Crystal Falls, Michigan
Encyclopedia
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,791 people, 795 households, and 470 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 530.6 per square mile (204.6/km²). There were 913 housing units at an average density of 270.5 per square mile (104.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.05% White, 0.06% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.39% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.23% of the population. 17.1% were of Finnish, 15.5% Italian, 11.5% German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, 9.4% Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, 9.4% Swedish, 6.6% English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and 5.3% French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
ancestry according to Census 2000. 97.5% spoke English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, 1.1% Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
and 1.1% Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
as their first language.
There were 795 households out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.8% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.78.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 21.7% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 28.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,637, and the median income for a family was $35,000. Males had a median income of $28,266 versus $20,144 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $14,538. About 7.5% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.
The Annual Fisheree
Head to the ice the last weekend in February on the Michigamme reservoir for the annual Fisheree tournament. A tradition that most locals look forward to all year.The Humungus Fungus
In April 1992, Crystal Falls received international attention due to the discovery of a giant fungusFungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
, Armillaria bulbosa, in the nearby forest. The discovery was announced in articles in Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
and the New York Times. The fungus covered an area of more than 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) and had a total mass estimated at 100 tons. At the time it was believed to be the oldest living organism on earth, as well as one of the largest.
Although the fungus is actually located in nearby Mastodon Township
Mastodon Township, Michigan
Mastodon Township is a civil township of Iron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 668.-Geography:...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, the city of Crystal Falls adopted it as a tourist attraction, and holds a "Humungus Fungus Fest" as an annual event.