Welcome to Alpha ...
The village of Alpha is located in the western region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula (UP).
Alpha is located in Iron County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Alpha, you might consider that their post office opened in 1913.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Alpha has a population of 134 people<2> (see below for details).
The community of Alpha is 1,420 feet [433 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Alpha lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you leave Alpha and travel east, you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).
The area code for Alpha: (906)
The ZIP code for Alpha: 49902<4>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Alpha had an population of 134 people. This is a decrease of 7.59% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 32.32% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Alpha had a population of 145 people. This makes Alpha the county's 5th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 145 people, the population of Alpha decreased 26.77% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 198 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Alpha.
Communities Also Named Alpha ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Michigan communities named Alpha: This one is located in Iron County and the other is located in Benzie County.
Beyond Michigan, there are 33 communities that are also named Alpha - they are located in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Idaho (2), Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (2), Kentucky, Louisiana, Manitoba, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri (2), Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington (2), West Virginia (2) and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Alpha.
Communities near Alpha ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Alpha.
- Iron River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron River have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron River
- Iron River is located in Iron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,827 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iron River <6>
- Crystal Falls
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Falls
- Crystal Falls is located in Iron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,364 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crystal Falls <6>
- Stambaugh
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Caspian
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspian
- Caspian is located in Iron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 845 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Caspian <6>
- Gaastra
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaastra have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaastra
- Gaastra is located in Iron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaastra <6>
- Mineral Hills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Hills
- Mineral Hills is located in Iron County
- Pentoga
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentoga
- Pentoga is located in Iron County
- Chicagon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Florence
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Florence is located in Florence County (WI)
- Bates Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bates Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates Junction
- Bates Junction is located in Iron County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Alpha. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Alpha.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Alpha. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alpha.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Alpha. See our Newspapers Page for Alpha.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Alpha ...
Looking for more information about Alpha? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Alpha, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Alpha.
Adding Alpha to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Alpha in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Alpha was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Alpha post office opened in 1913.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Alpha.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alpha. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Iron County: www.iron.org/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Michigan's counties, including Iron, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Alpha. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alpha - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a village (such as Alpha). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Alpha or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |