ALPHA

Region: Iron River, Iron Mountain & the Menominee Range

This jewel of a hamlet with its 19th-century aura and delightful central circle is a highpoint when taking the backroad 424 between US-2 to the east and Iron River. Iron mining didn't start in this backwater until the late 1800s, when 3 mines were dug. The village of Alpha was incorporated in 1914. With mining the population grew until the 1940s when there were two grocery stores, a tavern, barber shop, two gas stations, even a watch repair shop. (This background we gleaned from the Alpha General store's spiffy website.) But then mining tapered off and in 1967 the came the crowning blow when the local public school graduated its last class. Eventually, only one business in town remained.
Then came a miraculous revival. A group called Alpha Opportunities bought the empty school and stated its mission as "Preserve History, Provide Goods and Services, and Create Jobs and Opportunities." The school bus garage metamorphosed into the wonderful Alpha General Store. There followed a farmer's market, then a sewing shop, a hand-made soap shop, an antique/resale shop, a pet shop, a bird house maker, and even a library in the old school.

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