Felch township was formed when the area was still in Marquette County.  It became a part of Iron County when that county was formed in September, 1885.  It was taken from Iron County and made part of Dickinson County in 1891.     

      In 1978, during the Centennial, Felch Township's land area measured 144 square miles with 92,160 acres.  The State Equalized Evaluation was $4,900,299. 

     The Minutes of the Board of Commissioners from Marquette County states:  There was a transaction to allow organization of a township to be named Felch. (dated November 7, 1882)  A committee appointed to run the first annual meeting and to form the township was composed of Jefferson Day, William Hutchinson and Patrick Carey,  The meeting was held in the Metropolitan Land and Iron Company Store in Metropolitan.  At that time, the surnames Mass, Lobb, and Pelmear also figured in the transactions.  

Various stories of how Felch got its name:

• Alpheus Felch was elected governor of Michigan in 1846 and historians state that the town was named for him. 
• Others claim that the town was named for Captain Felch of the North Western Mine. 
• Frances Felch Grawey of Milwaukee, genealogist for the Felch families who reside in Marinette and Menominee says that the family believes that the town was named for an uncle who became separated from his brother, their father, when he came to America in the early days.  The family is still trying to check into this possibility. 
• Another person believes it is named after a man who owned a hotel in Felch.

* Hopefully, some information will be found someday to answer this question.

Felch Mountain:

     Felch Mountain was platted by the owners, Jonathan Warner, Charles Hickox, John A. Coughey, and John N. Glidden in 1881.

Theodore:

     In the summer of 1881 the Theodore settlement was platted by the owners, The Lake Superior Ship Canal and Railway and Iron Company.

Metropolitan:

     The village of Metropolitan (now Felch) was platted in 1882 with the request signed by S.P. Burt, president and secretary of The Metropolitan Iron and Land Company.

     *J.A. VanCleve was surveyor for all three planning blocks, lots, and alleys.

      The earliest name attached to any persons operating in the township is Patrick E. Dunn, a Canadian immigrant and resident of Crystal Falls, who had mining interests.  He opened the first mine for the Metropolitan Land and Iron Company at Felch Mountain in 1876, in the interest of the Youngston Iron Company.  Dunn was the first Clerk and Register of Deeds for Iron County. 

     In 1879 D.E. Sutherland came to Metropolitan.  A native of Ontario, Canada, he had been captain of East Norrie Mine in Ironwood and before coming to Felch Township, spent summer in the Curry Mine.  He was timekeeper in the mines in Felch Township for six years and then returned to Ironwood.

     One of the most important persons connected with the early days in Felch Township was S.S. Curry, president of the Metropolitan Iron and Land Company of Ironwood, MI.  Also a Canadian, of Scotch ancestry, Curry came to the Upper Peninsula in 1862 to engage in mining.  He was 27 years old at the time.  He did exploring for the Sault Ste. Marie Canal Company at Houghton and then in Marquette, New England, and Washington.  In 1879 he went to Menominee, opened the Curry Mining Company, and stayed there until 1881.  He then moved to Felch to take charge of the Metropolitan Mine at Felch Mountain.

     Gordon Murray, who later moved to Norway, MI and became its mayor, came here in 1885.  He was also a native of Canada.  He started working as a mule driver at the Michigamme Mine at the age of 15.  He later worked at the post office in Ishpeming; studied business at college in southern Illinois, and went back to Ishpeming to be a bookkeeper.  In 1885 he became a bookkeeper for the Metropolitan Lumber Company in Milltown for their Felch District.  He was promoted to the superintendent and held the position for nine years.  Thus the Metropolitan Lumber Company was in business in this area for at least 14 years. 

    Gordon Murray is on record in the Felch Township Board minutes dated January 12th, 1891 as follows: "On motion of G. Murray, seconded by the clerk, the board adopted the following resolution: Resolved that this board does hereby protest against the proposed erection of a new county to be formed from territory to be taken from Menominee, Iron, and Marquette counties, for the reason that we see no necessity for the organization of a new county and we are satisfied to remain a part of Iron County in preference to incurring the trouble and expense of organizing a new county and paying taxes to build a new and expensive county building."

     Although the men of Ironwood, Ishpeming, Marquette, Crystal Falls, and Iron River mining connections were powerful in northern Dickinson County, the new county was formed.  Many names appear in Felch Township records, such as H. M. Atkinson of Metropolitan Lumber Company, who opened mills in Iron County, which resulted in Atkinson Township being named after him. 

    Other names included Dr. J.B. Gaston and Dr. Friedrichs, C.T. Roberts, and Captain Felch himself, who were all small time politicians whose opinions and ideas affected Felch Township for many years.

     Nelson P. Hulst's discovery of iron ore at Felch Mountain, brought many men to the area who were test pitting for ore.  A wagon road was constructed from Vulcan to Felch Mountain in Section 22, T.42, R. 28.  It was called "The Iron Road" because before railroad tracks were built, iron ore was hauled over this road by four horse teams and loaded on railroad cars in Vulcan.  The length of the road was 23 miles.  It cost $1,300.00 to build.

