Welcome to Balsam ...

Balsam is located in the western region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula (UP).

Balsam is located in Iron County<1>.

The location of Balsam has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Balsam, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1909.

Balsam is 1,510 feet [460 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Balsam lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Note: If you leave Balsam and travel east, you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).

Balsam lies within the (906) area code.

Communities Also Named Balsam ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 4 communities that are also named Balsam - they are located in Minnesota, North Carolina, Ontario and Pennsylvania.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Balsam.

Communities near Balsam ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Balsam.

• Iron River
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <4>
• Crystal Falls
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • 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 <4>
• Stambaugh
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stambaugh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stambaugh
  • Stambaugh is located in Iron County
• Caspian
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • 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 <4>
• Gaastra
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaastra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <4>
• Mineral Hills
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Hills
  • Mineral Hills is located in Iron County
• Alpha
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
  • Alpha is located in Iron County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alpha <4>
• Clinch ‑ Historic
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clinch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinch
  • Clinch is located in Iron County
• Chicagon
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chicagon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicagon
  • Chicagon is located in Iron County
• Bates Junction
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bates Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 Balsam. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Balsam.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Balsam. 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 Balsam.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Balsam. See our Newspapers Page for Balsam.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Balsam ...

Looking for more information about Balsam? 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.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Balsam, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Balsam.

Adding Balsam to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Balsam 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 Balsam was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Balsam post office opened in 1909.

We also found Balsam on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Michigan (1911).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Balsam.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Balsam. 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/