Editing Ahmeek, Michigan

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Ahmeek, Michigan
| settlement_type    = [[Village (United States)|Village]]
| nickname           = 
| motto              = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline      = AhmeekMichiganSignUS41.jpg
| image_caption      = Village of Ahmeek along [[U.S. Route 41 in Michigan|U.S. Route 41]]
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = <!-- Maps -->
| pushpin_map        = Michigan#USA
| pushpin_label_position = left<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_label      = Ahmeek
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within the state of Michigan##Location within the United States
| image_map          = Ahmeek (village), MI location2.png
| map_caption        = Location within [[Keweenaw County, Michigan|Keweenaw County]]

<!-- Location -->| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Michigan]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Michigan|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Keweenaw County, Michigan|Keweenaw]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[Civil township|Township]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[Allouez Township, Michigan|Allouez]]

<!-- Government -->| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = President
| leader_name        = Anniable Spagnotti
| leader_title1      = [[Municipal clerk|Clerk]]
| leader_name1       = Gloria Hatch
| established_title  = Incorporated
| established_date   = 1904

<!-- Area -->| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_26.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=May 21, 2022}}</ref>
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 0.18
| area_land_km2      = 0.18
| area_water_km2     = 0.00
| area_total_sq_mi   = 0.07
| area_land_sq_mi    = 0.07
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.00
| unit_pref          = Imperial

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_est     = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 127
| population_density_km2 = 719.36
| population_density_sq_mi = 1867.65

<!-- General information -->| timezone           = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset         = -5
| timezone_DST       = EDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -4
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 265
| elevation_ft       = 869
| coordinates        = {{coord|47|17|54|N|88|23|50|W|type:city_region:US-MI_source:GNIS|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP Code|ZIP code(s)]]
| postal_code        = 49901
| area_code          = [[Area code 906|906]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 26-00620<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 2397918<ref>{{GNIS|2397918}}</ref>
| website            = {{URL|https://www.ahmeekvillage.org/}}
| pop_est_footnotes  = 
}}

'''Ahmeek''' is a village in [[Keweenaw County, Michigan|Keweenaw County]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Michigan]]. The village is located within [[Allouez Township, Michigan|Allouez Township]]. The population was 127 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Ahmeek_village,_Michigan?g=160XX00US2600620 |access-date=August 3, 2023 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref>  At {{convert|0.07|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, it is the [[List of municipalities in Michigan|smallest municipality]] in Michigan by land area, and is the only incorporated municipality in Keweenaw County.

== History ==
The name Ahmeek is derived from the [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe (Chippewa) language]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amik (Na) &#124; the Ojibwe People's Dictionary |url=https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/amik-na}}</ref> The village takes its name from the Ojibwe word, ''amik'', which means "[[Beaver]]", and it was named so because of an abundance of beavers in the vicinity of the present-day village.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Monette |first=Clarence J. |title=Some Coppery Country Names and Places |year=1975 |isbn=0-942363-04-3 |location=[[Lake Linden, Michigan]] |pages=11}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Keweenaw County Michigan History & Genealogy |url=http://genealogytrails.com/mich/keweenaw/cityahmeekpo.html |access-date=January 15, 2019 |website=genealogytrails.com}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=John |title=MICHIGAN GHOST TOWN: The Violent Past of Ahmeek |url=http://99wfmk.com/ahmeek2018/ |access-date=January 15, 2019 |website=99.1 WFMK |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=August 31, 2018 |title=Flashback Friday: Ahmeek Mining Company {{!}} Michigan Tech Archives Blog |url=https://blogs.mtu.edu/archives/2018/08/31/flashback-friday-ahmeek-mining-company/ |access-date=January 16, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Ahmeek Mine]] was the most successful mine along the Kearsarge Amygdaloid Lode, which spans through [[Houghton County, Michigan|Houghton]] and Keweenaw Counties, as well as the most profitable, and the largest producer along the lode. The Ahmeek Mine's Shafts No. 3 & 4 were also one of the most distinctive in all of the [[Copper Country]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Kilpela |first=Tauno |title=The Hard Rock Mining Era in the Copper Country: A Chronicle of Operations on the Seven Major Lodes of the Keweenaw Mining District |year=1995}}</ref>

