Bessemer, Michigan

Bessemer is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,914. It is the county seat of Gogebic County.

The city is situated within Bessemer Township, but is politically independent. It is on US 2 with Ironwood several miles to the west and Wakefield several miles to the east. The Big Powderhorn, Blackjack and Indianhead ski areas are located within a few miles of Bessemer. Cross-country skiing and snowmobiling are also very popular in this area known as Big Snow Country because of heavy snowfall influenced by nearby Lake Superior and this area is often referred to as a snowbelt.

History
Bessemer was platted in 1884. It was named after the nearby Bessemer Mine, which was named in honor of Henry Bessemer, a British metallurgist.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.47 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $27,639, and the median income for a family was $36,739. Males had a median income of $28,958 versus $21,708 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,499. About 8.6% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.0% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,905 people, 888 households, and 511 families residing in the city. The population density was 348.3 PD/sqmi. There were 1,140 housing units at an average density of 208.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 96.4% White, 0.5% African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population.

There were 888 households of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.5% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.76.

The median age in the city was 45.4 years. 20.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.1% were from 25 to 44; 29.5% were from 45 to 64; and 21% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

Notable people

 * Otto Binder, science fiction and comic book author (Mary Marvel, Legion of Super-Heroes, and Supergirl); born Bessemer
 * Jay W. Johnson, U.S. congressmen for Wisconsin's 8th congressional district; born Bessemer
 * Arthur Redner, halfback for Fielding H. Yost's 1901 "Point-a-Minute" football team; lived in Bessemer
 * Al Rossi, Olympic bronze medalist in rowing at the 1952 Summer Olympics; born in Bessemer

Transportation
is the Upper Peninsula's longest highway, stretching from St. Ignace to neighboring Ironwood and on to Duluth.

Indian Trails provides daily intercity bus service between St. Ignace and Ironwood, Michigan., while Gogebic County operates a small public bus system.

Commercial air service is available at the Gogebic-Iron County Airport (IWD) north of Ironwood. Great Lakes Airlines operates flights from Ironwood to Minneapolis and from Minneapolis to Ironwood daily.