clare – Promote Michigan

The small farming town of Clare (population around 3,300) is experiencing significant business growth thanks to group of entrepreneurs working collaboratively to enhance the historic downtown district with boutiques, cafés and unique shops. Centrally located in the heart of Michigan’s lower peninsula, Clare sits at the crossroads of US-10 and US-127. In 2016, 51 buildings were collectively listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Clare Downtown Historic District.

Promote Michigan Blog

March 12, 2018 Dianna Stampfler

Celebrating Michigan’s Irish Communities

Irish immigration to Michigan dates back to the early 1800s, with a heavy increase between 1845 and 1855 during a period of famine in Ireland, lasting well into the 1920s. Starting first in Detroit, the Irish made their way north and westward, landing throughout both the Lower and Upper Peninsulas where they found work in factories, fishing villages and copper mines. Nearly one-third of Michigan’s foreign-born population was from Ireland in 1870. Today, only about 10% of the state’s 9.9 million population is of Irish descent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.