Escanaba is the county seat of Delta County and takes its name from the Indian word "Eshkonabang, which in the language of the Ojibway Indians, means 'Land of the Red Buck", although some claim that the word meant 'flat rock' referring to the flat rocks on the river bed nearby.

Escanaba is a metropolitan city in a vacationland setting. Here the stranger is amazed by the exceptional facilities that the city offers. Modern motels, good restaurants, golf courses, tennis courts, swimming beach with lifeguard service and fine parks offer the traveler the comforts of the city. Well-equipped garages, an up-to-date airport and modem service stations make Escanaba the logical travel headquarters of the great "Hiawathaland."

In fall 1995 the city completed construction on and dedicated an attractive new City Hall Library complex. Occupying an entire city block in downtown Escanaba, it was built for less than $5 million because of shared parking, meeting rooms, grounds and public areas. The new facility is entirely accessible.There are many important features, which combine to make Escanaba an ideal city in which to live and do business.

Escanaba's downtown features more than a mile of unique, distinctive shops and service outlets, Delta Plaza Mall with 31 stores, Mini-Mall with additional stores, its churches, including 22 Protestant and 5 Roman Catholic; one of the finest educational systems in the State of Michigan; a completely equipped hospital- a splendid new library catering to the needs of young and old alike; comprehensive daily and weekly newspapers; 412 acres of parks and playgrounds; an 8-plex theater offering the latest releases in motion pictures; an Art Center featuring community theater and art exhibits and classes; a municipally-controlled Farmer's Market, maintained during the summer months; municipal ice rinks; a municipally-supported band, presenting weekly band concerts during the summer months; a well-equipped County and State health department and participation in a county-wide curbside recycling program; efficient police and fire protection ... these are but a few of the advantages which help to make Escanaba one of the most modem and up-to-date communities of its size the Mid-West.

Because of its central location, with a network of highways radiating to all parts of the Upper Peninsula, Escanaba has developed into an important retail shopping and wholesale distributing center. Individually, the merchants have modernized their stores and collectively they have engaged in trade expansion programs, which have brought in shoppers from a 75-mile radius.

Natural advantages have contributed to Escanaba's growth as a wholesale center. The city is conveniently located to serve as a distribution point for the Upper Peninsula and Northeastern Wisconsin area.A conveyor type ore dock has been constructed for the loading of iron ore pellets into Lake Carriers for delivery to lower lake ports. For calendar year 1995, over 7 million tons of iron ore were shipped from the port in Escanaba.

Escanaba, a railroad, industrial and ore shipping center, has one of the best natural harbors on the Great Lakes. Once famed as "The Iron Port of the World," Escanaba still plays an important part in Great Lakes ore-shipping. During the navigation season, large boats steam in almost daily to the docks to receive their a of ore from the Upper Peninsula's mines for the furnaces of Gary, River Rouge and other lower lake ports.The principal products manufactured in Escanaba are lumber, paper, concrete burial vaults, ornamental iron works, concrete sewer pipe, concrete culvert pipe, automobile small parts, vacation homes, boats, rustic fence and hydra-loader mine equipment.

Escanaba, the gateway to the Hiawatha National Forest, offers the vacationist a variety of attractions, beautiful scenery, a uniformly cool climate with summer temperature averaging 66 degrees, gentle breezes that blow in from Lake Michigan, the historic lore of the Indian and the pioneer, hunting, fishing, boating, and golfing. Every August, hay-fever sufferers come to cool Escanaba and find relief in this invigorating climate.U. S. Highway 41, the longest north and south transcontinental route in the United States extending from Florida to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, crosses the east and west U. S. Highway 2 at Escanaba. A few hours travel from Escanaba reaches all points in the Upper Peninsula.

Escanaba's yacht basin, with clubhouse, is a delight to yachtsmen of Lake Michigan, and with the added facilities available for water craft, the ranks of the yachting enthusiasts and yacht owners have been in considerably.  Aronsen Island adjacent to the yacht basin boasts a 3,700 foot bike path, bike racks, benches, fences and a handicapped accessible boat launch, and fishing gear, all constructed to enhance the island's natural beauty.

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