Editing Hancock, Michigan

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
<!-- Infobox begins -->
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Hancock, Michigan
| official_name      = City of Hancock
| other_name         = 
| native_name        = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| image_skyline      = Hancock, Michigan 2018.jpg
| imagesize          = 275
| image_caption      = View from [[Houghton, Michigan|Houghton]] looking across the [[Keweenaw Waterway]]
| image_flag         = 
| flag_size          = 
| image_seal         = 
| seal_size          = 
| image_shield       = 
| shield_size        = 
| image_blank_emblem = 
| blank_emblem_size  = 
| image_map          = Hancock, Michigan location2.png
| mapsize            = 250
| map_caption        = Location within [[Houghton County, Michigan|Houghton County]]
| image_map1         = 
| mapsize1           = 
| map_caption1       = 
| pushpin_map        = Michigan#USA
| pushpin_label      = Hancock
| pushpin_label_position = left <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within the state of Michigan##Location within the United States
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{Flagu|United States}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{Flag|Michigan}}
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Michigan|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Houghton County, Michigan|Houghton]]
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = 
| subdivision_type4  = 
| subdivision_name4  = 
| government_type    = [[Council–manager government|Council–manager]]
| leader_title1      = [[City manager|Manager]]
| leader_name1       = Mary Babcock
| leader_title       = [[Mayor]]
| leader_name        = Kurt Rickard
| leader_title2      = 
| leader_name2       = 
| leader_title3      = 
| leader_name3       = 
| leader_title4      = 
| leader_name4       = 
| established_title  = Founded
| established_date   = 1859
| established_title1 = Incorporated
| established_date1  = 1863 (village)<br />1903 (city)
| area_magnitude     = 
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| 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_total_km2     = 7.20
| area_land_km2      = 7.20
| area_water_km2     = 0.00
| area_total_sq_mi   = 2.78
| area_land_sq_mi    = 2.78
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.00
| area_water_percent = 
| area_urban_km2     = 
| area_urban_sq_mi   = 
| area_metro_km2     = 
| area_metro_sq_mi   = <!-- Population -->
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_est     = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 4501
| population_density_km2 = 625.25
| population_density_sq_mi = 1619.65
| population_note    = 
| settlement_type    = [[City]]
| population_metro   = 
| population_density_metro_km2 = 
| population_density_metro_sq_mi = 
| population_urban   = 
| population_density_urban_km2 = 
| population_density_urban_sq_mi = 
| timezone           = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] ([[UTC-5]])
| utc_offset         = -5
| timezone_DST       = [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]] ([[UTC-4]])
| utc_offset_DST     = -4
| coordinates        = {{coord|47|7|36|N|88|35|5|W|region:US-MI|display=inline, title}}
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_ft       = 696
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP Code|ZIP code(s)]]
| postal_code        = 49930
| area_code          = [[Area code 906|906]]
| website            = {{URL|www.cityofhancock.com|Official website}}
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 26-36300<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 0627710<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|627710}}</ref>
| footnotes          = 
| pop_est_footnotes  = 
| named_for          = [[John Hancock]]
}}
<!-- Infobox ends -->
'''Hancock''' is a [[city]] in the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan|Upper Peninsula]] of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Michigan]]. The population of Hancock was 4,501 at the [[2020 United States census]]. The city is located within [[Houghton County, Michigan|Houghton County]], and is situated upon the [[Keweenaw Waterway]], a channel of [[Lake Superior]] that cuts across the [[Keweenaw Peninsula]]. Hancock is located across the Keweenaw Waterway from the city of [[Houghton, Michigan|Houghton]], and is connected to that city by the [[Portage Lake Lift Bridge]]. The city is located within Michigan's [[Copper Country]] region.

Hancock is considered a "cultural capital" for [[Finnish Americans]].<ref name="cayton2007">{{cite book |editor-first2=Richard |editor-last3=Zacher |editor-first3=Chris |editor-last1=Cayton |editor-first1=Andrew R.L. |editor-last2=Sisson |title=The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia |publisher=[[Ohio State University]] by [[Indiana University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-253-34886-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanmidwesti0000unse/page/n5/mode/2up?q=%22Hancock%2C+Michigan+the+focal+point+of%22 |page=98 }}</ref> The city is home to the [[Finnish American Heritage Center]], and was home to [[Finlandia University]] from 1896 to 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Finnish American Heritage Center (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/finnish-american-heritage-center.htm |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title='Deeply saddened': Community reacts to Finlandia's closure |url=https://www.mininggazette.com/news/local-news/2023/03/deeply-saddened-community-reacts-to-finlandias-closure/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=mininggazette.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Some [[street name sign]]s in Hancock are [[Bilingual sign|bilingual]], reading in both English and Finnish.

[[The Weather Channel]] has consistently ranked Hancock as the third-snowiest city in the U.S.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|url=https://weather.com/safety/winter/news/six-snowiest-cities-20130105|title=6 Snowiest Cities in America|website=The Weather Channel|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-20}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wuppdr.com/pdf/Hancocksnowiestpr.pdf|title=The Weather Channel Proves Hancock, Michigan, to be The "Third Snowiest City In America"|date=2010|website=City of Hancock|access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:2009-0617-CityHall-Hancock.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The [[Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall]] is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Houghton County, Michigan|National Register of Historic Places]].]]

Hancock is located within Ojibwa (Chippewa) homelands and ceded-territory established by the Treaty of 1842. The founding of the settlement of Hancock began during the summers of 1847 and 1848, when a small group of [[Prospecting|prospectors]] laboring on a rugged hillside (later named Quincy Hill) discovered a sequence of prehistoric [[Ojibwe]] copper mining pits, stretching out for 100 feet along the local [[Amygdule|amygdaloid]] [[lode]]. Upon inspecting one, they realized that the Native Americans were able to take [[copper]] in small quantities through these pits. The discovery formed the basis upon which the [[Quincy Mining Company]] was created in October 1848, under a special charter granted by the legislature.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Hard Rock Mining Era in the Copper Country, A Chronicle of Operations on the Seven Major Lodes of the Keweenaw Mining District|last=Kilpela|first=Tauno|year=1995}}</ref>