===Early days and founding===
Mining itself in the community began around the year 1880 as the [[Ahmeek Mining Company]] began as an exploratory branch of the already-existing [[Seneca Mining Company]] to work the [[Copper|copper-rich]] [[Kearsarge Amygdaloid Lode]]. The Ahmeek Mining Company formally opened in 1903, thus becoming its own separate entity apart from the Seneca, however operations of the [[Ahmeek Mine]] under the newly independent company initially began in the year 1902. The local area grew because of its location on the [[Mineral Range Railroad]].<ref name="Keweenaw">{{cite web|url=http://www.visitkeweenawcounty.com/html/ahmeek.html |title=Ahmeek |work=Visit Keweenaw County |access-date=February 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717215624/http://www.visitkeweenawcounty.com/html/ahmeek.html |archive-date=July 17, 2011 }}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=The Mineral Range Railroad|last=Monette|first=Clarence J.|year=1993|isbn=0-942363-42-6|location=[[Lake Linden, Michigan]]}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mindat.org/loc-8386.html|title=Ahmeek Mine, Ahmeek, Keweenaw Co., Michigan, USA|website=www.mindat.org|access-date=January 15, 2019}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book|title=A Guide to Michigan's Historic Keweenaw Copper Mining District: Photographs, Maps, and Tours of the Keweenaw—Past and Present|last=Molloy|first=Lawrence J.|year=2011|isbn=978-0-9791772-1-7}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> In 1908, the construction of the Ahmeek Mining Company Office was completed, as designed by the architect Paul Macneil.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|url=https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/cca/ahmeek-mine-office/|title=Ahmeek Mine Office|date=December 6, 1908|website=Copper Country Architects|language=en-US|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref> The Village of Ahmeek was founded by [[Joseph Bosch]], the creator of the [[Bosch Brewing Company]], in 1904. Attorney James A. Hamilton became the first postmaster of Ahmeek on February 5, 1909, the same year in which it was incorporated as a village.<ref>Romig, Walter. ''Michigan Place Names'' (Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig, not dated) p. 13</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /> The village was plotted by two real estate agents from [[Calumet, Michigan|Calumet]] by the names of Faucett and Gunk. The two agents divided the property into lots and then sold them piece by piece. As of the year of the village's incorporation, Maurice Kenel served as the first village President of Ahmeek, having been elected March 15, 1909.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=http://www.theenchantedforest.com/html/ahmeek.html|title=Ahmeek, Michigan|website=www.theenchantedforest.com|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web|url=http://blog.adventurepublications.net/2018/04/ahmeek/|title=Ahmeek, Home to the Last Manned Lighthouse on the Great Lakes|date=April 18, 2018|website=Adventure Publications|language=en-US|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref> The village firehall was built several years later in 1911 at a total sum of $2,925 [[United States dollar|dollars]].<ref name=":0" /> The local Calvary Cemetery, which is also known as the Ahmeek Cemetery, was created a year later in 1912.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mfhn.com/keweenaw/cemeteries/default.html|title=Keweenaw County Cemeteries|website=www.mfhn.com|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref>

===Industrialization===
Ahmeek served as a critical stop for several transportation services, mostly around the early 20th century. It served as a depot on the [[Mineral Range Railroad]] and the [[Copper Range Railroad]] and also had a streetcar station for the [[Houghton County Traction Company]], which ran south from [[Houghton, Michigan|Houghton]] up to Ahmeek, and on north towards [[Mohawk, Michigan|Mohawk]].<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite book|url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/25339779|title=Michigan SP Houghton County Traction Company Ahmeek Streetcar Station|last=Department of the Interior. National Park Service.|date=2017|series=File Unit: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: Michigan, 1964–2013}}</ref> The Streetcar Station was completed in the year 1909 and operated under the Houghton County Traction Company until the year 1932, when it served other purposes, such as a bus stop.<ref name=":11" />

===Copper Country Strike of 1913–1914===
During the watershed moment that was the great [[Copper Country strike of 1913–1914|Copper Country Strike of 1913–14]], Ahmeek was the scene of regular tension and division in the Keweenaw, a key instance being on or about October 6, 1913, when Guy Wilkins, a clerk at the Ahmeek Mine supply office, was assaulted and shot after being confronted by a rogue mob. The strike was the culmination of extensive labour unrest in the area, fueled in large part by unethical treatment by mining companies. The strike brought the once-tranquil and calm [[Copper Country]] to violence, from which it would ultimately not recover. Ahmeek, in particular, saw striking miners fire upon a trainload of [[Goon squad|hired professional strikebreakers]] engaged by the mining companies, as well as the detonation of an Ahmeek Mine smokestack. Despite local officials' complaints about the lack of law and order, Judge Patrick Henry O'Brien, who presided over cases related to the violence, ruled that while the strikers were, indeed, in violation of the law, the mining companies themselves had hardly done anything to lessen the tension and had, instead, acted in ways only increasing "the bitterness and hostility" of the situation.<ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://coppercountry.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/today-in-the-1913-copper-strike-12/|title=Today in the 1913 Copper Strike|last=Lindsay|date=October 6, 2013|website=Copper Country History|language=en|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Death's Door: The Truth Behind the Italian Hall Disaster and the Strike of 1913|last=Lehto|first=Steve|publisher=Momentum Books|year=2013|isbn=978-1-938018-03-9|edition=Second|location=Royal Oak, Michigan}}</ref>

