Donken is an unincorporated community in Houghton County

Houghton County, Michigan

-National protected areas:* Keweenaw National Historical Park * Ottawa National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 36,016 people, 13,793 households, and 8,137 families residing in the county. The population density was 36 people per square mile . There were 17,748 housing...

, 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"....

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Donken is located in Elm River Township

Elm River Township, Michigan

Elm River Township is a civil township of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 169 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

 along M-26

M-26 (Michigan highway)

M-26 is a state trunkline highway in the U.S. state of Michigan, running from two miles east of Rockland to its junction with US Highway 41 in Copper Harbor. It generally runs southwest-to-northeast in the western half or Michigan's Upper Peninsula...

, 11.5 miles (18.5 km) southwest of South Range

South Range, Michigan

South Range is a village in Adams Township, Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is bordered on the east by the unincorporated community of Baltic. It is about five miles southwest of Houghton on M-26. The population was 727 at the 2000 census...

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History

The Case Lumber Company mill and general store were the first businesses in Donken, which the community was settled around. Earl J. Case, owner of the businesses, became the town's first postmaster

Postmaster

A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...

 on April 7, 1919. Donken was a station on the Copper Range Railroad

Copper Range Railroad

The Copper Range Railroad was a small railroad company that operated from 1899 to 1972 in the western Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan, United States....

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