MINING: WHERE AND WHY? |last=Schaetzl |first=Randall |website=geo.msu.edu |access-date=2018-03-19 |archive-date=2018-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228051409/http://geo.msu.edu/extra/geogmich/iron.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Menominee Range and [[Gogebic Range]] of Michigan became important for iron ore after the war, in the 1880s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.exploringthenorth.com/fayette/town.html |title=Fayette Historic Townsite |last=Wood |first=Vivian |website=www.exploringthenorth.com |access-date=2018-03-19 |archive-date=2018-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128111252/http://www.exploringthenorth.com/fayette/town.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1994, Michigan produced about 25% of the iron ore nationally.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iron Mining: Where and Why? |first=Randall J. |last=Schaetzl |publisher=[[Michigan State University]]| url=https://project.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/iron.html |access-date=August 28, 2022}}  For recent production data, see [https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/iron-ore-statistics-and-information Iron Ore Statistics and Information] at the USGS.</ref> Initially lumber was still integral to shipbuilding, and supported the construction of houses in cities throughout the developing Midwest. Iron ore supported industrialization, and became part of steel and other industries in the Midwest.<ref name=":2" />
As shipping increased, a lighthouse was needed to warn of a sand shoals in Little Bay de Noc, which extended from Sand Point, a [[spit (landform)|sandspit]] located just south of and adjacent to the harbor area.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.exploringthenorth.com/sandpoint/light.html |title=Sand Point Lighthouse |last=Wood |first=Vivian |website=www.exploringthenorth.com |access-date=2018-03-19 |archive-date=2018-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312175840/http://www.exploringthenorth.com/sandpoint/light.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[United States Lighthouse Service]] approved construction of the [[Sand Point Lighthouse]] at a cost of $11,000.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |url=http://www.deltahistorical.org/lighthouse.htm |title=Sand Point Lighthouse |last=Delta County |first=Historical Society |website=www.deltahistorical.org |access-date=2018-03-19 |archive-date=2019-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903095420/http://www.deltahistorical.org/lighthouse.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Construction began in the fall of 1867 and was completed in early spring 1868.<ref name=":3" />

===Present day===
Until 2017, Escanaba continued to be an important shipping point for iron ore to other Great Lakes ports, especially south to [[Chicago]] and northern Indiana.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> The local paper mill, for many years owned by [[Mead Corporation]]'s Publishing Paper Division, was operated by the [[Verso Corporation]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.versoco.com/wps/wcm/connect/da93b7c9-b036-42eb-beae-317c1d3ee6a1/Escanaba+Mill+Fact+Sheet+April+2017.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=lIBSKdT&CVID=lIBSKdT&CVID=lIBSKdT&CVID=lIBSKdT&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid |title=The Escanaba Mill at-a-glace |date=2016 |website=www.versoco.com |language=en |access-date=2018-03-19 |archive-date=2018-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319214525/https://www.versoco.com/wps/wcm/connect/da93b7c9-b036-42eb-beae-317c1d3ee6a1/Escanaba+Mill+Fact+Sheet+April+2017.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=lIBSKdT&CVID=lIBSKdT&CVID=lIBSKdT&CVID=lIBSKdT&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid&CVID=lpWrZid |url-status=live }}</ref> until 2022 when it was sold to [[Billerud]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Verso sale to change focus of Escanaba mill |publisher=[[Daily Press (Michigan)]] |url=https://www.dailypress.net/news/local-news/2021/12/verso-sale-to-change-focus-of-escanaba-mill/ |access-date=May 18, 2023}}</ref> Located on the outskirts of the city alongside the Escanaba River, in 2018 the mill was Escanaba's largest employer.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.deltaeda.org/top-employers |title=Top Employers |website=www.deltaeda.org |publisher=Delta County Economic Development Alliance |access-date=2018-03-19 |archive-date=2018-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319214315/http://www.deltaeda.org/top-employers |url-status=live }}</ref>