- Gogebic County -

The westernmost county in the Upper Peninsula. Gogebic was a part of Ontonagon county until 1887 when it was set off and organized. It is bounded on the north by Ontonagon county, the east by Iron county, and the State of Wisconsin on all other boundaries.

In 1880 Richard Langford, a hunter and trapper, spotted red ore among the roots of an overturned tree and gave samples of it to Captain N. D. Moore. Moore formed a mining company and, after exploratory work, opened the Colby mine near Bessemer in 1884. This was the first mine to be opened on the Gogebic Range. Other mines would soon follow and the mining towns of Bessemer, Ironwood and Wakefield quickly sprang up around the "locations." The Gogebic Range was one of this country's chief sources of iron ore well into the 1920's. From 1884 to 1958 over 245,000,000 tons of iron ore was shipped from Gogebic county. Mines began closing during the Great Depression and continued to do so until 1966 when the last one, the Peterson mine, closed down. With the loss of its major industry Gogebic county changed its economic face and is now a popular tourist resort region.

The 1890 Census for Gogebic showed a population of 13,166 and, in 2010, a population of 16,427. It has a total area of 1,102 square miles of land and 374 square miles of water. Lake Gogebic, the largest lake in the Upper Peninsula, is partially within Gogebic County. The county seat is at Bessemer. The largest city is Ironwood.