The earliest building in what is now the City of Hancock was a log cabin erected in 1846 on the site of the Ruggles Mining Claim, halfway up atop the hillside; it is no longer standing as the site has been taken up by the Houghton County Garage buildings.<ref name="Alexander1">Alexander, p. 1</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Some Copper Country Names And Places|last=Monette|first=Clarence J.|publisher=Copper Island Printing & Graphic Services, Inc.|year=1975|isbn=0-942363-04-3|location=Calumet, Michigan|pages=64–65}}</ref> It was owned by Christopher Columbus (C.C.) Douglass, who came to live there in 1852. The Quincy Mining Company founded Hancock in 1859 after purchasing the land from Douglass and building an office and mine on the site.{{sfn|Eckert|1993|p=468}}<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=A Guide to Michigan's Historic Keweenaw Copper District|last=Molloy|first=Lawrence J.|year=2011|publisher=Great Lakes GeoScience |isbn=978-0-979-1772-1-7}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite book|title=Michigan's Upper Peninsula: A Great Destination|last=Westervelt|first=Amy|author-link=Amy Westervelt|publisher=The Countryman Press|year=2012|isbn=978-1-58157-138-7|location=Woodstock, Vermont}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite book|title=Hancock, Michigan, Remembered|last=Monette|first=Clarence J.|year=1982|isbn=0-942363-19-1|location=Lake Linden, Michigan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stantontownship.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/History-Dateline-points-of-reference.pdf|title=Points of Reference for Stanton Township|date=June 2016|website=Stanton Township|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref> The city was named after [[John Hancock]], a signer of the Declaration of Independence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lakeside Cemetery Records {{!}} City of Hancock |url=https://www.cityofhancock.com/history.php |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=www.cityofhancock.com}}</ref><ref name="cofhweb">{{cite web|title=City of Hancock website|url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/|access-date= 3 December 2009}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=Michigan|last=Hintz|first=Martin|publisher=Children's Press|year=1998|isbn=0-516-20636-2|location=Danbury, Connecticut|pages=[https://archive.org/details/michigan00hint/page/65 65–66]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/michigan00hint/page/65}}</ref>

Hancock's first store was built by the Leopold brothers in 1858; the store also housed the first post office. [[Samuel W Hill|Samuel W. Hill]], an agent for the [[Quincy Mining Company]], platted the Village of Hancock in 1859.<ref name=":19">{{Cite book|title=1877 Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory|last=Clark|first=C.F.|year=1877}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/history.php|title=Historic Hancock - City of Hancock, Michigan|website=www.cityofhancock.com|access-date=2019-06-01}}</ref> On 20 August 1860, Bishop [[Frederic Baraga]] and Reverend Edward Jacker selected lots nine and ten of block eight in the village for the purpose of constructing a church. It was on the northeast corner of what is now Quincy and Ravine Streets. The Quincy Mining Company donated this ground, but for some reason the official paperwork didn't go through for it until 2 July 1875.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Hancock, Michigan, Remembered: Volume II, Churches of Hancock|last=Monette|first=Clarence J.|publisher=Welden H. Curtin|year=1985|location=Lake Linden}}</ref>

In Hancock's earliest days, the village had been within the borders of what is now the [[Portage Charter Township, Michigan|Portage Charter Township]], but on 1 April 1861 the area was set off and organized into a new township called [[Hancock Township, Michigan|Hancock Township]].<ref name=":9" /> The [[Quincy Mining Company Stamp Mills Historic District|Portage Stamp Mill]] was also founded nearby at Portage Lake in 1861.<ref name=":3" /> In 1860, the [[Keweenaw Waterway]] was dredged, widening the then-Portage River to allow more aquatic transportation to Hancock and neighboring [[Houghton, Michigan|Houghton]]. The waterway was initially opened to ships in 1859.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/kewe/learn/management/upload/Houghton-County-South.pdf|title=Copper Country Survey Phase II|website=U.S. National Park Service|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref>

Also in 1859 was the debut of the Hancock Mine, later called the Sumner Mine before being renamed the Hancock Mine once more. The mine was on Quincy Hill near both Summit and Franklin Streets in an area that is now part of Finlandia Campus.<ref name=":20">{{Cite book|title=Copper Mines of Houghton County, Michigan|last=Kaminski-Hamka|first=Terry|publisher=Copperlady Press|year=2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mindat.org/loc-11735.html|title=Hancock Mine, Hancock, Houghton Co., Michigan, USA|website=www.mindat.org|access-date=2019-06-02}}</ref><ref name=":4" />

On 10 March 1863, the Village of Hancock was officially organized and the first officers were elected in the office of William Lapp, the justice of the peace and a pioneer lawyer. Hervey Coke Parke was elected as the first village president. This is considered the founding date of Hancock.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/history-officials.php|title=City Of Hancock History - City Officials - City of Hancock, Michigan|website=www.cityofhancock.com|access-date=2018-11-09}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=History of the Finns in Michigan|last=Holmio|first=Armas K.E.|publisher=Wayne State University Press|year=2001|isbn=0-8143-2790-7|location=Detroit|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyoffinnsin0000holm}}</ref><ref name=":9" />

M.J. McGurrin opened the village's first drugstore in 1865. There were also a few small grocery stores where James Artman sold handmade harnesses. The population of the town may have been about 400, mostly miners who had occupied smaller houses near the vicinity of their workplace, the mines.<ref name=":3" />

On 11 April 1869, Hancock was struck by the worst fire in the community's history when a stovepipe in a local saloon where the post office is now exploded and engulfed the building in flames. It soon spread across the village with the help of a strong west wind. The fire destroyed some 150 buildings, including every store in the village and almost all other businesses, the wooden bridges that had stretched across the ravines, and 120 homes. At the time, Hancock had no fire department or fire equipment. This short-lived fire obliterated three-fourths of Hancock. It took two years to rebuild.<ref>Alexander, p. 47</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/historical-pictorial-view.php?target=120|title=HANCOCK FIRE OF 1869 - City of Hancock, Michigan|website=www.cityofhancock.com|access-date=2018-11-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gendisasters.com/michigan/21542/hancock-mi-town-destroyed-fire-apr-1869|title=Hancock, MI Town Destroyed By Fire, Apr 1869 {{!}} GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods|website=www.gendisasters.com|language=en|access-date=2018-11-09}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":8" /> Famously, [[Mary Chase Perry Stratton]], the founder of the [[Pewabic Pottery]], survived the 1869 fire without injuries.<ref name=":16">{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/tour18.html|title=Historic Hancock|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929181645/http://www.cityofhancock.com/tour18.html|archive-date=2007-09-29|access-date=2007-05-16}}</ref>

On 1 March 1871, in response to the devastating fire of 1869, the Hancock Fire Department was officially organized. In an 1883 publication the fire chief, Archibald J. Scott, stated that the fire department had 2,500&nbsp;ft of hose on hand and that the water supply was ample.<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Reflections of the Hancock Fire Department, Tragic Village Fire of 1869: Historic Landmark Fires, Bucket Brigades to Fire Engines|last=Maki|first=Wilbert J.}}</ref>

In 1872, the Hancock and Calumet Railroad (H&C RR) and the Mineral Range Railroad (MRRR) began their operations. The MRRR provided passenger and freight service between Houghton, Hancock, [[Dollar Bay, Michigan|Dollar Bay]] and [[Calumet, Michigan|Calumet]].<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Historic Hancock Walking tour| url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/tourstart.html|access-date=2007-05-16 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070410134958/http://cityofhancock.com/tourstart.html |archive-date = 2007-04-10}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite book|title=The Mineral Range Railroad|last=Monette|first=Clarence J.|year=1993|isbn=0-942363-42-6|location=Calumet, Michigan}}</ref> The Mineral Range's yards were along Portage Lake near Tezcuco Street.<ref name=":4" /> In 1877, Gustave Diemal, an immigrant from [[Germany]] and the 1870 sheriff-elect of [[Keweenaw County, Michigan|Keweenaw County]], arrived in Hancock and opened a jewelry and watchmakers shop.<ref name=":19" /><ref name=":9" />

