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The city is located on the south shore of Portage Lake , primarily on the slope of a hill on the opposite side of the Portage Lake valley from Hancock . Houghton is named after Douglass Houghton , discoverer of Copper nearby (though there is evidence indigenous peoples had mined copper in the area thousands of years before). Houghton is also the home of Michigan Technological University . The city is served by Houghton County Memorial Airport . HISTORY Many Cornish and Finnish immigrants arrived in the Houghton area to work in the copper mines; both groups have had a great influence on the culture and cuisine of the local area. In the from Hancock, and contains the memorial to the Houghton Company, which fought in the Civil War . Houghton is the headquarters for Isle Royale National Park . The area lends itself to a wide variety of outdoor sports, both winter (ice hockey, Nordic and Alpine skiing, figure skating, and snowmobiling) and summer (trail running, hiking, camping, kayaking, sailing, windsurfing and road and mountain biking). The last nearby mines closed in the late 1960s , but a school founded in 1885 by the Michigan State Legislature to teach metallurgy and mining engineering, the Michigan College of Mines, continues today under the name of Michigan Technological University and is the primary employer in the city. MTU has a reputation for being a good value in education and attracting a lot of engineering and science students who like the outdoors. The first known European settler of Houghton was named Ransom Sheldon , who set up a store named Ransom's near Portage Lake. The main street of Houghton, variously called "Sheldon Avenue," Sheldon Street and Shelden Avenue, is named for him. A number of downtown stores and restaurants on Sheldon Avenue and adjacent side-streets are connected by common doors, passageways and street overpasses, and collectively called " Sheldon Center ." William W. Henderson was appointed the first postmaster of Houghton in 1852. In 1854, Ernest F. Pletschke platted Houghton, which was incorporated as a village in 1861 . In Houghton's first days it was said that "only thieves, crooks, murderers and Indians " lived there. In 1883, the Railroad was extended from Marquette . 1909 saw the founding of what would later become Portage Lake District Library . In 1913, there was a bitter strike of copper miners in the area that the Police attempted to violently repress. The Michigan National Guard was called in after the sheriff petitioned the governor. Houghton was the birthplace of professional for Skateboarding .) In the Winter of 2001, Houghton was the site of one of the first Lumitalo s (Finnish temporary snow houses) to be constructed in the United States. Philatelic History On October 28 , 2002 , the first day of issue ceremony was held in Houghton for the " Snowman stamps" issued by the United States Postal Service . {Link without Title} Customized postage (often described as a "stamp" but actually a kind of meter label) has been issued by Zazzle showing a Panoramic view of the Michigan College Of Mines . {Link without Title} INTERESTING FACTS In the winter of 2006, the town of Houghton broke three world records, the largest Snowball , the largest Snowball Fight , and the largest amount of people making Snow Angel s in one place. Every winter there is a celebration referred to as Winter Carnival in which tens of thousands of visitors come to see the snow sculptures and participate in the week long celebration that yields Michigan Tech students a break from homework. The town is sometimes referred to by locals as "Hoton." This is even stenciled on city property. Since Houghton and Hancock are very near each other, their combined area is often referred to as "Houghton-Hancock". GEOGRAPHY According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 11.8 Km&2 (4.6 Mi&2 ). 11.2 km&2 (4.3 mi&2) of it is land and 0.6 km&2 (0.2 mi&2) of it is water. The total area is 5.48% water. NEIGHBORHOODS Houghton is generally said to be divided into East Houghton, the Central Houghton area (which includes the Downtown ) and West Houghton.
DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census 2 of 2000, there were 7,010 people, 2,114 households, and 877 families residing in the city. The Population Density was 628.0/km&2 (1,625.5/mi&2). There were 2,222 housing units at an average density of 199.1/km&2 (515.2/mi&2). The racial makeup of the city was 89.24% White , 1.87% Black or African American , 0.40% Native American , 6.79% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 0.24% from Other Races , and 1.44% from two or more races. 0.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,114 households out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.6% were Married Couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 58.5% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.94. In the city the population was spread out with 12.0% under the age of 18, 55.2% from 18 to 24, 15.3% from 25 to 44, 10.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 160.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 173.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $21,186, and the median income for a family was $41,779. Males had a median income of $36,161 versus $28,639 for females. The Per Capita Income for the city was $11,750. 36.9% of the population and 20.3% of families were below the Poverty Line . 21.9% of those under the age of 18 and 18.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. ''See also: Pryor's Location, Michigan '', Dakota Heights, Michigan EXTERNAL LINKS REFERENCES
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