Iron County / Iron County

This county was set off in 1885 from Marquette and Menominee Counties. Iron ore deposits, which gave the new county its name, were the first on the Menominee Iron Range to be discovered. Shipping of ores began in 1882 when the railroad came in. Iron River was the first county seat, but in 1889, after a celebrated struggle, the government was shifted to Crystal Falls. Logging, which began in 1875, has been second only to mining in Iron County’s economy. J. C. Clancy designed this Richardsonian Romanesque-style building, which was completed in 1891. Constructed of regional materials, including reddish stone columns quarried from the nearby Paint River and yellow clay bricks, the courthouse commands a view of the city’s main street and the valley below. The structure, featuring a domed courtroom with original furnishings, continues to serve a county built from “the iron and the pine.”