In 1876, Alfred Elieser Backman arrived in Hancock and served as [[Copper Country|Copper Country's]] first pastor of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland]]. He found a divided community of Finnish Lutherans: some were faithful followers of the Church of Finland, and others [[Laestadianism|Laestadian]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|title=Picturing the Past, Finlandia University: 1896 to Present|publisher=Finlandia University|year=2013|isbn=978-0-9893484-1-6|location=Hancock, Michigan}}</ref><ref name=":21">{{Cite book|title=Finns of Michigan's Upper Peninsula|last=The Finnish American Heritage Center|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2018|isbn=9781467129787}}</ref> Backman later found the situation too unstable and was replaced by Juho Kustaa Nikander, who arrived in January 1885.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6" /> By 1889, four pastors from the Church of Finland were serving Finnish communities in the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan|Upper Peninsula]]: Nikander, Jacob Juhonpoika Hoikka (who had served as Nikander's co-pastor), Kaarlo L. Tolonen of [[Ishpeming, Michigan|Ishpeming]], and Johan W. Eloheimo of Calumet. The four pastors met often and eventually founded the [[Suomi Synod]] on 25 March 1890, though they had conceived the idea as early as November 1889.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.finlandia.edu/about/our-finnish-heritage/|title=Our Finnish Heritage - Finlandia University|work=Finlandia University|access-date=2018-11-12|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":21" />

[[Suomi College]] was founded in September 1896 by Nikander, and on 21 January 1900, it completed its first building, now affectionately called [[Old Main, Suomi College|"Old Main"]] on Quincy Street. As many as 2,000 people traveled to Hancock to see the laying of the cornerstone.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":14">{{Cite book|title=Michigan's Upper Peninsula|last=Vachon|first=Paul|publisher=Hachette Book Group|date=April 2018|isbn=978-1-63121-747-0|location=Berkeley, California}}</ref><ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.finlandia.edu/about/our-finnish-heritage/|title=Our Finnish Heritage|website=Finlandia University|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-02}}</ref><ref name=":21" /> Like a large handful of historic buildings in the city, it is made of [[Jacobsville Sandstone]]<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":8" /> and built in the [[Richardsonian Romanesque]] style.<ref name=":8" /> For eight years, Nikander, who served as the college's first president, resided in Old Main.<ref name=":1" /> Also in 1900, the Book Concern of Suomi College was established as the [[publishing house]] of the [[Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America]].<ref name=":9" />

In 1898, the [[Quincy Smelter]] was constructed in nearby [[Ripley, Michigan|Ripley]], [[Franklin Township, Houghton County, Michigan|Franklin Township]], to serve the industrious Quincy Mine. The smelter was built on a site formerly held by the Pewabic Mining Company, which the Quincy had absorbed in 1891.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/historical-pictorial-view.php?target=115|title=Quincy Smelter - City of Hancock, Michigan|website=www.cityofhancock.com|access-date=2019-06-01}}</ref> In 1893 both the H&C RR and the MRRR were administered by the [[Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway|Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad (DSA)]].<ref name=":4" />

On 28 August 1896 the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hancock was [[Lightning strike|struck by lightning]], which killed the assistant pastor and then-recently appointed Suomi College instructor Jooseppi Riippa after he had just dismissed 50 children because of the severe weather.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cchi.mtu.edu/copper-country-image-detail?duid=ab59fd5d-03e2-4916-bf52-daa65e25ce73&width=1242&height=732&nid=29742|title=Biography - Pastor Joseph Riippa {{!}} Copper Country Historical Images|website=cchi.mtu.edu|access-date=2019-06-02}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":22">{{Cite book|title=Images of America: Hancock|last=Haeussler|first=John S.|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2014|isbn=9781467112352}}</ref><ref name=":21" />

The Houghton County Street Railway Company (renamed in 1908 the Houghton County Traction Company) also offered street car service from Houghton through Hancock to Calumet, [[Laurium, Michigan|Laurium]], [[Mohawk, Michigan|Mohawk]], [[Hubbell, Michigan|Hubbell]], and [[Lake Linden, Michigan|Lake Linden]], beginning in 1902.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite book|title=Houghton County's Streetcars and Electric Park|last=Monette|first=Clarence J.|publisher=Greenlee Printing Co.|year=2001|isbn=0-942363-54-X|location=Calumet, Michigan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Images of Rail: Copper Country Streetcars|last=Sproule|first=William J.|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2013|isbn=978-0-7385-9986-1|location=Charleston, South Carolina}}</ref> In fall of 1902 the [[Kerredge Theatre]] was completed by William and Ray Kerredge in response to the wildly popular [[The Calumet Theatre|Calumet Theatre]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Strangers and Sojourners: A History of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula|last=Thurner|first=Arthur W.|publisher=Wayne State University Press|year=1994|isbn=9780814323960|pages= 176}}</ref><ref name=":23">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/historical-pictorial-view.php?target=49|title=(New) Kerredge Theatre - City of Hancock, Michigan|website=www.cityofhancock.com|access-date=2018-12-11}}</ref> Hancock was officially incorporated as a city on 10 March 1903 and subsequently divided into four wards. The then-incumbent village president Archibald J. Scott was elected the city's first mayor.<ref name="cofhweb" /><ref name=":9" /><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.infomi.com/city/hancock/|title= Hancock, Michigan|publisher= InfoMI.com|access-date=August 26, 2012}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

After having broken ground for the construction process in August 1903, on 5 June 1904 the St. Joseph's Medical Center was dedicated in a public ceremony. Built with brick and local [[Jacobsville Sandstone|Jacobsville sandstone]], the new complex was five stories high and of [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance style architecture]]. The entryway was completed at a cost of $78 000 plus $21,396 for necessary equipment.<ref name=":24">{{Cite web|url=https://www.portagehealth.org/for-patients-visitors/about-us/our-history|title=Our History|website=www.portagehealth.org|access-date=2019-06-02}}</ref><ref name=":9" /> In 1906, the [[Scott Hotel]] on East Quincy Street was completed.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/historical-pictorial-view.php?target=49|title=(New) Kerredge Theatre - City of Hancock, Michigan|website=www.cityofhancock.com|access-date=2018-11-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.showmetherent.com/103-East-Quincy-Hancock-MI-49930|title=Scott Building, Hancock, MI|website=Show Me The Rent|access-date=2018-11-19}}</ref> A year later, the [[Copper Country Limited]] line of both the [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad]] and the [[Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway]], began operations. The line went to [[Calumet, Michigan|Calumet]] in the north, through Hancock, connecting the Keweenaw to [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], where it began.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b8SyLZIIMLMC|title=Milwaukee Road Remembered|last=Scribbins|first=Jim|date=2008|publisher=U of Minnesota Press|isbn=9781452914251|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:HancockMich-panorama-1906.jpg|thumb|center|911x911px|Looking East down Water Street around the year 1906|alt=]]

In 1906, the [[Scott Hotel]], adjacent to the previously erected Kerredge Theater, was built and named after the prominent city businessman and mayor Archibald J. Scott. The Scott Hotel was constructed as a symbol of Hancock's size and importance.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":25">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wuppdr.com/pdf/CCTNB_CMP_Appendices_A&B_2011.pdf|title=Copper Country Trail National Byway Corridor Management Plan|date=2011|website=Western Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Region|access-date=2 June 2019}}</ref> In 1906, the Hancock Mine expanded its operations and sank the No. 2 vertical shaft.<ref name=":20" /> In 1913, the Scott Hotel was host to the high-profile [[kidnapping]], shooting, and beating of [[Western Federation of Miners]] President [[Charles Moyer]] and his bodyguard Charles Tanner at the hands of members of the local [[Citizens' Alliance]] in the Keweenaw and Houghton County Sheriff's Department. This was in response to his pleas to Governor [[Woodbridge N. Ferris]] and President [[Woodrow Wilson]] for proper investigations into the [[Italian Hall Disaster]]. The kidnapping, beating, and subsequent "deportation" to [[Chicago]] by officials of the area has cemented its place in local memory.<ref>''Red Metal: The Copper Country Strike of 1913'' (2013). Documentary Movie. [[PBS]].</ref><ref name=":22" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.1913strike.mtu.edu/aftermath.html|title=Aftermath|date=1 November 2012|website=Tumult and Tragedy, Michigan's 1913-1914 Copper Strike|publisher=[[Michigan Technological University]]|access-date=2 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cchi.mtu.edu/copper-country-image-detail?duid=97bcaa53-fcd4-4fe2-8cfb-e7d71dc762bb&width=1242&height=732&nid=25489|title=1913-1914 Strike {{!}} Copper Country Historical Images|website=cchi.mtu.edu|access-date=2019-06-02}}</ref><ref name=":26">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/12/28/100670383.pdf|title=Moyer Wounded; Lays It To Plot|date=28 December 1913|work=The New York Times|access-date=2 June 2019}}</ref><ref name=":27">{{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]]|lccn=2013940388}}</ref>

Before [[World War I]], around the time of the tempestuous [[Copper Country strike of 1913–14|Copper Country Strike of 1913–14]], the city population had dropped from its all-time high of 8,981 to 7,527, as many families moved away with the heads of their households to seek a means of living in the factories of [[Lower Peninsula of Michigan|Lower Michigan]] and [[Wisconsin]] or in other [[copper mine]]s in [[Montana]].<ref name=":9" />

Hancock received its second hospital in March 1917, a Finnish hospital called ''Suomalainen Sairaala''. It was also called the Hancock Bethany Hospital, and later known as Dr. Henry Holm's Hospital.<ref name=":28">{{Cite book|title=Amerikan Suomalaisia: Muotokuvia ja lyhyitä elämäkerrallisia tietoja|last=Nikander|first=Werner|publisher=Suomalais lut. kustannusliikkeen kirjapaino|year=1927|location=Hancock, Michigan}}</ref><ref name=":9" /> In 1917 the old First Congregational Church of Hancock, on the corner of Quincy and Tezcuco Streets, burned down. In 1921, the new First Congregational Church of Hancock was completed, though services had begun after breaking ground in 1919.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/historical-pictorial-view.php?target=50|title=First Congregational Church - City of Hancock, Michigan|website=www.cityofhancock.com|access-date=2019-06-01}}</ref><ref name=":2" />

Misfortune came to Hancock after the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|financial crash in 1929]] as mines began to close for lack of a profitable market. Copper at the time sold for only five cents a pound.<ref name=":9" /> The [[Quincy Mine]] closed in 1931, and neighboring mines closed the next year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mindat.org/loc-3842.html|title=Quincy Mine, Hancock, Houghton Co., Michigan, USA|website=www.mindat.org|access-date=2018-12-11}}</ref><ref name=":9" /> By 1934, one third of the families in Houghton County were seeking aid through relief programs. The Quincy Mine resumed its operations in 1937, but discontinued them in 1946, one week after [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] surrendered in 1945, ending [[World War II]].<ref name=":9" />

By 1949 the facilities of St. Joseph's Hospital were no longer adequate to meet the needs of the population, and through funds from the [[Hill-Burton Act]] and lavish contributions of hospital benefactors, the new St. Joseph's Hospital facility on Michigan Street was assembled. The new building was dedicated on 29 July 1951 by Bishop Thomas L. Noa of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette]]. The first patients moved in on 27 August 1951.<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":9" />

On 29 May 1959 the historic Kerredge Theater, the counterpart to [[The Calumet Theatre]], burned to the ground.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":20" /><ref name=":23" /> Joint preparations with Houghton were carried out in 1963 to install a sewage disposal plant to prevent the contamination of Portage Lake.<ref name=":9" />

During the [[United States Bicentennial]] in 1976, then-Finnish President [[Urho Kekkonen]] visited the Hancock area and entirely filled the [[Michigan Technological University]] ice arena when he gave his official address to the local Finnish-American community.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Hidden Gems and Towering Tales: A Hancock, Michigan Anthology|publisher=City of Hancock, Michigan|year=2013|isbn=9780578117546|location=Hancock, Michigan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.finnishamericanreporter.com/article/event-kekkonen-tulee-kekkonen%E2%80%99s-coming|title=Event: Kekkonen tulee! - Kekkonen's coming {{!}} The Finnish American Reporter|website=www.finnishamericanreporter.com|language=en|access-date=2018-11-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0204/1511974.pdf|title=State Visits - Kekkonen of Finland|type=PDF|access-date=18 November 2018}}</ref> In 1990, a rundown former Catholic church on Quincy Street was renovated extensively with traditional [[Architecture of Finland|Finnish architectural styles]] and officially became the Finnish-American Heritage Center.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.finlandia.edu/fahc/history/|title=History of the Finnish American Heritage Center - Finnish American Heritage Center|work=Finnish American Heritage Center|access-date=2018-11-19|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2023, [[Finlandia University]], which had been in operation since 1896, closed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=jshawhan |date=2023-03-14 |title=Board of Trustees vote to dissolve University, wind up affairs in orderly manner |url=https://www.finlandia.edu/news/board-of-trustees-vote-to-dissolve-university-wind-up-affairs-in-orderly-manner/ |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=Finlandia University |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Portage Lake on the Keweenaw Waterway, Michigan.jpg|thumb|Hancock is on the north bank of the [[Keweenaw Waterway]], opposite [[Houghton, Michigan]]. [[Portage Lake (Keweenaw)|Portage Lake]] is at right center of this 2010 photo.]]
The City of Hancock is further north than [[Montreal]] in [[Quebec]], Canada.<ref name=":0" /> According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has an area of {{convert|2.97|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|2.60|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.37|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web |title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2012-11-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702145235/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=2012-07-02 }}</ref> Hancock is connected to [[Houghton, Michigan|Houghton]] by the [[Portage Lake Lift Bridge]], which crosses the dredged [[Keweenaw Waterway]]. The Keweenaw Waterway effectively slices the [[Copper Country|Keweenaw]] in two. Both Houghton and Hancock are on 500-foot bluffs.<ref name=":14" />

