Kincheloe, Michigan

Kincheloe, Michigan
Census-designated place (CDP) & unincorporated community
Kincheloe Location within the state of Michigan
Coordinates: 46°16′03″N 84°27′44″W / 46.26750°N 84.46222°W / 46.26750; -84.46222
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Chippewa
Township	Kinross
Area [1]
• Total	1.27 sq mi (3.28 km2)
• Land	1.27 sq mi (3.28 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,587
• Density	2,043.44/sq mi (789.08/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	49788
Area code	906
FIPS code	26-43180

Kincheloe is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Chippewa County on the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, named after the former Kincheloe Air Force Base, that was in turn named after noted pilot Iven Kincheloe.

Kincheloe is at the eastern end of Kinross Charter Township, just east of Interstate 75 (I-75) and about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Sault Ste. Marie and 37 miles (60 km) north of St. Ignace. It is on the area formerly occupied by the Kincheloe Air Force Base, which covered 7,265 acres (29.40 km²).

Despite the loss of approximately 10,000 personnel living in the area after the base closure in 1977, the town has managed to survive the years since closing, largely due to the development of several prisons in the area, some growth in light industry and an airport that continues to use some of the runways built for the Air Force Base.

Chippewa County International Airport, Kinross Correctional Facility, Chippewa Correctional Facility, Kinross Manufacturing, American Kinross, Inc. are now located on the base's former property and adjacent land. In all, the local tax base had doubled, and the civilian payroll created by the new ventures had reached $110 million.

The town is also home to The Oaks at Kincheloe, formerly The Kincheloe Memorial Golf Course, an 18-hole, par 72, 7,000-yard (6,400 m) course built as a nine-hole course by the base in 1951 and expanded in 1987.