Stephenson, MI

Stephenson is a Menominee County city split by the Little Cedar River and crossed by US 41. The city covers about one square mile, sitting roughly halfway between Menominee and Powers in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. James Valentine settled here in 1870, and the Chicago and North Western Railway soon made the place useful as a water stop for steam trains running between Menominee and Escanaba. A post office opened under the name Wacedah in 1874. The city later took the Stephenson name from early lumbermen in the area and incorporated as a village in 1898.

The river, railroad, and highway still give Stephenson its shape. The Little Cedar cuts through the middle of town, while US 41 carries traffic south about 21 miles to Menominee and north about 20 miles to Powers. Stephenson Area Public Schools, city parks, restaurants, churches, and local shops serve residents from the surrounding township. The city also maintains its own water and sewer systems and operates a local electric utility. A major fire destroyed 27 buildings in 1865, before the later railroad growth, and remains part of the area's early memory. Stephenson's 2020 population was 816, a compact city with a river through its middle and a transportation history that began with steam trains taking on water.