The city is bounded on the south by the Portage Canal, parts of [[Quincy Township, Houghton County, Michigan|Quincy]], [[Hancock Township, Michigan|Hancock]] and [[Franklin Township, Houghton County, Michigan|Franklin]] Townships; on the east by West Ripley; and on the north by Quincy and [[Hancock Township, Michigan|Hancock Townships]]. Other communities that share a border with Hancock include [[Ripley, Michigan|Ripley]] and Arcadian Location.<ref name=":0" />

===Climate===
Hancock has a [[humid continental climate]], with long and snowy winters and much [[lake effect snow]]. It is the third-snowiest city in the United States, the snowiest city in the [[Midwestern United States]], and the snowiest city in the [[Eastern United States]], with snowfall averaging {{convert|211.7|in|m|2|disp=or}} per year. The city is along the Keweenaw Peninsula. In 1978–79, a whopping {{convert|390|in|m|2|disp=or}} of snow fell in Hancock. Accumulating snow has been known to fall as late as early June here.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":13" />

{{Weather box
| location = Hancock, Michigan ([[Houghton County Memorial Airport]]), 1981–2010 normals
| single line = Y
| Jan record high F = 50
| Feb record high F = 60
| Mar record high F = 79
| Apr record high F = 88
| May record high F = 95
| Jun record high F = 99
| Jul record high F = 102
| Aug record high F = 98
| Sep record high F = 95
| Oct record high F = 86
| Nov record high F = 71
| Dec record high F = 64
| year record high F = 102
| Jan high F = 22.1
| Feb high F = 24.6
| Mar high F = 33.5
| Apr high F = 46.9
| May high F = 61.0
| Jun high F = 70.2
| Jul high F = 75.3
| Aug high F = 73.9
| Sep high F = 64.6
| Oct high F = 51.2
| Nov high F = 37.6
| Dec high F = 26.2
| year high F = 49.0
| Jan mean F = 15.5
| Feb mean F = 16.9
| Mar mean F = 25.2
| Apr mean F = 38.0
| May mean F = 50.2
| Jun mean F = 59.3
| Jul mean F = 64.8
| Aug mean F = 63.9
| Sep mean F = 55.4
| Oct mean F = 43.4
| Nov mean F = 31.4
| Dec mean F = 20.2
| year mean F = 40.5
| Jan low F = 8.8
| Feb low F = 9.1
| Mar low F = 16.8
| Apr low F = 29.0
| May low F = 39.4
| Jun low F = 48.4
| Jul low F = 54.2
| Aug low F = 54.0
| Sep low F = 46.3
| Oct low F = 35.6
| Nov low F = 25.3
| Dec low F = 14.2
| year low F = 31.9
| Jan record low F = −29
| Feb record low F = −30
| Mar record low F = −23
| Apr record low F = -4
| May record low F = 19
| Jun record low F = 28
| Jul record low F = 32
| Aug record low F = 34
| Sep record low F = 24
| Oct record low F = 12
| Nov record low F = -7
| Dec record low F = −19
| year record low F = −30
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 2.58
| Feb precipitation inch = 1.37
| Mar precipitation inch = 1.56
| Apr precipitation inch = 1.84
| May precipitation inch = 2.50
| Jun precipitation inch = 2.58
| Jul precipitation inch = 2.49
| Aug precipitation inch = 2.41
| Sep precipitation inch = 3.45
| Oct precipitation inch = 2.99
| Nov precipitation inch = 2.13
| Dec precipitation inch = 1.89
| year precipitation inch = 27.79
| Jan snow inch = 68.8
| Feb snow inch = 30.9
| Mar snow inch = 19.2
| Apr snow inch = 7.8
| May snow inch = 1.0
| Jun snow inch = 0.0
| Jul snow inch = 0.0
| Aug snow inch = 0.0
| Sep snow inch = 0.2
| Oct snow inch = 4.7
| Nov snow inch = 22.2
| Dec snow inch = 52.9
| year snow inch = 207.7
| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
| Jan precipitation days = 17.4
| Feb precipitation days = 12.3
| Mar precipitation days = 11.5
| Apr precipitation days = 10.0
| May precipitation days = 11.1
| Jun precipitation days = 10.7
| Jul precipitation days = 10.8
| Aug precipitation days = 9.4
| Sep precipitation days = 13.5
| Oct precipitation days = 15.2
| Nov precipitation days = 14.9
| Dec precipitation days = 15.1
| year precipitation days = 151.9
| unit snow days = 0.1 in
| Jan snow days = 23.2
| Feb snow days = 15.5
| Mar snow days = 10.3
| Apr snow days = 4.9
| May snow days = 0.8
| Jun snow days = 0.0
| Jul snow days = 0.0
| Aug snow days = 0.0
| Sep snow days = 0.2
| Oct snow days = 3.5
| Nov snow days = 12.4
| Dec snow days = 19.7
| year snow days = 90.5
| source 1 = NOAA (extremes 1887–present)<ref name=NCDC>{{cite web|url=http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=mqt|title=NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data|publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]|access-date=September 28, 2015}}</ref><ref name=NOAAtxt>{{cite web|url=ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USW00014858.normals.txt|title=MI Hancock Houghton CO AP|publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]|access-date=September 28, 2015}}</ref>|date=September 2015}}

== Attractions ==

=== Historic sites ===

* The 1899 historic, [[NRHP|NRHP-listed]] and [[Michigan State Historic Sites|Michigan State Historic Site]] '''[[Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall]]''' on Quincy Street is certainly a local landmark of sorts. The red block used to construct the building is [[Jacobsville Sandstone]], a locally quarried stone from the town of [[Jacobsville, Michigan|Jacobsville]].<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/cca/hancock-town-hall-and-fire-hall/|title=Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall|date=1899-10-31|website=Copper Country Architects|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref>
* [[Old Main, Suomi College|'''Old Main''']], the first building of Suomi College (later Finlandia University) serving as dorms, classes, and offices. The building is on the [[National Register of Historic Places|National Register of Historic Landmarks]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/cca/suomi-college-old-main/|title=Suomi College, Old Main|date=1900-12-07|website=Copper Country Architects|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref><ref name=":28" /> The venue is privately owned and serves as a retreat center, artist collective and wedding and event venue.<ref name="rie-swm5924">{{Cite web |first=Jennifer |last=Donovan |date=May 9, 2024 |title=Finlandia's Old Main lives again |url=https://www.secondwavemedia.com/rural-innovation-exchange/features/finlandiaupdate.aspx |access-date=November 16, 2024 |website=Rural Innovation Exchange |via=Second Wave Media |language=en }}</ref>
* The birthplace of [[Mary Chase Perry Stratton]], the founder of the [[Pewabic Pottery]], is now called the '''Pewabic House''' and operates as a museum. The building is also known as the Perry-Stratton House.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":16" />
* The six surviving '''[[Quincy Mining Company]] houses''' on Hillside, Sampson, Roosevelt, and White Streets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/cca/quincy-mining-company-houses-2/|title=Quincy Mining Company Houses|date=1905-11-17|website=Copper Country Architects|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref>
* The '''[[Scott Hotel]]''', one of the preeminent hotels of the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan|Upper Peninsula]], which served as the setting for much of the Upper Peninsula's and the [[Keweenaw Peninsula|Keweenaw Peninsula's]] historic events. Many performers who played at the neighboring former [[Kerredge Theatre]], which burned in 1959, stayed at the Scott Hotel. The Hotel was also witness to the kidnapping of [[Western Federation of Miners]] [[trade union]] President [[Charles Moyer]] and his counterpart-bodyguard Charles Tanner during the close of the [[Copper Country strike of 1913–14|Copper Country Strike of 1913–14]].<ref name=":27" /><ref name=":26" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":25" />

=== Points of Interest ===

* The '''Copper Country Community Arts Center''' on Quincy Street is host to three galleries, the '''Kerredge Gallery''', the '''Youth Gallery''', and the '''Artist Market Sales Gallery'''. Together the galleries portray the works of more than 170 local and regional artists.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.coppercountryarts.com/|title=CCCAC Home|website=COPPER COUNTRY COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER|language=en|access-date=2019-04-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coppercountryarts.com/Kerredge.htm|title=Kerredge Exhibition Gallery webpage of Copper Country Community Arts Center website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070406045534/http://www.coppercountryarts.com/Kerredge.htm|archive-date=2007-04-06|access-date=2007-05-16}}</ref>
* The '''Detroit & Northern Savings and Loan Association building''' on Quincy Street, the city's only [[high-rise building]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/cca/detroit-northern-savings-and-loan-association/|title=Detroit & Northern Savings and Loan Association|date=1972-12-08|website=Copper Country Architects|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref>
* The '''Finlandia Reflection Gallery''' in the '''Jutila Center''' on Michigan Street has a display of various artwork from students of the University's International School of Art & Design program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.finlandia.edu/jutilacenter/|title=Home|website=Jutila Center|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-20}}</ref>
* The '''Finnish-American Heritage Centre''' and '''Finnish-American National Historical Archive''', the most comprehensive collection of [[Finnish Americans|Finnish-American]] history on record, as well as museum, cinema, art gallery, home of the '''''Finnish-American Reporter''''' newspaper, an honorary consulate of the [[Republic of Finland]], and a Keweenaw Heritage Site of the [[Keweenaw National Historical Park]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.keweenaw.info/member-detail/finnish-american-heritage-center/|title=Finnish American Heritage Center|website=Keweenaw Convention & Visitor’s Bureau|language=en|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.finlandia.edu/fahc/|title=Home|website=Finnish American Heritage Center|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite book|title=Michigan's Upper Peninsula|last=Vachon|first=Paul|publisher=Avalon Travel|year=2015|isbn=978-1-61238-986-8|edition=3rd|location=Berkeley, California}}</ref><ref name=":18">{{Cite book |last=Usitalo |first=Kath |title=100 Things to Do in the Upper Peninsula Before You Die |publisher=Reedy Press, LLC |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-68106-088-0 |location=[[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]]}}</ref><ref name=":4" />
* The '''[[Houghton County, Michigan|Houghton County]] Marina''' is in Hancock and has 44 seasonal and 10 transient ships operating annually. The marina also offers an option for boating, as well as a view of the [[Portage Lake Lift Bridge]], which connects the city to Houghton.<ref name=":14" />
* Old Main Inn located at 603 Quincy Street in Hancock was built in 1900 by Suomi Opisto (Finnish for Finnish College).<ref name="rie-swm5924"/> The building served as dormitories, classrooms, chapel and library. Finlandia University closed in 2023 and the building was sold to a private party in 2024. The venue now serves as a wedding and event venue.
* Just outside of Hancock atop Quincy Hill lie the remnants of the '''[[Quincy Mine]]''', with most of the major parts of the complex acting as contributing sites of the [[Keweenaw National Historical Park]]. Among the remaining structures is '''1918 Nordberg Steam Hoist''', the world's largest steam-powered hoist engine, which once lowered the copper miners into the depths of the mine's Shaft No. 2. Visitors may also experience a ½ mile underground portion on a tour of the Quincy by entering an [[adit]] through the side of Quincy Hill.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":17">{{Cite book|title=Backroads & Byways of Michigan: Drives, Day Trips & Weekend Excursions|last=Forster|first=Matt|publisher=The Countryman Press|year=2018|isbn=978-1-58157-493-7|location=[[New York City]], New York}}</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":18" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Michigan: Off The Beaten Path|last=DuFresne|first=Jim|publisher=Globe Pequot|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4930-2635-7|edition=Twelfth|issn=1542-4804}}</ref>
* '''Temple Jacob''', the only [[synagogue]] in the [[Copper Country]], is on Front Street.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/cca/temple-jacob/|title=Temple Jacob|date=1912-12-02|website=Copper Country Architects|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref>
* The headquarters of '''Vollwerth's''', an Upper Peninsula-based sausage manufacturer, is on Hancock Street. The company was founded in 1915 in the Hancock basement of the German immigrant Richard Vollwerth. Since then, it has regionally been acclaimed as the "King of Meats".<ref name=":18" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vollwerth.com/about.php|title=About Vollwerth Company|website=www.vollwerth.com|access-date=2019-06-01}}</ref>  Among many sausage and hot dog products, it manufactures a "Michigan Sauce" that is their version of a Coney sauce.  Another popular product is Baroni's Spaghetti Sauce with Meat, "A favorite in Copper Country kitchens since 1935."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vollwerth.com/ |title=Vollwerth Company }}</ref>

=== Recreation ===

* One mile west of Downtown Hancock on [[M-203 (Michigan highway)|M-203]] is the '''Hancock Recreation Area''' on the shores of Portage Lake. It is over 28 acres in size and is considered one of the best campgrounds in the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan|Upper Peninsula]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/recreation-beach-campground.php|title=Hancock Recreation Area - Beach & Campground - City of Hancock, Michigan|website=www.cityofhancock.com|access-date=2019-04-20}}</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":14" />
* '''[[Mont Ripley]]''' in the town of [[Ripley, Michigan|Ripley]], a neighboring community, is a popular ski area for locals. It is Michigan's oldest ski resort.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mtu.edu/mont-ripley/|title=Mont Ripley Ski Area|website=Michigan Technological University|language=en|access-date=2019-04-20}}</ref>

==People and culture==

=== Finnish-American culture ===
Hancock has been called "the focal point of [[Finnish American|Finns in the United States]]."<ref name="cayton2007"/> Many Finns settled in Hancock because the forests, the lakes, and the clear blue skies reminded them of home.<ref name=":5" /> In Hancock, about 40% of the population claimed [[Finns|Finnish ancestry]] in the most recent federal census.<ref>Satu Somero: ''Facts that Finns probably don’t know about Finnish Americans''. FloridaFinns, 6 March 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2020.</ref> Since 1983, Hancock has had an active Finnish Theme Committee entrusted with preserving the region's Finnish heritage.<ref name=":1" /> In recognition of the [[Finntown|large number of Finns]] in the area, some street signs in Hancock are written in both English and [[Finnish language|Finnish]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|title=Lake Superior: The Ultimate Guide To The Region|publisher=Lake Superior Port Cities Inc.|year=2014|isbn=978-1-938229-17-6|location=Duluth, Minnesota|pages=61–63}}</ref>

