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The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that comprise the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as simply "the Upper Peninsula", "the U.P.", or "Upper Michigan", and more casually as the land "Above the Bridge". It is sometimes called "Northern Michigan" by non-Michiganders, but that term is more commonly applied within the state to the northern half of the Lower Peninsula.
Geography
The Upper Peninsula contains 16,452 square miles (42,610 km²), almost one-third of the land area of the state and about the size of Denmark. Maximum east to west distances in the Upper Peninsula is about 320 miles (515 km) and maximum north to south distance of about 125 miles (200 km). It is roughly bounded on the north by Lake Superior, on the east by St. Mary's River, on the south by Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and on the west by Wisconsin and (counting the on-water border on Lake Superior) by Minnesota. It is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Mackinac Straits, five miles across at the narrowest, and is connected to it only by the Mackinac Bridge. Until the bridge was completed in 1957, travel between the two peninsulas was difficult and slow (and sometimes even impossible during winter months). Car ferries ran between the two peninsulas, and at the busiest times of year the wait could stretch to hours. In winter, travel was only possible over the ice after the straits had solidly frozen over.
Regional identity
The peninsula is home to 328,000 people, only about 3% of the state's population, living in almost one-third of the state's land area. Residents are colloquially known as Yoopers, (from "U.P.ers") and many consider themselves Yoopers before they consider themselves Michiganders. (People living in the Lower Peninsula are commonly called "trolls" by Upper Peninsula residents, as they live "Under da Bridge.") This regionalism is not only a result of the physical separation of the two peninsulas, but also the history of the state.
When the Michigan Territory was first established, it included only the Lower Peninsula and the eastern portion of the Upper Peninsula. In 1819 the territory was expanded to include the remainder of the Upper Peninsula, all of Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota (previously included in the Indiana and Illinois Territories). But when Michigan was preparing for statehood in the 1830s, the boundaries proposed corresponded to the original territorial boundaries, with some proposals even leaving the Upper Peninsula out entirely. Meanwhile, the territory was involved in a border dispute with the state of Ohio in a conflict known as the Toledo War. The people of Michigan approved a constitution in May 1835 and had elected state officials in late autumn 1835. Although the state government was unrecognized by the United States Congress, the territorial government effectively ceased to exist. A constitutional convention of the state legislature refused a compromise to accept the full Upper Peninsula in exchange for ceding the Toledo Strip to Ohio. A second convention, hastily convened by Governor Stevens Thomson Mason, consisting primarily of Mason supporters, finally agreed to accept the U.P. for the Toledo Strip in December 1836. In January 1837, the U.S. Congress admitted Michigan as a state of the Union. At the time, Michigan was considered the losing party in the deal because of the apparently less valuable land, but the Upper Peninsula’s rich mineral wealth was soon discovered, and Michigan instead seemed the winner.
It would generally be a misconception to say that residents of the Western Upper Peninsula regard themselves as more part of Wisconsin than Michigan. While the cities and universities of Wisconsin, particularly Green Bay, are more accessible than those of the Lower Peninsula, the typical high school graduate from the UP will likely look first to local universities, and then to the Lower Peninsula schools, rather than to Wisconsin schools. While a trip downstate is often rather difficult (A trip from Ironwood to Detroit is roughly 600 miles long, more than twice the distance to Minneapolis and almost as long as a trip to St. Louis), it will still be done often enough. Commonly, people of the Western UP will go to Minneapolis or Wisconsin for trips of pleasure (especially shopping), but they have managed to retain identity with Michigan. Residents of the northeastern part of the U.P. may cross the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge to Canada more often than they cross the Mackinac Bridge to the Lower Peninsula, and often associate themselves as closer to Northern Ontario. Additionally, although they are not phyiscally a part of the Peninsula, Isle Royale and Mackinac Island are regarded as parts of it.
There have been intermittent (and not always serious) calls for the Upper Peninsula to declare independence from the United States; these calls receive little popular support. Only slightly more serious is a movement for secession from the state of Michigan; secessionists propose making the peninsula into the state of "Superior" (named for Lake Superior). The region's economic dependence on aid from the Michigan state government makes such proposals very unlikely to be carried forth.
