EXAMINING PATTERNS OF ITALIAN IMMIGRATION TO ...

Introduction
Italians, as well as immigrants from all over Europe, came to Houghton County to
work in the expanding mining industry. Michigan’s copper mining district, opened in the
1840s, was the first metal mining rush in United States history. During the 1840s and early
1850s the Copper Country was still a frontier mining community. The demand for labor was
seasonal, in fact it was high during the spring when shipping was possible and the harsh
weather did not impede exploration of the territory. During the winter the demand was
considerably lower. 1 The census of 1850 indicates that there were 708 people living in
Houghton County. By the 1860s seasonal fluctuations became less significant because mining
companies started to focus on underground progress during the winter and they were also able
to have supply of labor at rates not much higher than those for mining in the East. The census
of 1860 indicates that the population of Houghton County had reached 9,253. Serious
shortages in the supply of labor appeared during the Civil War and when many mines opened
at the same time during the 1860s. At this point some mining companies working through
foreign agents and the Mine Emigrant Society started to import workers from abroad. The
Copper Country entered its great period of growth during the 1870s. The population of the
area grew accordingly. The censuses indicate that the population of Houghton County reached
13,882 in 1870, 22,473 in 1880, and 35,389 in 1890. Irishmen, Englishmen, Canadians,
Germans, and Scandinavians were the more numerous immigrants during the 1870s and
1880s. Starting from the 1890s the great bulk of immigrants came from Finland, Austria, and
Italy. From 1890 until 1910 the population of Houghton County more than doubled. It reached
66,063 in 1900 and 88,098 in 1910. During the 1910s the mining industry started a steady
decline and the population declined as a consequence. In fact it decreased to 71,930 in 1920
and dropped to 52,851 in 1930. 2 The first Italians arrived in Houghton County around 1860
and were very important in the early history of the region. Even before the mass migration of
Italians to America in the 1890s, Michigan had 3,000 Italian immigrants, 75% of whom lived
in the remote Upper Peninsula. By 1910 over 7,000 Italians lived in the Upper Peninsula.
1 Gates, B. William Jr. Michigan Copper and Boston Dollars. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University
Press, 1951, pp. 96-98.
2 Ibiden, pp. 105-105 and 166-166.
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