Crystal Falls, Michigan

49920

Photos courtesy of:
Ken Huisjen

Crystal Falls is located at the junction of US-141, US-2 and M-69 in Michigan�s western upper peninsula. It is the county seat of Iron County. Its primary economic support comes from lumber and paper products processing and tourism. This picturesque town is situated on a hill sloping eastward from an elaborate courthouse at the top of the hill facing east, with the Paint River at the bottom.

This area was first settled in 1846 as part of Marquette County when explorers found rich deposits of iron ore near the Paint River. By 1880, the Crystal Falls Iron Company had established mining in the area in what became known as the Menominee Iron Range, from the Menominee River basin. In 1881, a post office was established when the C&NW Railroad built a line through here to haul stockpiled iron out of the area. It was named in 1880 by an early town father, George Runkle, from the crystal appearance of waterfalls along the Paint. The courthouse was built in 1881, with the town officially organizing itself, and as the Iron County seat in 1885.

Thank you to A.J. Bertin for corrections to this write up :-)

Crystal Falls, Michigan

If you have any comments or suggestions, please take a minute to write using our contact form.

Crystal Falls, Michigan

49920

Back to InfoMI Main Page.