In terms of cultural identity, it may be truest to say that residents of the Upper Peninsula identify far more with fellow Yoopers than with the "trolls" of the Lower Peninsula or the "flatlanders" and "berry pickers" of southern and central Wisconsin. In some parts of northern Wisconsin bumper stickers advocating a new state of Superior are almost as common as they are in the UP itself, since people in northern Wisconsin feel as much ignored by downstate politicians as do people in the UP (presumably the Wisconsin advocates of a new State would expect it to include those counties of Wisconsin adjacent to Lake Superior in addition to the UP).
Economy and culture
The Upper Peninsula is very rich in mineral deposits including iron, copper and silver. Small amounts of gold have also been discovered and mined. In the 19th century, mining dominated the economy, and the UP became home to many isolated company towns. Some mines are still active, though on a much smaller scale. Logging continues to be an important industry. Because of the highly seasonal climate and the short growing season, agriculture is limited in the Upper Peninsula, though potatoes, strawberries and a few other small fruits are grown. Tourism is the main industry. The peninsula has large tracts of state and national forests, eastern arborvitae swamps, coastline, over 150 waterfalls, and very low population densities. Because of the camping, boating, fishing, snowmobiling, hunting, and hiking opportunities, many Lower Peninsula and Wisconsin families spend their vacations in the UP.
Early settlers included multiple waves of people from Nordic countries. There are still active Swedish- and Finnish-speaking communities in many areas of the Upper Peninsula today. People of Finnish ancestry make up 16% of the peninsula's population. The UP is home to the highest concentration of Finns outside Europe. Some aspects of Finnish culture, such as the sauna and the concept of sisu, have been adopted generally by residents of the Upper Peninsula. The television program Finland Calling (Suomi Kutsuu), filmed at the WLUC-TV6 studio in Negaunee Township, is the only Finnish-language television broadcast outside of Finland; it has aired on Sunday mornings since March 25, 1962. In August 2006, Marquette hosted Finn Grand Fest 2006, an international Finnish heritage festival.
Upper Peninsula natives speak a dialect influenced by Scandinavian and Canadian speech (See Yooper dialect), which many of them take pride in. A popular bumper sticker, a parody of the "Say YES to Michigan" slogan promoted by state tourism officials, shows an outline of the Upper Peninsula and the slogan, "Say ya to da UP, eh?"
The Upper Peninsula has a distinctive local cuisine. The pasty, a kind of meat turnover originally brought to the region by Cornish miners, is extremely popular among locals and tourists alike. Many restaurants serve cudighi, a spicy Italian meat. Finnish immigrants contributed nisu (a cardamom-flavored sweet bread) and korppu, also known as Trenary toast, (rock-hard slices of toasted cinnamon-bread, traditionally dipped in coffee). Thimbleberry jam and maple syrup are highly prized local delicacies. Fresh Great Lakes fish, such as the lake trout and whitefish, are commonly eaten, despite concerns of PCB contamination and elevated mercury concentrations. Smoked and pickled fish are also popular.
State prisons are located in Baraga, Marquette, Newberry and Kincheloe.
Indian Casinos have become popular in the U.P. One of the first Indian casinos in the country was started in Baraga County by the Ojibwa nation. Originally the casinos were simple, one-room affairs. Some of the casinos are now quite elaborate.
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan has three state universities: Northern Michigan University in Marquette; Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie; and Michigan Technological University in Houghton. Appropriate with the region's history, Michigan Tech was founded as a school of mines, targeting those seeking professional degrees in the excavation industry critical to the region.
In 2006, the UP was named to a list of the top ten travel destinations in the world, in a MSN.com article. The UP was number 10 on the list.
