Rapid River, Michigan

Rapid River is an unincorporated community in Masonville Township, Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan.[1]

This article is about the community in Delta County. For other uses, see Rapid River (Michigan).

Rapid River, Michigan
Unincorporated community
Rapid River along U.S. Route 2
Rapid River Location within the state of Michigan
Coordinates: 45°55′35″N 86°58′01″W
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Delta
Township	Masonville
Elevation	594 ft (181 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	49878
Area code(s)	906
GNIS feature ID	1621342[1]

It is situated on the northern end of the Little Bay de Noc between the mouths of the Tacoosh and Rapid rivers with the mouth of the Whitefish River just to the east. U.S. Highway 2 passes through Rapid River and joins with U.S. Highway 41 just west of town; the two then run concurrently from Rapid River south to Escanaba. The Rapid River ZIP code is 49878 and also serves areas in the nearby townships in Delta County of Baldwin, Bay de Noc, Brampton, Ensign, Garden, Maple Ridge, Masonville, and Nahma. It also serves a small area in Mathias Township in Alger County[2]

Sign for Rapid River, Michigan

The community was first named Rapid Siding as a stop on the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad. The name was recorded as Rapid River when the community was platted in 1887. The community never incorporated as a village.

One scene from the 2001 film Escanaba in da Moonlight was shot in the Swallow Inn, a popular bar on Main Street.[3]

Rapid River is home to the Rapid River Public Schools, a class D school. Rapid River is well known for its 8-Man football team, the Rapid River Rockets, who won the State Championship in 2018.

Fire coverage is provided by the Masonville Township Volunteer Fire Department. Emergency Medical Services are provided by the Masonville Township Volunteer EMS service which provide non-transport Basic Life Support services.

Indian Trails provides daily intercity bus service between St. Ignace and Ironwood, Michigan.[4]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rapid River, Michigan
2. 49878 5-Digit ZCTA, 498 3-Digit ZCTA - Reference Map - American FactFinder, U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 census
3. "Actor Shows Loyalty to Home State." Retrieved October 26, 2010.(http://www.escanabathemovie.com/news.htm)
4. "ST. IGNACE-SAULT STE. MARIE-IRONWOOD" (PDF). Indian Trails. January 15, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2014. Retrieved 2013-02-28.