History and Outline of Superior

 

The flag of the U.S. state of Superior.

Nickname(s): The Yooper State, Da Yooper State (commonly pronounced this way by Yoopers), The Winter Garden State, Water Wonderland

Motto: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice (English: "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you")

Anthem: "Glory to Superior"

Abbreviation: SU

Superior is a U.S. state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. It has borders with Wisconsin to the southwest, and is also connected by Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior to the states of Michigan and Minnesota and the Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of roughly 1.67 million and an area of 16,377 square miles (42,420 km2), Superior is the 50th-largest state by population and the 45th-largest by area. Its capital is Ontonagon, and its largest city is Marquette. Superior derives its name from Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes.

First inhabited by Algonquian-speaking native American tribes, the area was explored by French colonists, then occupied by British forces in 1762 before being ceded to the newly established United States after being defeated by the American colonists during the American Revolutionary War. After being assigned to various territorial jurisdictions, it was granted to the newly formed state of Michigan as part of the settlement of a dispute with Ohio over the city of Toledo. For the next twenty years, civic and militia leaders in what was then Michigan's Upper Peninsula fought for statehood, citing the long distance between the territory and Michigan's state capital, Lansing as well as cultural and political differences.

On April 8, 1857, Superior was admitted to the Union as the 32nd state, and a free state as tensions were boiling between the North and the South over the issue of slavery, and would culminate in the events of the American Civil War and its subsequent aftermath. Due to the region's history of being a part of Michigan as the former Upper Peninsula, residents of Superior adopted the nickname "Yooper" in their dialect as a pronunciation of the word "upper," and Yooper became the official demonym for Superior residents and natives in 1991. The rivalry between the Superior Lakers and the Michigan Wolverines is also noted in college sports, particularly in college football and ice hockey.

The region's exploitable timber resources and the discovery of iron and copper deposits in the 19th century brought immigrants, especially French Canadian, Finnish, Swedish, Cornish, and Italian (the peninsula includes the only counties in the United States where a plurality of residents claim Finnish ancestry). Because of the surrounding waters and northern latitude, it receives more snow than most of the eastern U.S. The heavily forested land, soil types, and short growing season make Superior poorly suited for agriculture. The state is home to a variety of wildlife, including moose, wolves, coyotes, deer, foxes, bears, mountain lions, bobcats, eagles, hawks, and owls.

During the 19th century and 20th century, mining, logging and forestry were the dominant industries in Superior, although modern efforts to protect the vast abundance of the region's natural resources have restricted current industrial output out of fears that readily available minerals will become depleted if over-exploited. Today, Superior's economy is focused on manufacturing, high-tech industry, forestry, services and tourism, and craft breweries began operating in the state since the 1990s and 2000s. The Superior state government and its agencies also play a large role in the state's economy, and the Kincheloe Air Force Base south of Sault Ste. Marie and KI Sawyer Air Force Base nearby Marquette are chief military installations and are also bases for the Superior National Guard. 

Native Yoopers speak a dialect influenced by Scandinavian and French-Canadian speech. The pasty (pronounced "pass-tee"), a meat turnover originally brought to the region by Cornish miners, is the state dish of Superior. The Stormy Kromer cap, a wool hat, is also a state symbol of Superior. Houghton is the birthplace of professional ice hockey, which began in 1904, and ice hockey, football, hunting, fishing, skiing and hiking are the most popular sports in Superior. Superior has no major professional sports teams, although the Green Bay Packers are the most-commonly followed major professional sports team in the state. Sports teams from Milwaukee/Wisconsin, Detroit, Chicago and the Twin Cities area are often followed by Yoopers, as are Canadian NHL teams. The University of Superior, founded in 1878 and home of the Lakers, is the largest and oldest public university in the state, and is located in Marquette. Houghton is home to Superior Tech, home of the Huskies.

As of 2021, the current governor of Superior is Republican Bill Schuette, and Superior is represented in the United States Senate by Republicans Fred Upton and Michael R. Perilloux. Superior is divided into 15 counties: Alger, Baraga, Chippewa, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, Marquette, Menominee, Ontonagon, and Schoolcraft.

Most of Superior is within the Eastern Time Zone, however, the four counties that border Wisconsin (Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron & Menominee) are in the Central Time Zone. In 1967, when the Uniform Time Act came into effect, the state went under year-round Central Standard Time, with no daylight saving time. In 1973, the majority of the state switched to Eastern Standard Time. Daylight saving time is currently observed state-wide.

Superior is served by four primary Interstate highways - Interstate 39 (I-39), Interstate 43 (I-43), Interstate 75 (I-75) and Interstate 98 (I-98), and three auxiliary Interstate highways - Interstate 143 (I-143), Interstate 339 (I-339) and Interstate 443 (I-443). US Routes 2, 8, 41, 45, and 141 also run through the state, as do fifty-two state highways. The Mackinac Bridge, completed in 1957, carries four lanes of Interstate 75, links Superior with Michigan across the Straits of Mackinac and is 26,372 feet (4.995 miles or 8,038 kilometers) long. The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge spans the St. Marys River between the United States and Canada, connecting the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Superior and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and is the northern terminus of Interstate 75, which runs to Miami, Florida. The Superior Department of Transportation (SUDOT) is responsible for the planning, construction and maintenance of all public roads and highways in the state. There are also 44 airports in Superior, including Ontonagon International Airport (southeast of Ontonagon) and Sawyer International Airport (at KI Sawyer AFB, south of Marquette), and ferry and bus systems also serve several areas across the state. Superior is also served by the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway and the Canadian National Railway.

Top 10 largest cities in Superior

1. Marquette (193,782)

2. Ontonagon (115,919)

3. Sault Ste. Marie (73,964)

4. Escanaba (69,045)

5. Menominee (47,073)

6. Houghton (46,507)

7. Ishpeming (34,051)

8. Ironwood (27,807)

9. St. Ignace (12,788)

10. Iron Mountain (7,518)