Major Attractions of the Upper Peninsula.:
- The Soo Locks
- Tahquamenon Falls
- Copper Harbor
- Mackinac Island
- Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
- The Porcupine Mountains
- Isle Royale National Park
- National Ski Hall of Fame
- Au Train Falls
- Michigan Technological University, Huskies
- Lake Superior State University, Lakers
- Northern Michigan University, Wildcats
Demographics
The Upper Peninsula remains a predominantly rural region. Only 91,624 people live in the twelve towns of at least 4,000 people, covering 96.5 square miles (155.365 km2). Only 114,544 people live in the twenty-one towns of at least 2,000 or more people, which cover 123.7 square miles (320.4 km2) - less than 1% of the peninsula's land area.
| City | Population | Area (mi2) |
|---|---|---|
| Marquette | 19,661 | 11.4 |
| Sault Ste. Marie | 16,542 | 14.8 |
| Escanaba | 13,140 | 12.7 |
| Menominee | 9,131 | 5.2 |
| Iron Mountain | 8,154 | 7.2 |
| Houghton | 7,134 | 4.3 |
| Ishpeming | 6,535 | 8.7 |
| Ironwood | 6,293 | 6.6 |
| Kingsford | 5,549 | 4.3 |
| Gladstone | 5,266 | 5.0 |
| Negaunee | 4,576 | 13.8 |
| Hancock | 4,323 | 2.5 |
| Manistique | 3,583 | 3.2 |
| Norway | 2,959 | 8.8 |
| Newberry | 2,686 | 1.0 |
| St. Ignace | 2,678 | 2.7 |
| Munsing | 2,539 | 5.4 |
| Bessemer | 2,148 | 5.5 |
| Laurium | 2,126 | 0.7 |
| L'Anse | 2,107 | 2.6 |
| Wakefield | 2,085 | 8.0 |
| TOTAL | 114,544 | 123.7 |
| County | Population | Land Area (mi2) | Population Density (per mi2) |
| Alger | 9,862 | 918 | 10.7 |
| Baraga | 8,735 | 904 | 9.7 |
| Chippewa | 38,413 | 1561 | 24.7 |
| Delta | 38,520 | 1170 | 32.9 |
| Dickinson | 27,427 | 766 | 35.8 |
| Gogebic | 17,370 | 1102 | 15.8 |
| Houghton | 36,016 | 1012 | 35.6 |
| Iron | 13,138 | 1166 | 11.3 |
| Keweenaw | 2,301 | 541 | 4.3 |
| Luce | 7,024 | 903 | 7.8 |
| Mackinac | 11,943 | 1022 | 11.7 |
| Marquette | 64,634 | 1821 | 35.5 |
| Menominee | 25,109 | 1043 | 24.3 |
| Ontongaon | 7,818 | 1312 | 6.0 |
| Schoolcraft | 8,903 | 1178 | 7.6 |
| TOTAL | 317,258 | 16,420 | 19.3 |
Famous Yoopers
- Former Detroit Lions head coach Steve Mariucci and Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo are both natives of Iron Mountain, near the Wisconsin border in Dickinson County. Both went to Northern Michigan University, where Mariucci was quarterback of the Wildcats' 1975 NCAA Division II national championship team.
- George Gipp, the "Gipper," who would be immortalized in film by Ronald Reagan, was born in Laurium, in the Keweenaw Peninsula. He would be the first ever All-American in the history of the Notre Dame football program.
- Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, aircraft engineer and aeronautical innovator, was born in Ishpeming.
- Glenn T. Seaborg, a chemist and major player in the discovery of several of the transuranium elements, was born in Ishpeming. Before his death in 1999, he was the only living person ever to have a chemical element named after him (seaborgium, abbreviated as Sg and with atomic number 106). This name caused controversy because Seaborg was still alive, but eventually became accepted by international chemists. Though he lived most of his life in California, the Seaborg Center at Northern Michigan University is named in his honor.
- John D. Voelker, who wrote under the pen name Robert Traver, wrote Anatomy of a Murder which was filmed near Ishpeming and Marquette.
External links
Upper Peninsula of Michigan | Geography of Michigan | Peninsulas of the United States
"Upper Peninsula of Michigan"