Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, about 18 miles (29 km) south of Lake Superior.

It is the westernmost city in Michigan, situated on the same line of longitude (90.2 degrees West) as Clinton, Iowa and St. Louis, Missouri.

While originally an iron mining town, the area is now known for its downhill skiing resorts, including Big Powderhorn, Black River, Snow River, Mount Zion and Whitecap as well as its cross country skiing at the Wolverine Nordic Trail System and the ABR Nordic Center.

Ironwood is home of the "World's Tallest Indian," a 52 ft (15.8 m) fiberglass statue of tribal leader Hiawatha.

[4] Ironwood reputedly acquired its name when Frederic W. Rhinelander, president of the Milwaukee Lake Shore and Western Railroad line, arriving by train at what was then little more than a wilderness camp, chose it to honor one of his employees, mining captain James (Iron) Wood.

The mines and the lumber works attracted newcomers from other parts of the US and from European countries such as England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Sweden.

On September 17, 1887, a disastrous fire swept over half the business area, although the buildings that were lost were quickly rebuilt.

By the early 1890s, twelve churches had been established in Ironwood by the various immigrant communities: In the early 1960s, the U.S. Air Force established a Strategic Air Command (SAC) Radar Bomb Scoring site atop Norrie hill to track and score high altitude and treetop level simulated bomb runs by B-52s and B-47s on targets in the Ironwood area.

A monument is erected south of Hurley, Wisconsin to remember those crew members killed in two B-47 low level runs.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.42 square miles (16.63 km2), all of it land.

During the summer the Emberlight Festival brings world-class musicians, Broadway stars, art shows, and independent film screenings to Ironwood.

Day-to-day operations are the responsibility of the City Manager, who reports directly to the council during their two monthly, public meetings.

The City of Ironwood operates a public safety department, in which all of the members are fully cross-trained and serve as both police officers and firefighters.

Sister Mary Aquinas Kinskey taught aerodynamics and meteorology there before teaching aviation and aeronautics at Catholic University, her alma mater, to members of the United States Armed Forces.

Their 1935 campaign was immensely successful as the Panthers finished with a 6–1 record, their only loss coming to the eventual league champion La Crosse Old Style Lagers.

[15] Their 1936 campaign featured a 6–0 victory over the Madison Cardinals, who folded a few days after the Lagers defeated them 100–0 in an effort to kick them out of the league.

[19] Located (7) nautical miles northeast of the city, the airport handles approximately 5,500 operations per year, with roughly 65% general aviation, 26% commercial service and 9% air taxi.