Mass City, Michigan


Mass City is an unincorporated community in Ontonagon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Mass City is located in Greenland Township along M-26, southeast of the village of Ontonagon. Mass City has its own post office with the 49948 ZIP Code.

History

Mass City was first settled in 1848 by Noel Johnson, an escaped slave from Missouri who discovered copper in the area; Johnson later sold the copper deposits to the Mass Mining Company. Mass City was formally organized in 1855 and named for the mass copper mined in the area. The original site of Mass City was abandoned in 1899, when Abram and Nellie Mathews platted the current site. A post office opened in Mass City on June 15, 1899; Christ P. Anderson was the first postmaster.

Geography

The small town is located within Ontonagon County, the Greenland Township in the foothills of the Porcupine Mountains. It is home to an abundance of natural forestry and wildlife able to be explored via the Courtney Lake/Old Grade Ski Trail which runs through parts of the Ottawa National Forest.