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Gay, Michigan facts for kids

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Gay, Michigan
Community of Gay along Main Street
Community of Gay along Main Street
Gay, Michigan is located in Michigan
Gay, Michigan
Gay, Michigan
Location in Michigan
Country United States
State Michigan
County Keweenaw
Township Sherman
Elevation
646 ft (197 m)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)
49950 (Mohawk)
Area code(s) 906
GNIS feature ID 626692

Gay is an unincorporated community in Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 12 miles from Lake Linden on Copper Island at the western end of the Upper Peninsula. As an unincorporated community, Gay has no legally recognized boundaries or population statistics of its own. Local government is provided by Sherman Township.

The Mohawk Mining Company built a stamp mill in Gay in 1898. The residual stamp sand dumped into Lake Superior increased the town's area greatly. Today, only the large smokestack and the ruins from the stamp mill remain.

Gay is locally celebrated for its annual 4th of July parade. The "Gay Parade" as it is referred to locally, attracts several times the town's population.

The town was named after Joseph E. Gay, one of the founders of the Mohawk and Wolverine Mining Companies. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.

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