===Later years===
[[File:Ahmeek Mining Company 1915.jpg|thumb|Share of the Ahmeek Mining Company, issued 8. July 1915]]
The Ahmeek Mining Company continued to work the Kearsarge lode through the Ahmeek Mine until the year 1923, when the mining company was incorporated into the [[Calumet and Hecla Mining Company]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> Operations of the site under the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company ceased in 1931 under effects of the [[Great Depression]]. After the Depression had concluded, the Ahmeek Mine reopened in the year 1936 and carried on until around 1966 when the mine closed permanently.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":3" /> On April 30, 1971, Gabriel J. Chopp, retired after thirty-nine years serving as Ahmeek's postmaster, thus making him the longest-serving postmaster of the village of Ahmeek, the only incorporated settlement in Keweenaw County.<ref name=":1" />

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], the village has a total area of {{convert|0.068|sqmi|sqkm|3}}, or 42.52 acres, all land.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020"/>

===Attractions===
* The Gabriel J. Chopp Park, which is located within the village.<ref name=":10" />
* The historic [[Houghton County Traction Company Ahmeek Streetcar Station|Houghton County Traction Company streetcar station in Ahmeek]], a [[National Register of Historic Places|federally-recognised historic site]] where you can now spend the night.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":10" />
*The Ahmeek Ice Rink and its adjacent playground on School Street.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://alloueztwp.com/directory/ahmeek-location-playground/|title=Ahmeek Location Ice Rink / Playground|website=Allouez Township|date=November 27, 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=January 28, 2019}}</ref>
*The Keweenaw Handicraft Shop, a regional home goods store.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bhkcaa.org/keweenaw_handicraft_shop.html|title=BHK Community Action Agency – Keweenaw Handicraft Shop|website=www.bhkcaa.org|access-date=January 28, 2019}}</ref>
* The ruins and leftover buildings of the [[Ahmeek Mine]], including the Mine Office, the No. 2 Shaft of the Ahmeek Mine, as well as the Boiler house, dry house, Hoist house, and shaft of the Ahmeek Mine's No. 3 & 4 workings may be explored.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" />
* The Lower Falls of the Gratiot River is an area tourist attraction about 3.5 miles southwest of Ahmeek.<ref name="Keweenaw" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.waterfallsofthekeweenaw.com/gratiot-river/gratiot-river-falls/|title=Gratiot River Falls on Gratiot River {{!}} Waterfalls of the Keweenaw|website=www.waterfallsofthekeweenaw.com|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref>
* The [[Sand Hills Light]], the last staffed lighthouse on the [[Great Lakes]].<ref name=":10" />

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1910= 766
|1920= 892
|1930= 624
|1940= 475
|1950= 360
|1960= 265
|1970= 238
|1980= 210
|1990= 148
|2000= 157
|2010= 146
|2020= 127
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}As of the census of 2000,<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> there were 157 people, 82 households, and 36 families residing in the village. The population density was {{convert|2,237.9|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 120 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1,710.5|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the village was 96.82% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.64% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], and 2.55% from two or more races. 29.1% were of [[Finnish people|Finnish]], 19.6% Italian, 12.2% German, 12.2% English and 7.4% French ancestry. By 2010,<ref name="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=November 25, 2012}}</ref> there were 146 people, 73 households, and 38 families residing in the village. The population density was {{convert|2085.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 119 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1700.0|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the village was 99.3% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] and 0.7% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]. At the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], its population was 127.<ref name=":12" />

In 2000, there were 82 households, out of which 18.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.1% were married couples living together, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.9% were non-families. 48.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.91 and the average family size was 2.84. In 2010, there were 73 households, of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.9% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.9% were non-families. 38.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.63.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 19.1% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 137.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 139.6 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the village was $24,231, and the median income for a family was $33,750. Males had a median income of $21,563 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,188. About 8.3% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under the age of eighteen and 5.9% of those sixty five or over. In 2010, the median age in the village was 45.7 years. 18.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.2% were from 25 to 44; 32.8% were from 45 to 64; and 18.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Ahmeek MI.jpg|Hilltop view of Ahmeek
File:downtownahmeek2.JPG|Hubbell Street in Ahmeek
File:Ahmeek 1913 parade.jpg|[[Copper Country strike of 1913–1914]]
File:Houghton County Traction Company Ahmeek Streetcar Station 2009.jpg|The historic [[Houghton County Traction Company Ahmeek Streetcar Station]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.ahmeekvillage.org/ Official website]
{{Keweenaw County, Michigan}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Keweenaw County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Villages in Michigan]]
[[Category:Houghton micropolitan area, Michigan]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1904]]
[[Category:1904 establishments in Michigan]]