Village Office
315 Quartz Street
Ontonagon, MI 49953
(906) 884-2305
| OFFICE | NAME |
| President | Scott Roehm - 884-6620 |
| President Pro-Temp | James Klein - 884-4717 |
| Clerk/Treasurer | Joan Nygard - 884-2305 |
| Trustee | Scott Frazer - 884-2305 Dennis Morin - 884-4939 John L. Harris - 884- 2336 William Johnson - 884-2834 |
| Meets 6 pm - 2nd and 4th Monday of month |
Ontonagon is located at the junction of US-45 and M-64 in Ontonagon County. Ontonagon was visited by voyageurs, Jesuits, and prospectors seeking copper from the late 1600’s until the mid 1800’s. In 1843 James K. Paul removed the Copper Boulder from its resting place and brought it to the mouth of the Ontonagon River. In a dispute over ownership he was paid $1365 for his efforts. He purchased a stock of whiskey and opened the Deadfall Saloon at the mouth of the river, thus founding the Village of Ontonagon. The word was out about the abundance of copper in the hills 12 miles south of the river mouth. As mining ventures begin in the copper hills the Village of Ontonagon, as the only outlet for the copper to market, boomed. Ontonagon was named the county seat for Ontonagon County, formed in 1848, which encompassed much of what is now Gogebic County. In the 1850's, at the height of the copper boom, the Village of Ontonagon reached a population of 6,000. The Minnesota mine which operated near Rockland 1846-1865 paid out millions of dollars in dividends.
Ontonagon County was in Houghton County until Ontonagon was organized in 1853. The name Ontonagon was first found on a Jesuit map of 1672, identifying the river which flows through the area and taken from the Chippewa word Nan-ton-a-gon, meaning bowl, from the shape of the river's mouth.
Ontonagon's fishing history is recorded in the Ontonagon Murals and the History of the Ontonagon Murals.
News as reported by the Ontonagon Herald in their 2004 year end report.
The Ontonagon Downtown Development Authority announced plans to construct a business incubator (spec building) in the Village Renaissance Zone with bids to be let early in 2005. The project will be financed by the DDA and the building itself will be roughly 10,000 square feet in size. It is the hope of the DDA that adopting the "Build it and they will come" position, a new employer can be found to locate in Ontonagon to provide jobs to the community. Unlike many places nation-wide, the communities of Ontonagon County take a pro-active role in making business feel welcome and appreciated, and the DDA's role has now involved local government in the search for new businesses for the area. The Ontonagon County Economic Development Corporation amended the RLF loan guidelines to allow for loans to established businesses with a personal guarantee, and also opened the revolving loan fund to local units of government. This paved the way for the Ontonagon DDA to borrow funds for the construction of the business incubator in the Renaissance Zone, a project that is expected to be completed in the Fall of 2005.
ALSO
A past happening that went virtually unnoticed in the Village of Ontonagon was the 107th anniversary of the total destruction of the Village by the great Fire which took place on August 25th, 1896. The Ontonagon County Historical society observed the fire with a special presentation at their August meeting by Mike Joki of L'Anse, who has written an interesting account of the conflagration.
ALSO
The Village Council learned that 2005 will see, in addition to the All Class Reunion which is taking place July 29, 30, and 31 of 2005, the Living History Foundation Rendezvous gathering near the Mullet on the Ontonagon River, during the same time period. These two large gatherings along with the construction of the new M-64 bridge promises to make 2005 a famous year, if not an infamous one!
ALSO
The Ontonagon Village Downtown Development Authority decided to institute a Winter Festival,the first of which will be held in 2005 in early March. To be known as the "Snow-Go-Bye" event, this will provide a community event to complement the Labor Festival and River Fest that will be specifically geared to winter activities.