=== Festivals ===
[[File:Bilingual Signs in Hancock, Michigan.jpg|thumb|[[Bilingual sign|Bilingual street signs]] in English and Finnish in downtown Hancock]]
Hancock hosts an annual midwinter festival called '''''[[Heikinpäivä]]''''' (''Henry's Day'') on 19 January,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.finlandia.edu/heikinpaiva/|title=Heikinpäivä|publisher=[[Finlandia University]]|access-date=15 February 2024}}</ref> celebrating the feast day of [[Henry (Bishop of Finland)|Saint Henrik of Uppsala]], the patron saint of [[Finland]], and [[Heikki Lunta]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.finlandia.edu/heikinpaiva/whats-with-heikki/|title=What's With Heikki?|first=Jim|last=Kurtti|publisher=[[Finlandia University]]|access-date=15 February 2024}}</ref> Heikinpäivä includes a traditional [[wife-carrying]] competition.<ref name=":18" /><ref name="cofhweb" /><ref name=":7" /> Every June, Hancock and Houghton host a festival known as '''Bridgefest''' to commemorate the building of the [[Portage Lake Lift Bridge]], which united both the communities of [[Copper Island]] and those in the southern portions of the [[Keweenaw Peninsula]].<ref name="cofhweb" /><ref name=":7" /> Also held in June is the '''Keweenaw Chain Drive Festival'''.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://keweenawnow.blogspot.com/2014/06/chain-drive-mountain-bike-races-parade.html|title=Keweenaw Now: Chain Drive mountain bike races, parade, highlight Bridgefest weekend|last=Now|first=Keweenaw|date=2014-06-14|website=Keweenaw Now|access-date=2018-11-12}}</ref> The '''Keweenaw Trail Running Festival''' takes place each July.<ref name=":7" />

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1880= 1783
|1890= 1772
|1900= 4050
|1910= 8981
|1920= 7527
|1930= 5795
|1940= 5554
|1950= 5223
|1960= 5022
|1970= 4820
|1980= 5122
|1990= 4547
|2000= 4323
|2010= 4634
|2020= 4501
|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>
}}
[[File:HancockMichiganSignUS41.jpg|thumb|left|Hancock sign]]

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2012-11-25}}</ref> of 2010, there were 4,634 people, 1,882 households, and 934 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|1782.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 2,111 housing units at an average density of {{convert|811.9|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 94.7% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 1.2% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.0% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.7% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.1% [[Race (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.1% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 1.3% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.4% of the population.

There were 1,882 households, of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 50.4% were non-families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.90.

The median age in the city was 34.1 years. 16.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 21.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.8% were from 25 to 44; 21.5% were from 45 to 64; and 19.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 4,323 people, 1,769 households, and 902 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|1727.5|PD/sqmi}}. There were 1,983 housing units at an average density of {{convert|792.4|/sqmi}}. The racial makeup of the city was 96.0% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.8% [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.9% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.1% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], <0.1% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.2% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.0% from two or more races. 0.8% of the population were [[Hispanics in the United States|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race. 32.2% were of [[Finnish American|Finnish]], 14.4% [[German American|German]], 8.2% [[English American|English]], 5.3% [[Italian American|Italian]], and 5.2% [[French American|French]] ancestry according to [[Census 2000]]. 94.4% spoke [[English language|English]] and 4.4% [[finnish language|Finnish]] as their first language.

There were 1,769 households, out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.0% were non-families. 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.0% under the age of 18, 18.0% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,118, and the median income for a family was $36,625. Males had a median income of $27,090 versus $22,150 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $16,669. About 6.9% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.

===Neighborhoods===
[[File:Portage Hospital.JPG|thumb|UP Health System-Portage in 2005]]
The [[East Hancock]] neighborhood is part of the city and consists of many old Victorian-style houses which were once owned by mining company officials.

Doctors' Park is a neighborhood in West Hancock near the former Portage View Hospital Building (now the Jutila Centre of [[Finlandia University]]). It lies north of West Quincy Street.

The [[Quincy Street Historic District]] encompasses the center of Hancock's downtown, covering the 100, 200, and 300 blocks of Quincy Street.

UP Health system operates a Hospital with a Level 3 Trauma Center at 500 Campus Drive Hancock, MI 49930 called the UP Health System - Portage.

==Sports==
The 2004 Professional Walleye Trail Championship Tournament was held partly in the city.<ref name=cofhweb/>

==Parks and recreation==

===Bicycling===
The Jack Stevens Rail Trail runs through Hancock and continues 14 miles north to [[Calumet, Michigan|Calumet]] on a now-abandoned [[Soo Line Railroad]] grade.<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Keweenaw Mountain Biking: Jack Stevens Trail |url=http://www.keweenaw.info/details_410_jackstevenstrail.aspx |access-date=2007-05-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927225204/http://www.keweenaw.info/details_410_jackstevenstrail.aspx |archive-date=2007-09-27 }}</ref>

=== Snowmobiling ===
The Keweenaw Trail or Trail 3 is the main [[snowmobiling]] route to and from Houghton and Hancock. It connects to other nearby trails, including the North and South Freda Trails, which lead to [[Lake Superior]], and the Stevens Trail, which goes to [[Calumet, Michigan|Calumet]].<ref name=":14" />

==Education==
[[File:Finlandia old main.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Old Main, Suomi College|Old Main]], Finlandia University]]

===Public education===
Elementary-school students attend the Gordon Barkell Elementary School (formerly Hancock Elementary School), middle school students Hancock Middle School and high-school students Hancock Central High School. Hancock Central High and Hancock Middle School are now connected.

===Higher education===
Hancock is the home of [[Finlandia University]] (formerly Suomi College). Suomi College was founded in 1896 by the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. In the 1880s large numbers of Finns immigrated to Hancock to labor in the copper and lumber industries. One immigrant, mission pastor J. K. Nikander of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, headquartered in Hancock, wanted to ensure seminary training in America. He had observed that [[Swedes|Swedish]] and Finnish immigrants along the [[Delaware River]] did not train new ministers, and he feared a loss of Finnish identity. In 1896 Nikander founded Suomi College. The college's role was to preserve Finnish culture, train Lutheran ministers and teach English. During the 1920s Suomi became a liberal arts college. In 1958 the seminary separated from the college. Four years later the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America merged with other mainstream Lutheran churches. The cornerstone of [[Old Main, Suomi College|Old Main]], the first building erected at Suomi College, was laid on May 30, 1898. [[Jacobsville sandstone]], quarried at the Portage Entry of the Keweenaw waterway, was brought there by barge, cut, and used to construct Old Main. Dedicated on January 21, 1900, it contained a dormitory, kitchen, laundry, classrooms, offices, library, chapel, and lounge. The college quickly outgrew this building, and in 1901 a frame structure, housing a gym, meeting hall, and music center was erected on an adjacent lot. The frame building was demolished when Nikander Hall, named for Suomi's founder, was constructed in 1939. The hall was designed by the architectural firm of Saarinen and Swanson, which employed the world-renowned Finnish-American architect [[Eero Saarinen]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Historical Marker - S211 - Suomi College / Old Main (Marker ID#:S211) |website=[[Michigan Department of Natural Resources]] |url=http://www.midnr.com/publications/pdfs/arcgisonline/storymaps/mhc_historical_markers/pdfs/MHC311959003.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/cca/suomi-college-j-k-nikander-hall/|title=Suomi College, J. K. Nikander Hall|date=1939-12-07|website=Copper Country Architects|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref>

