Escanaba

[es-kuh-nah-buh]

Escanaba, city (1990 pop. 13,659), seat of Delta co., W Upper Peninsula, N Mich., on Little Bay de Noc; settled 1852, inc. 1883. It is a railroad and manufacturing center that stores and ships coal and petrochemicals from its harbor. Lumber and its byproducts, however, are the chief economic mainstay. The Upper Peninsula State Fair is held annually in Escanaba.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Escanaba, Michigan

Escanaba [es-ka-NAH-ba] is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on the state's Upper Peninsula. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 13,140. It is the county seat of Delta County.

There is also Escanaba Township, which is north of the city and is not adjacent to it, although a portion of the urban area around the city extends into the township. Both are named for the Escanaba River that flows into the Little Bay de Noc of Lake Michigan just north of the city at .

History

The word "Escanaba" roughly translates from various regional native languages to "land of the red buck" while others maintain that it refers to "flat rock". Escanaba began as a port town in the mid 1800s, gaining importance to the Union as a shipping point for iron ore, lumber and copper during the Civil War. In his poem "The Song of Hiawatha", Henry Wadsworth Longfellow described how Hiawatha "crossed the rushing Esconaba" referring to the river. Located on Little Bay de Noc at the northern edge of Lake Michigan, Escanaba continues to serve as an important shipping point for iron ore to other Great Lakes ports, especially south to Chicago and northern Indiana. The local paper mill, for many years Mead Corporation's Publishing Paper Division, is currently operated by NewPage Corporation; located on the outskirts of the city alongside the Escanaba River, it is now the areas largest employer.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 42.8 km² (16.5 mi²). 32.8 km² (12.7 mi²) of it is land and 10.0 km² (3.8 mi²) of it (23.32%) is water. Escanaba is home to one the safest natural harbors in the upper Great Lakes, which makes it a natural destination for boaters. Ludington Park, located along the lake shore, is one the of largest city parks in Michigan.

Transportation

	US 41 connects with Marquette 66 miles to the north and with Powers 24 miles west before turning south to Menominee.
	US 2 runs eastward to St. Ignace and the Mackinac Bridge 143 miles to the east. Along the way it passes through Gladstone, 9 miles north/east and, Manistique, 54 miles east. It runs west concurrent with US 41 until Powers, and from there 21 miles west to Iron Mountain.
	M-35 runs northwest 51 miles through undeveloped areas to Gwinn. Going south, it provides a direct route along the shore of Green Bay to Menominee, 55 miles to the southwest.
	M-69 runs northwest toward many rural communities before ending at Crystal Falls.

The city is served by Delta County Airport, with flights daily to Minneapolis/St.Paul and Detroit via Northwest Airlink

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,140 people, 5,800 households, and 3,294 families residing in the city. The population density was 400.7/km² (1,038.3/mi²). There were 6,258 housing units at an average density of 190.9/km² (494.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.66% White, 0.11% African American, 2.61% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population.

There were 5,800 households out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.2% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,125, and the median income for a family was $36,995. Males had a median income of $32,310 versus $21,204 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,589. About 10.8% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Escanaba is located in Michigan Congressional District 1; its current Representative in Congress is Bart Stupak (D), a former Michigan State Trooper.

Culture

Although politically a part of the state of Michigan, Escanaba and the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan have closer cultural ties to the state of Wisconsin. Tourism has become significant for the local economy. Tourist draws include Lake Michigan beaches and local fishing and hunting opportunities. Most visitors come from Wisconsin and Illinois. One interesting visit came in January 1968 when football legend Vince Lombardi's daughter was married in secret at St. Anne's Church. After finding out his then-unwed daughter was pregnant, Lombardi, who was vacationing in Florida at the time, had insisted she drive to Michigan to get married rather than doing it Green Bay, in order to keep the news out of the papers.

Escanaba is the home to the following cultural institutions and events: The William Bonifas Fine Arts Center, The Waterfront Art Festival, The Escanaba City Band, The Players de Noc, The Bay de Noc Choral Society and many smaller arts organizations, art galleries and musical performing groups.

Local radio stations include KMB Broadcasting's WDBC 680 AM (adult standards) and WYKX 104.7 FM (country music), Lakes Radio's WCHT 600 AM (news/talk), WGLQ 97.1 FM (adult top 40), WCMM 102.5 FM (country), and WGKL 105.5 FM (oldies), and standalone WMXG 106.3 FM (classic hits). Escanaba is also served by low-power translator stations of WNMU translator W296AX from Marquette, MI (at 107.1 FM), WPFF translator W254AG from Sturgeon Bay, WI (at 98.7 FM), and WHWL translator W261AI from Marquette, MI (at 100.1 FM). WJMN-TV, the local television station on channel 3, is mostly a satellite of WFRV in Green Bay and carries CBS programming. WLUC-TV in Marquette also operates a translator station in Escanaba on channel 14.

Shopping

Escanaba's major retail center is the Delta Plaza Mall, a small enclosed shopping mall which features JCPenney, ShopKo, and Menards as its anchor stores.

Confusion with Flat Rock (lower peninsula)

Since the name Escanaba may be derived from "Flat Rock" and another city in Michigan exists with such a name, errors on maps of Michigan are still common. On most online maps the location of Flat Rock is on J Road between 20th and 21st. In addition, a school named "Flat Rock Elementary School" exists in both the Upper (Delta County) and Lower peninsula (Wayne County), sometimes causing confusion in reporting of MEAP scores and other standardized test results.