The historical development of the village of Amasa, like the development of most of Iron County, is linked
to the discovery of iron ore in the area, and the subsequent mining activities. Ore was unearthed along the Hemlock River in
Hematite Township in 1888 by Matthew Gibson and his son Thorburn. The Hemlock Mining Company, a Pickands-Mather Company subsidiary,
acquired property just west of the village site in 1889. It began full mining operations in
1890, after the completion of a railroad spur by the Paint River Railway Company connected the mine site to Crystal
Falls, sixteen miles south. The settlement which arose around the mining operations was known first as
"Hemlock," but in 1892 the name was changed to Amasa. There is confusion regions over the source of the name. County
historian Jack Hill refers to it as that of Colonel Pickand's favorite son or that of Mr. Amasa Stone; the father-in-law
Havighurst refers to the name as that of Amasa Stone Mather, b. 1884, Yale graduate 1907, who was named for his grandfather, Amasa Stone, who had built the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad.
The historical development of the village of Amasa, like the development of most of Iron County, is linked
to the discovery of iron ore in the area, and the subsequent mining activities. Ore was unearthed along the Hemlock River in
Hematite Township in 1888 by Matthew Gibson and his son Thorburn. The Hemlock Mining Company, a Pickands-Mather Company subsidiary,
acquired property just west of the village site in 1889. It began full mining operations in
1890, after the completion of a railroad spur by the Paint River Railway Company connected the mine site to Crystal
Falls, sixteen miles south. The settlement which arose around the mining operations was known first as
"Hemlock," but in 1892 the name was changed to Amasa. There is confusion regions over the source of the name. County
historian Jack Hill refers to it as that of Colonel Pickand's favorite son or that of Mr. Amasa Stone; the father-in-law
Havighurst refers to the name as that of Amasa Stone Mather, b. 1884, Yale graduate 1907, who was named for his grandfather, Amasa Stone, who had built the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad.