Marquette ( ) is the county seat of Marquette County and the largest city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. Located on the shores of Lake Superior, Marquette is a major port known primarily for shipping iron ore (hematite, magnetite) from the Marquette Iron Range. The city is partially surrounded by Marquette Township, but the two are administered autonomously.
Marquette is named after Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary who had explored the Great Lakes region. Marquette had a population of 20,629 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in Michigan north of the Tri-Cities. It is the third-largest American city on Lake Superior, behind Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. Marquette's urban area extends south toward Harvey and west toward Negaunee and Ishpeming, at the base of the Huron Mountains.
Marquette is the home of Northern Michigan University (NMU), a four-year public university. NMU's athletic teams are nicknamed the Wildcats and compete primarily in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The men's ice hockey team, which competes in the NCAA Division I Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), won the Division I national championship in 1991.
History
The land around Marquette was known to French missionaries of the early 17th century and the trappers of the early 19th century. The area was originally and predominantly inhabited by the Noquet, Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi, the latter three peoples comprising the Anishinaabe Council of Three Fires. They knew the area as Gichi-namebini-ziibing ("The river of giant white suckers", referring to the Dead River). Development of the area began in 1844, when William Burt and Jacob Houghton (the brother of geologist Douglass Houghton) discovered iron deposits near Teal Lake west of Marquette. In 1845, Jackson Mining Company, the first organized mining company in the region, was formed.
The village of Marquette began on September 14, 1849, with the formation of the Marquette Iron Company. Three men participated in organizing the firm: Robert J. Graveraet, who had prospected the region for ore; Edward Clark, agent for Waterman A. Fisher of Worcester, Massachusetts, who financed the company; and Amos Rogers Harlow. The village was at first called New Worcester, with Harlow as its first postmaster. On August 21, 1850, the name was changed to honor Jacques Marquette, the French Jesuit missionary who had explored the region. A second post office, named Carp River, was opened on October 13, 1851, by Peter White, who had gone there with Graveraet at age 18. Harlow closed his post office in August 1852. The Marquette Iron Company failed, while its successor Cleveland Iron Mining Company flourished and had the village platted in 1854. The plat was recorded by White. White's office was renamed as Marquette in April 1856, and the village was incorporated in 1859. It was incorporated as a city in 1871.
During the 1850s, Marquette was linked by rail to numerous mines and became the leading shipping center of the Upper Peninsula. The first ore pocket dock, designed by an early town leader, John Burt, was built by the Cleveland Iron Mining Company in 1859. By 1862, the city had a population of over 1,600 and a soaring economy. In the late 19th century, during the height of iron mining, Marquette became nationally known as a summer haven. Visitors brought in by Great Lakes passenger steamships filled the city's hotels and resorts.
South of the city, K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base was an important Air Force installation during the Cold War, host to B-52H bombers and KC-135 tankers of the Strategic Air Command, as well as a fighter interceptor squadron. The base closed in 1995 and is now Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport.
Marquette continues to be a shipping port for hematite ores and, today, enriched iron ore pellets, from nearby mines and pelletizing plants. About 7.9 million gross tons of pelletized iron ore passed through Presque Isle Harbor in 2005.
Roman Catholic Bishop Frederic Baraga is buried at St. Peter Cathedral, which is the center for the Diocese of Marquette.
Lakeview Arena, an ice hockey rink in Marquette, won the Kraft Hockeyville USA contest in 2016. The arena received $150,000 in upgrades and hosted the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes in a preseason NHL contest.
Postal and philatelic history In addition to the Marquette #1 Post Office, there is the "Northern Michigan University Bookstore Contract Station #384".
The first day of issue of a postal card showing Bishop Frederic Baraga took place in Marquette on June 29, 1984, and that of the Wonders of America Lake Superior stamp on May 27, 2006.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The city includes several small islands (principally Middle Island, Gull Island, Lover's Island, Presque Isle Pt. Rocks, White Rocks, Ripley Rock, and Picnic Rocks) in Lake Superior. The Marquette Underwater Preserve lies immediately offshore.
