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Why do some Michigan towns have unusual names? How Italian immigrants left their mark
Michigan's Italian roots stretch back to its founding, and small towns, streets and other locations highlight that history.
From industrial metro Detroit to Upper Peninsula iron mining communities, Italian immigrants and their Italian American descendants have played a key role in shaping Michigan's history. As of 2000, when the U.S. Census last included the Italian American option, data showed 4.5% of Michigan's population was of Italian ancestry, according to the National Italian American Foundation.
"For more than 350 years, Italian immigrants have played important roles in the opening and development of the land that is now Michigan, from their participation in the French fur trade up to the present day," reads the description of Russell Magnaghi's book "Italians in Michigan."
"Through the tenacity and hard work of the immigrants and their descendants, Italians in Michigan have progressed from unskilled laborers to some of the highest positions in business, politics, culture, and education," the book adds.
In the early 20th century, the Copper Country — in the Keweenaw Peninsula — boasted some of the largest communities of Italian immigrants in the state, the National Park Service says. For many other Italian immigrants, life in the United States began as a "trammer" working in a copper mine. Opportunities for advancement in the mines came with experience and mastery of the English language, the park service noted.
Italians also worked in the iron mines in Ishpeming, Negaunee, Iron Mountain, Ironwood and other places, and then moved on as opportunities arose.
Much like Michigan's French immigrants left their mark with place names, Italians did the same.
Here's what to know.
This small town sits in the heart of Iron County in the western Upper Peninsula, along the Michigan-Wisconsin border. The area saw an influx of Italian immigrants to its thriving iron ore mining industry in the early 20th century, Pure Michigan says. At its peak, there were six mines operating, though they're now closed, the city's website says.
Markers of the city's Italian heritage include Verona Street, Leo Remondini Jr. Memorial Park and the Italian Society Duke of Abruzzi Lodge and bocce courts.
South of Ann Arbor, Milan features a historic downtown with local businesses and hosts several fun-filled annual festivals, according to Pure Michigan and the city's website.
Various accounts trace the city's name back to Italian immigrants seeking to honor their homeland or French settlers who sought to make the area rich in vineyards and wine-making like Milan, Italy, according to Total Local, a publishing, printing and marketing services business in Mason, Michigan.
While Michiganders pronounce the Michigan city's name MY-len, its namesake northern Italian city is known as mi-LAHN.
Nestled near the Michigan-Wisconsin border in the Upper Peninsula, Dickinson County's Loretto is within Waucedah Township. The area was once a mining town and near a railroad stop, notes.
The community is named after the city of Loreto along the Adriatic coast in central Italy, says.
North of Lansing in Gratiot County, the small community of Pompeii features residential housing, a U.S. Post Office, the Pompeii United Methodist Church, the Pompeii Trading post and a park, surrounded by a rural area.
The town shares a name with Pompeii, Italy, an ancient Roman city south of Naples buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago, according to
To sound like a true Michigander, pronounce it "pomp-ee-eye," not "pomp-ay."
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan towns with Italian names. How immigrants left their mark
