Maggie Walz came to Michigan with $7, later founded a 1,000-person colony

Born Margareeta Johanna Konttra Niiranen in Tornio, Finland, in 1861, Maggie Walz came to the United States at the age of 20 with almost nothing, just $7 in her pocket and a determination to build a new life. According to the National Park Service (NPS), Walz arrived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as “a mere girl… a stranger among strangers” in a cosmopolitan settlement of immigrants. She took a job as a domestic servant, learned English through night school, and quickly set her sights on something more. Over the next four decades, Walz would become a pioneering businesswoman, newspaper publisher, suffragette and community builder, challenging the gender norms of her time and leaving an indelible mark on Finnish-American history. Here's her story, as per NPS:From servant to entrepreneurAfter arriving in Michigan, Walz worked for the Jacob Ojanpera family in Oskar, near Houghton. But she had other aspirations.