The name Ahmeek is derived from the Ojibwe (Chippewa) language. The village takes its name from the Ojibwe word, amik, which means "Beaver", and it was named so because of an abundance of beavers in the vicinity of the present-day village.
The Ahmeek Mine was the most successful mine along the Kearsarge Amygdaloid Lode, which spans through Houghton and Keweenaw Counties, as well as the most profitable, and the largest producer along the lode. The Ahmeek Mine's Shafts No. 3 & 4 were also one of the most distinctive in all of the Copper Country.
Mining itself in the community began around the year 1880 as the Ahmeek Mining Company began as an exploratory branch of the already-existing Seneca Mining Company to work the copper-rich Kearsarge Amygdaloid Lode. The Ahmeek Mining Company formally opened in 1903, thus becoming its own separate entity apart from the Seneca, however operations of the Ahmeek Mine under the newly independent company initially began in the year 1902. The local area grew because of its location on the Mineral Range Railroad. In 1908, the construction of the Ahmeek Mining Company Office was completed, as designed by the architect Paul Macneil. The Village of Ahmeek was founded by Joseph Bosch, the creator of the Bosch Brewing Company, in 1904. Attorney James A. Hamilton became the first postmaster of Ahmeek on February 5, 1909, the same year in which it was incorporated as a village. The village was plotted by two real estate agents from Calumet by the names of Faucett and Gunk. The two agents divided the property into lots and then sold them piece by piece. As of the year of the village's incorporation, Maurice Kenel served as the first village President of Ahmeek, having been elected March 15, 1909. The village firehall was built several years later in 1911 at a total sum of $2,925 dollars. The local Calvary Cemetery, which is also known as the Ahmeek Cemetery, was created a year later in 1912.
Ahmeek served as a critical stop for several transportation services, mostly around the early 20th century. It served as a depot on the Mineral Range Railroad and the Copper Range Railroad and also had a streetcar station for the Houghton County Traction Company, which ran south from Houghton up to Ahmeek, and on north towards Mohawk. The Streetcar Station was completed in the year 1909 and operated under the Houghton County Traction Company until the year 1932, when it served other purposes, such as a bus stop.