County note shelf
Iron County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Iron County. This shelf has 4 practical notes and 6 local stories.
10 notes
Read the county shelf
- OutdoorsBewabic State Park and the lakes the CCC lovedJust west of Crystal Falls, Bewabic State Park sits on a beautiful chain of glacial lakes -- a 1930s gem hand-built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the only Michigan state park with a tennis court.
- History and cultureHow Iron County got its nameIron County's name is the most honest in Michigan: it's named for the iron ore that built it. It's also one of only two Upper Peninsula counties that don't touch a Great Lake.
- Money and taxesIs there a city income tax in Crystal Falls?Crystal Falls charges no city income tax -- neither do Iron River, Caspian, or Gaastra, and neither does anywhere else in the Upper Peninsula. The nearest one is Grayling, well over a hundred miles away.
- History and cultureThe courthouse Crystal Falls (says it) stoleIron County's grand 1890 courthouse crowns a hill above Crystal Falls -- and local legend says the county seat itself was swiped from Iron River one frozen night, with a poker game as the decoy.
- OutdoorsThe Humongous Fungus: Crystal Falls' giant underground neighborIn the woods near Crystal Falls lives one of the largest and oldest living things on Earth -- a single fungus, sprawling for acres underground, that the town throws a festival for every summer.
- OutdoorsOne of the Oldest, Largest Living Things on Earth Is an Underground Mushroom in the U.P.Beneath a forest near Crystal Falls lives the 'humongous fungus' — a single Armillaria gallica once billed as the largest living thing on Earth, now estimated at roughly 2,500 years old and 440 tons.
- History and cultureIron River, the city that became three cities in oneIron River is Iron County's largest city -- a former iron-mining hub that made Michigan history in 2000 by merging with neighboring Stambaugh and Mineral Hills into a single new city.
- Home and propertyWhat to know about well and septic in Iron CountyOutside the cities and the village of Alpha, most of Iron County is on private well and septic. Michigan has no statewide septic code, and the local health department doesn't require an inspection when a property is sold -- though it offers evaluations some home loans require.
- Money and taxesBuying in a township? Watch for special assessments on top of your taxesMichigan township buyers should check for special assessments that can add separate road, sewer, water, lighting, sidewalk, or drain charges.
- Money and taxesIn Michigan, you get two property-tax bills a year — not oneMost Michigan property owners get separate summer and winter tax bills, with local rules deciding what lands on each bill.