Onota, Au Train Township, Michigan
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Bay Furnace
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Reconstructed furnace
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| Nearest city | Christmas, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | 46°26′27″N 86°42′21″W / 46.44083°N 86.70583°WCoordinates: 46°26′27″N 86°42′21″W / 46.44083°N 86.70583°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1869 |
| NRHP Reference # | 71000382 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | September 30, 1971 |
| Designated MSHS | January 22, 1971 |
Onota was a village in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It was located on the Grand Island Bay of Lake Superior near the present-day community of Christmas about five miles (8 km) west of Munising in Alger County. The site of Onota is within the Bay Furnace Campground and Picnic Area of the Hiawatha National Forest. The remains of Bay Furnace, a blast furnace used for smelting iron, is the only extant remnant of the town. Bay Furnace was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971.
Onota was originally a Native American fishing site. When Schoolcraft County was set off in 1848, Onota was designated as the first county seat. However, the first recorded settlement at that location dates from 1869, when Bay Furnace, a blast furnace used for smelting iron, was established there. A post office opened May 16, 1870 and was discontinued August 14, 1879, after a fire destroyed the village. The Onota post office was reestablished and transferred on May 18, 1881, to a mining site in Onota Township approximately 15 miles (24 km) to the west, before being discontinued on February 29, 1924.
Raw materials and supplies were unloaded from ships and pig iron was loaded onto ships docked at a pier built for that purpose which extended about 1,400 feet (430 m) into Lake Superior. Charcoal made in Onota was also transported to furnaces in and around Marquette. Iron smelting began in the spring of 1870, producing 3,498 tons of pig iron that year. In 1871, the product was 3,597 tons, and 4,900 tons in 1872. In 1872, a second stack was built and began production in December; however, its use was discontinued after one year. By 1874, 52 kilns were running in the timbered land owned by the Bay Furnace Company, and Bay Furnace Stack Number One was producing fifteen tons of pig iron per day.
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