Italians on the Marquette Iron Range

Italians on the Marquette Iron Range. . , The Iron Range opened in the 1840s, but it was not until the early 1860s that the first Italians settled the area. Coming from Tuscany, Venice, Lombardy, Piedmont, Calabria, Naples, and Sicily. They settled in Negaunee, Ishpeming, and Gwinn where the majority of them worked in the mines. By 1910 there were 1,251 Italians on the range. As the years passed some of them moved into the service industry operating groceries, bakeries, restaurants, and taverns. The women kept boarders, operated shops or were seamstresses. In Marquette City, a small number worked in the Cliffs- Dow Charcoal plant. Some of the immigrants became involved in local politics. The son of immigrants, Dominic Jacobetti became the longest serving Michigan Legislator holding important and influential positions. In the 1920s, an Italian dramatic group was active in Negaunee. The Italians attended local Catholic Churches. Between 1890 and 1968, there were twenty-one Italian mutual beneficial societies for men and women on the range. The Italian Heritage is preserved by numerous institutions in the county.