County: Gogebic (27)

Created from: Partitioned off from Ontonagon County in 1887.

Boundary finalized: 1887

Population: 1900 = 16,738  |  2000 = 17,370

Ore was discovered at the Colby Mine in Bessemer in 1884, and Gogebic County was organized in 1887, partitioned from Ontonagon County. The county's name derives from a lake of the same name, which was originally rendered Agogebic. Sources agree that the name is from Ojibwe, but differ on the original meaning. The county's website suggests it meant "body of water hanging on high" [Wiki]