     August Menghini, of Norway, found the Stage Coach schedule in the Iron Chronicle for July 28, 1883:  "A New Stage Line Between Norway and Felch Mountain"  - Stage leaves Norway on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, and leaves Felch Mountain on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday.  It connects Norway with all trains to and from the east.  Prospective customers are advised to inquire about passenger and baggage rates at Farrell's Livery Stable at Norway. W.W. Felch, Manager."

     Most names appearing on early township records as members of the board or other official positions are no longer present in the township.  Timothy Mahon was township clerk in 1887; J. Mahon was agent for the C.& N.W. Railway and was on the township board; B.M. McLaughin, T.A. Phillips, P.J. Carey were board members and William Michaud was the school inspector. 

    At this time, Felch area had a population of 400 and was in Iron County.  Dr. L.A. Friederichs was postmaster, physician, and druggist; Swan Anderson had a saloon and livery stable; A.M. Burns was a shoemaker; P.J. Carey had a saloon; H.S. Carlson had the Metropolitan Hotel; Marmaduke Harper was Justice of the Peace; M. Hourigan had a saloon; C. Kasper had a meat market and grocery store; M. Kuril also had a meat store; Barney McLaughlin was also a Justice of the Peace; Frederick Parry had a general store; The Metropolitan Iron and Land Company had offices in Felch; The Metropolitan Lumber Company had a sawmill in full operation; and White and Friant, a logging company, had offices there.

     By 1893 the entire area known Metropolitan and Felch Mountain was booming.  There were many hotels and each one had a sample room and saloon.  John Atkinson was postmaster; M.J. Finnegan managed the company store; The Ford River Lumber Company had offices in Felch, Miss C. Fry was the music teacher; Ed Fry was a barber; J.B. Fry managed the Metropolitan Hotel; Dr. J.B. Gaston was active in politics; D.M. Layton was a school teacher; Rev. Lawrence Long served the Catholic Church; Angus McDonald had the Traveler's Home Hotel and Saloon; Andrew Rian sold boots and shoes; and there was a Scandinavian House with A. William as proprietor.

     From the early 1880's immigrants were arriving steadily from Europe.  The stories of many of them appear in The Felch Township Centennial Book.  Since this time to the present, after the C. & N.W. Railroad tracks were removed and came to a dead end near main street in Felch, many remarkable changes have taken place in Felch Township.  Much more remains to be written, and many more pictures should be preserved just as we have done in the past. 

     Hopefully this short history of Felch Township will inspire some of you reading this to dig deeper into the History of Felch and you too will share what you have learned with the community. 

Some memories shared by citizens who remember the "Good Ol' Days":

     From the Metropolitan Press, April 2, 1910: "Facts from Felch" - Ed Ryan had a bad runaway in town last Tuesday.  Mr. Ryan's horse became frightened at Matt Johnson's sick horse  that was lying on the road.

     From Walter Mattson's books: Born-and-Bred Farmertown Boy, Walter has recorded many memories in several small and heartwarming books about his childhood.  He tells a good story about a long, cold trek to Randville in "1912 Horse and Buggy Ride."  Horses and sleighs were standard equipment on the farm then, and even after the automobile came the car was kept in the barn most of the winter, he said.  His books are full of Felch Township nuggets.

     Gunhild Carlson Blomquist, whose interests in community affairs was heightened by her father's position as Township Supervisor, remembers that election time was an exciting time in Felch Township.  Most of the voters were immigrants and they took their citizenship very seriously.  There were very few Democrats in the area.  There was the Township Party and The Labor Party, but neither one had a platform.  It was just a matter of having two tickets.  After the new school was built in 1912, one room in the basement was the Township Office, where caucuses and elections were held.  When Gunhild got to be a teenager she loved to look in through the windows at the smoke-filled room and watch the caucuses that went on.  Her Dad was frequently a candidate for either Treasurer or Supervisor and elections weren't always a happy time for her.  The kids of the opposition party could get quite cruel.  There was no school election day because the election was held at the school.  Most of the kids were happy when my Dad won because he was most generous in providing "treats" for the youngsters.  You'd think the Pied Piper had come to town when they followed the victors to the store.

     If you are interested in digging deeper into the history of Felch Townshiip, the following books are advised by Beatrice and Olaf Blomquist, who worked tirelessly on the making of The Felch Township Centennial Book:

• A History of Iron County , Michigan By Jack Hill of Stambaugh
• A White Pine Empire-The Life of a Lumberman By John Emmett Nelligan -Published by: The North Star Press, St. Cloud, Minnesota
• Be-Wa-Bic By Herbert Larson
• The Archeology of Michigan By James Fitting
• Kienitz's Book on Indians in Michigan
• History of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie and Marquette By Rev. Antone Ivan Rezek
• The Menominee Iron Range By Nursery
• Geology of Central Dickinson County - check with Michigan State Library

*Also, for serious researchers:

• County Register of Deeds
• Minutes of the Dickinson County Board of Supervisors
• Tax Rolls for Dickinson County
• County Treasurer's Office
• Dickinson County Road Comisson - early linear survey notes
• Church records ( Zion Lutheran, Felch Mountain Bible Chapel, St. Joseph Catholic Church, and Mission Covenant Church)
• Felch Township Minutes
• Board of Education

* Only serious researches should enquire information from the above due to the fragile nature of these documents.

* To find more books on the history of Felch Township, look for books about "Upper Peninsula of Michigan" or "Menominee Range".