Ishpeming City Hall

The City of Ishpeming is located in Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  It is south and west of the City of Marquette and directly west of Negaunee.  The City of Ishpeming is 1,400 feet above sea level.  Our current population is about 6,600.

Ishpeming’s history is rooted in the discovery of Iron Ore during the 1840’s. In 1846, an Indian named Marji-Gesick led explorer, Philo Everett, to a shining mountain. What Everett found was a mountain of ore measuring 180 feet high and 1,000 feet wide. This historic spot was named Jasper Knob–known today as the World’s Largest Gemstone.

Up until 1862, this area was referred to as The Lake Superior Location, but the settlers saw it fit to give the City an official name. Translating the Chippewa Indian name for “on the summit”, the settlers gave the name of ISHPEMING to the newly formed City. The name proved to be fitting for a City that is situated upon the dividing ridge between the waters of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan and 850 feet above Lake Superior.