BESSEMER

Region: Ironwood & the Gogebic Range

The Gogebic County seat, Bessemer, population 1,905, with another 1,176 in adjacent Bessemer Township, is at the midpoint of the Gogebic Iron Range. The Milwaukee, Lake Superior & Western railroad platted the village when its rail line reached here in 1884. Railroad president Frederick Rhinelander named the town for Sir Henry Bessemer, inventor of the Bessemer process of hardening pig iron into steel. (It's locally pronounced "BEZ-muhr.") The first mine on the Gogebic Range was the Colby Mine southwest of town between Old U.S. 2 and Burma Road.

Ensconsed in a little bowl with backdrops of dramatic rocky outcrops, Steiger Field is a delicious sight for those who have grown up with baseball.

Today Bessemer's major employer is Bessemer Plywood. It uses the U.P.'s plentiful aspen and other trees to produce large quantities of plywood sheets. It's actually just north of the onetime mining village of Yale, on the beautiful Old U.S. 2 to the south connecting that connects Ironwood and Wakefield.

Overlooking Bessemer's main street is its unusual Tudor city hall, designed by local, self-taught architect Albert Nelson in the mid-1930s. Its attractive details and stonework wouldn't have been possible without federal funding during the Depressoin. Inside are showcases containing 120 years' worth of ornate fire department trophies and other prizes.

Bessemer has some unusually attractive features. From U. S. 2 at the light by the high school, take Moore Street north. The stately red sandstone Gogebic County Courthouse, erected in 1888 just four years after the first iron was shipped, is worth a look. The original interior and the high-ceilinged circuit court room are pretty much intact. The courthouse is a block of U.S. 2 north on Moore Street. In another block you'll come to a beautiful park and recreation complex. Off Moore Street a red rock cliff looms in the distance behind Massie Field (dubbed "Home of the Speedboys" of Bessemer High) and Steiger Little League Field, tucked in a natural bowl just west off Silver Street. Local signs proclaim Steiger Field "the most scenic Little League baseball park in America." It just may be.

A creek where frogs are often seen runs through BLUFF VALLEY PARK, with picnic tables, a pavilion, and tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts. Across the footbridge a rather strenuous trail leads up the bluff, which offers a fine view of Bessemer and the Colby Mine site to the south.

Bob Sampson bakes his delicious Italian hard rolls at the unpretentious Bread of Life bakery in this huge round rotisserie oven, today virtually an antique. Fans who grew up on good Italian hard rolls have them shipped.

Half a block north of U.S. 2 on Sophie (a block east of Moore), the BREAD OF LIFE BAKERY (906-663-4005) turns out Italian hard rolls so good that an Italian from Chicago has them shipped. The subs are creditable, too, especially considering the ridiculously low price. The atmosphere is nothing fancy. A separate room has tables and chairs. Open Mon-Fri 8-6, Sat 8-5.

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PLACES AROUND BESSEMER TO

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