Editing Bessemer Township, Michigan

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Bessemer Township, Michigan
| settlement_type    = [[Civil township]]
| image_skyline      = 
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = <!-- Maps -->
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| pushpin_map        = Michigan#USA
| pushpin_label_position = right<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_label      = Bessemer Township
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within the state of Michigan
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| image_map          = Bessemer Township, MI location.png
| mapsize            = 250
| map_caption        = Location within [[Gogebic County, Michigan|Gogebic County]]
| coordinates        = {{coord|46|25|14|N|89|59|51|W|region:US-MI|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Michigan|County]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Michigan]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Gogebic County, Michigan|Gogebic]]

<!-- Government -->| established_title  = 
| established_date   = <!-- Area -->
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = Supervisor
| leader_name        = Jeffery Randall
| leader_title1      = [[Municipal clerk|Clerk]]
| leader_name1       = Debbie Janczak
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 298.9
| area_total_sq_mi   = 115.4
| area_land_km2      = 294.9
| area_land_sq_mi    = 113.8
| area_water_km2     = 4.0
| area_water_sq_mi   = 1.6

<!-- Population -->| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 472
| elevation_ft       = 1549
| population_total   = 1135
| population_as_of   = 2020
| population_footnotes = 
| population_density_km2 = 4.3
| population_density_sq_mi = 11.2

<!-- General information -->| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP Code|ZIP code(s)]]
| postal_code        = 49911 ([[Bessemer, Michigan|Bessemer]])<br/>49947 ([[Marenisco, Michigan|Marenisco]])<br/>49959 (Ramsay)<br/>49968 ([[Wakefield, Michigan|Wakefield]])
| area_code          = [[Area code 906|906]]
| website            = {{URL|http://bessemertownship.com/|Official website}}
| footnotes          = |
| timezone           = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset         = -6
| timezone_DST       = CDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -5
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 26-07980<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        = 1625929<ref>{{gnis|1625929}}</ref>
}}

'''Bessemer Township''' is a [[civil township]] of [[Gogebic County, Michigan|Gogebic County]] in the U.S. state of [[Michigan]].  As of 2020, its population was 1,135.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Bessemer_township,_Gogebic_County,_Michigan?g=060XX00US2605307980 |access-date=2023-12-10 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the township has a total area of {{convert|115.4|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|113.8|sqmi|km2}} is land and {{convert|1.6|sqmi|km2}} (1.35%) is water.

==Communities==
*'''Anvil Location''' is a community established in 1886, associated with an iron mine, the Anvil Mine, operated by Newport Mining Company. Production at this mine spanned from 1887 to 1957, 70 years of production. It had a post office from 1918 to 1971.<ref>{{cite book |first = Walter |last = Romig |year = 1986 |title = Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |series = Great Lakes Books Series |location = Detroit |publisher = [[Wayne State University Press]] |page = 26 |isbn = 978-0814318386 }}</ref>
*The [[Bessemer, Michigan|City of Bessemer]] is situated within the township, but is administratively autonomous.
*'''Dunham''' was an unincorporated community centered on a station on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad.  There was a plant of the Ashland Iron and Steel Company here.  It had a Post Office from 1902 until 1911.<ref>{{harvp|Romig|1986|page=165}}.</ref>
*'''Harding Location''' borders the southern parameters of the township, a farming community.  Although some of this land is still used for farming, it is small compared to past years.
*'''Puritan Location''' is the westernmost populated community, established in 1886.  Its mine, the Ruby was operated by Oliver Mining Company and was the first of the major iron mines on the Gogebic Range to close in 1941.  It had the largest public school edifice in the township, constructed in 1920 and continued operating through the school year of 1958–59.  It had a Post Office from 1910 until 1953.<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&searchtext=Puritan&state=&county=&searchtype=word |title = Notification Service: Post Offices |website = PostalHistory.com |access-date = September 15, 2016 }}{{self-published inline|certain=yes|date=June 2023}}</ref>
*'''Ramsay''' is an [[Unincorporated area#United States|unincorporated community]] within the township at {{Coord|46|28|13|N|89|59|48|W|}}. It is on the [[Black River (Gogebic County)|Black River]] just south of [[U.S. Route 2 in Michigan|U.S. Highway 2]] a few miles west of [[Wakefield, Michigan|Wakefield]] and a few miles east of Bessemer.<ref>{{gnis|1621339|Ramsay, Michigan}}</ref>

==Keystone Arch Bridge==
The Keystone Arch Bridge in Ramsay cost $48,322 (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|48322|1891}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}).  The [[Chicago & Northwestern Railway]] built it in 1891, using [[limestone]] quarried in [[Kaukauna, Wisconsin]].  It is {{convert|45|ft|m}} long, {{convert|44|ft|m}} wide, and {{convert|57|ft|m}} tall with [[wing wall]]s of {{convert|50|feet}}.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jrgGVWmnbRsC&dq=Keystone+Bridge+Ramsay,+Michigan&pg=PA183 |title = The Upper Peninsula of Michigan: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites |publisher = United States Department of the Interior |first1 = Charles K. |last1 = Hyde |editor-first1 = Diane B. |editor-last1 = Abbott |series = Historic American Engineering Record |year = 1978 |page = 183 |isbn = 9781528454063 }}</ref> Stone [[arch bridge]]s are a rarity in Michigan.<ref name="nom">{{cite web |type = National Register of Historic Places registration form |title = Indian Lake Road Stone Arch Bridge |first1 = Robert O. |last1 = Christensen |date = May 2005 |url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/25340316 |access-date = June 5, 2023 }}</ref>

==Demographics==
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2010, there were 1,176 people. By 2020, its population was 1,135.<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Gogebic County, Michigan}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Townships in Gogebic County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Townships in Michigan]]