Several parts of the campus of [[Michigan Technological University]] are also in Hancock, including a former MTU "underground classroom" in the [[Quincy Mine]].<ref>Gordon ''et al'', pp. 192-193</ref>

==Transportation==

===Highways===
* {{jct|state=MI|US|41}} courses north on a scenic drive to [[Calumet, Michigan|Calumet]] and [[Copper Harbor, Michigan|Copper Harbor]]. To the south and east U S41 routes to [[Houghton, Michigan|Houghton]] and [[Marquette, Michigan|Marquette]]. Also on US 41 is the Copper Country Trail [[National Scenic Byway]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.keweenaw.info/attractions/copper-country-trail-national-byway/|title=Copper County Trail, Keweenaw Michigan|website=Keweenaw Convention & Visitor’s Bureau|language=en|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref>
* {{jct|state=MI|M|26}} routes north to [[Hubbell, Michigan|Hubbell]], [[Lake Linden, Michigan|Lake Linden]] and [[Laurium, Michigan]]. Before reaching its ending in Copper Harbor, M-26 follows a winding, scenic stretch along [[Lake Superior]]
* {{jct|state=MI|M|203}} serves as a connector to [[McLain State Park]].

===Intercity bus===
[[Indian Trails]] bus lines operates a terminal at the Shottle Bop Party Store, 125 Quincy Street. The service runs between Hancock and [[Milwaukee, WI|Milwaukee, Wisconsin]].<ref>{{cite web|title=HANCOCK-MARQUETTE-GREEN BAY-MILWAUKEE |publisher=[[Indian Trails]] |date=January 15, 2013 |access-date=2013-02-27 |url=http://www.indiantrails.com/sites/default/files/1490_0.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222225859/http://www.indiantrails.com/sites/default/files/1490_0.pdf |archive-date=February 22, 2014 }}</ref> Until January 31, 2007, this was operated by [[Greyhound Bus Lines]].

===Public transportation===
In the very late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Houghton County Traction Company ran a trolley system with service from Houghton, through Hancock, and on to other destinations, with the other boundaries being [[Hubbell, Michigan|Hubbell]] to the northeast and [[Mohawk, Michigan|Mohawk]] to the far north.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=cofhweb/><ref name=":11" /> The Mineral Range Railroad also historically served the city.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":4" />

Hancock Public Transit operates a demand bus which will take riders to anywhere in Hancock, Houghton, or [[Ripley, Michigan|Ripley]]. The service is headquartered on Quincy Street.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofhancock.com/info-transit.php|title=City Of Hancock Public Transit - City of Hancock, Michigan|website=www.cityofhancock.com|access-date=2019-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.getaroundwup.org/providers/hancock-city-transit/|title=Hancock Public Transit – Get Around the Western U.P.|website=www.getaroundwup.org|access-date=2019-04-20}}</ref><ref name=":14" /> Checker Transport also provides service to the Hancock area from a satellite office in the region, though the main office is in [[Marquette, Michigan|Marquette]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.getaroundwup.org/providers/checker-transport-llc/|title=Checker Transport, LLC – Get Around the Western U.P.|website=www.getaroundwup.org|access-date=2019-04-20}}</ref>

==Notable people==
{{div col}}
* [[Herb Boxer]], hockey player
* [[Anders Brännström]], general of the Swedish Army
* [[John P. Condon]], Major general, USMC
* [[Paul Coppo]], Olympic and professional hockey player
* [[Jill Dickman]], Republican member of the [[Nevada Assembly]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Assemblywoman Jill Dickman|url=https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/Legislator/A/Assembly/Current/31|website=Nevada Legislature|access-date=February 6, 2016}}</ref>
* [[Ralph Heikkinen]], football player
* [[Dwight Helminen]], hockey player
* [[Verna Hillie]], actress
* [[Matt Huuki]], politician
* [[Tanner Kero]], hockey player
* [[Ike Klingbeil]], hockey player
* [[Michael Lahti]], politician
* [[Robbie Laing]], college basketball coach
* [[Joe Linder|Joseph Linder]], hockey player; called the "first great American-born hockey player"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ushockeyhalloffame.com/page/show/819348-joseph-linder|title=Joseph Linder|work=U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame}}</ref>
* [[Louis Moilanen]], Finnish giant
* [[Eddie Olson]], hockey player
* [[Rodney Paavola]], hockey player, won gold medal at [[1960 Winter Olympics]]
* [[Bruce Riutta]], hockey player
* [[Rent Romus]], saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and record producer
* [[John D. Ryan (industrialist)|John D. Ryan]], industrialist and copper mining tycoon
* [[Peter Shaw (American actor)|Peter Shaw]], actor
* [[Mary Chase Perry Stratton]], ceramic artist and co-founder of [[Pewabic Pottery]]
{{div col end}}

== Sister cities ==
Hancock is the [[sister city]] of [[Porvoo]], [[Finland]].

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{sfn whitelist |CITEREFEckert1993}}
* {{cite book | first=Eleanor A. | last=Alexander | title=East Hancock Revisited: History of a Neighborhood Circa 1880-1920 | year = 1984}}
* {{Eckert-Buildings of Michigan}}
* {{cite book| first1=Robert Boyd |last2=Malone |first2=Patrick M. | last1=Gordon | title=The Texture of Industry: An Archaeological View of the Industrialization of North America | url=https://archive.org/details/textureofindustr0000gord | url-access=registration | publisher=Oxford University Press US | isbn=0-19-511141-9 | year = 1994 }}
* Kaunonen, Gary, ''Challenge Accepted: A Finnish Immigrant Response to Industrial America in Michigan's Copper Country.'' East Lansing, MI: [[Michigan State University Press]], 2010.
* {{cite book |first=Steve |last=Lewis |title=Hancock's Early Days |year=1975 }}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Houghton-Hancock}}
{{Commons category|Hancock, Michigan}}
*[http://www.cityofhancock.com/ City of Hancock]
*[http://www.hancock.k12.mi.us/ Hancock Public Schools]
*[http://hunts-upguide.com/houghton.html/ Hunts' Guide to the Upper Peninsula: Houghton]
*[http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/cams/fund/still.html View of Portage Lake Lift Bridge and the (Michigan Tech) campus from the Michigan Tech Fund offices in Hancock]

{{Houghton County, Michigan}}
{{Upper Peninsula of Michigan}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hancock, Michigan| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Houghton County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Houghton micropolitan area, Michigan]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1846]]
[[Category:1859 establishments in Michigan]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1859]]
[[Category:Finnish-American culture in Michigan]]