White Pine, Michigan

White Pine, Michigan
Entry sign to White Pine, Michigan.
Location within Ontonagon County
White Pine
Location within the state of Michigan
White Pine
White Pine (the United States)
Coordinates: 46°45′14″N 89°35′03″W / 46.75389°N 89.58417°W / 46.75389; -89.58417
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountyOntonagon
TownshipCarp Lake
Area
  Total
5.00 sq mi (12.96 km2)
  Land5.00 sq mi (12.96 km2)
  Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
899 ft (274 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total
339
  Density67.77/sq mi (26.17/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)
49971
Area code906
GNIS feature ID1622143

White Pine is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Ontonagon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The CDP had a population of 474 at the 2010 census. White Pine is located within Carp Lake Township.

Much of White Pine was developed in the 1950s as a company town for miners at the White Pine mine. Mining companies in Michigan often built and leased housing to workers so that miners could live adjacent to mine operations. This allowed mining companies to attract workers with families, which were believed to improve retention rates by ensuring miners were socially and financially invested in the town created by the mining company.

White Pine was developed as a typical post war suburb. Many dwellings were single-story ranch homes, although a trailer park and apartment complex were also built. The community never developed fully as the Copper Range Company envisioned. The automobile transformed how workers commuted where previous mine sites had workers walking from nearby housing to the mine, many workers by the 1950s preferred driving up to 90 miles a day to remain in their current homes rather than move to the company town.