Marquette Mountain, used for skiing in the winter and lift-serviced downhill mountain biking in the summer, is located in the city, as is most of the land of Marquette Branch Prison of the Michigan Department of Corrections. Trowbridge Park (under Marquette Township), is located to the west, Sands Township to the south, and Marquette Township to the northwest.
Climate The climate is a hemiboreal humid continental (Köppen: Dfb) with four distinct seasons that are strongly moderated by Lake Superior and is located in Plant Hardiness zone 5b. Winters are long and cold with a January average of . Winter temperatures are slightly warmer than inland locations at a similar latitude due to the release of the heat stored by the lake, which moderates the climate. On average, there are 11.6 days annually where the minimum temperature reaches and 73 days with a maximum at or below freezing, including a majority of days during meteorological winter (December through February).
Being located in the snowbelt region, Marquette receives a significant amount of snowfall, mostly from lake-effect snow. Because Lake Superior rarely freezes over completely, this enables lake effect snow to persist throughout winter, making Marquette the third snowiest location in the contiguous United States and the snowiest city in the U.S., with an average annual snowfall of . The snow depth in winter usually exceeds .
The warmest months, July and August, average . Lake Superior cools summertime temperatures, and temperatures above average 3.4 days per year. Spring and fall are transitional seasons that are generally mild though highly variable due to the alternation of air masses moving quickly. Spring is usually cooler than fall because Lake Superior is slower to warm than the land, while in fall the lake releases heat, warming the area.
Marquette receives of precipitation annually, which is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, though September and October are the wettest months with February and March being the driest. The average window for morning freezes is October 15 through May 7. The highest temperature ever recorded was on July 15, 1901, and the lowest was on February 8, 1861. Marquette receives an average of 2,294 hours of sunshine per year or 51 percent of possible sunshine, ranging from a low of 29 percent in December to a high of 68 percent in July.
Marquette has received national attention for its measures to adapt to climate change, such as coastline restoration and moving portions of Lakeshore Boulevard which are flooded by Lake Superior inland. Property owners are required to maintain “riparian buffers” of native plants along waterways. A county task force has created a guidebook in cooperation with the University of Michigan for landscaping which can reduce the habitat for disease-bearing ticks. A federally funded stormwater drain project will route runoff which flows into Lake Superior into restored wetlands. At the time of a 2014 NOAA climate study, climate change was expected to lead to rising temperatures, a longer growing season, and greater precipitation in Marquette.
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Marquette had a population of 20,629 with 8,364 households and 3,651 families residing in the city. The median age was 32.8 years. 12.3% of residents were under age 18 and 17.6% of residents were 65 years or older. For every 100 females there were 117.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 119.8 males age 18 and over. 94.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 5.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 8,364 households, of which 17.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.1% were married-couple households, 24.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals, 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, and the average household size was 2.17. The average family size was 2.7.
There were 9,114 housing units, of which 8.2% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.0%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 17,988 87.2% Black or African American 618 3.0% American Indian and Alaska Native 305 1.5% Asian 216 1.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 7 0.0% Some other race 151 0.7% Two or more races 1,344 6.5% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 723 3.5%
2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 21,355 people, 8,321 households, and 3,788 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 8,756 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.1% White, 4.4% African American, 1.5% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population.
There were 8,321 households, of which 18.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.3% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 54.5% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.71.
The median age in the city was 29.1 years. 12.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 30.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.3% were from 25 to 44; 21.9% were from 45 to 64; and 13% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.8% male and 48.2% female.
2000 census At the 2000 census, there were 19,661 people, 8,071 households and 4,067 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 8,429 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95% White, 0.8% African American, 1.7% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.77% of the population. 15.5% were of German, 12.6% Finnish, 8.9% French, 8.5% English, 8.2% Irish, 6.8% Italian and 6.7% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 8,071 households, of which 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.6% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.81.