Manistee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 25,032. The county seat is Manistee. The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county. The derivation is not certain, but it may be from ''ministigweyaa'', "river with islands at its mouth". ''See also'', List of Michigan county name etymologies and Kaministiquia River.

History

The county was set off in 1840 and organized in 1855.

Historical markers

There are thirteen recognized Michigan historical markers in the county: * Harriet Quimby / Childhood Home *

John J. Makinen Bottle House The John J. Makinen Bottle House (also known as the Kaleva Bottle House, Kaleva Bottle House Museum, and Kaleva Historical Museum) is a house built of bottle wall construction in 1941 by John J. Makinen, Sr. It is located in Kaleva, Michigan nea ...

* First Congregational Church, Manistee * Great Fire of 1871 * Holy Trinity Episcopal Church * Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Rectory * Kaleva, Michigan * Manistee City Library * Manistee Fire Hall * Our Saviour's Lutheran Church *

Ramsdell Theatre The Ramsdell Theatre is a historic playhouse theater building and opera house at 101 Maple Street in downtown Manistee, Michigan. The building was financed by local businessman and politician Thomas Jefferson Ramsdell and was built in 1902. It ...

* Trinity Lutheran Church rcadia*

William Douglas House William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

Government

Alongside Polk County, North Carolina, Manistee County was the only county in the United States in which James M. Cox and Charles Evans Hughes both won, as the chart above shows. The county government operates the

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains

vital records Vital records are records of life events kept under governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses (or marriage certificates), separation agreements, divorce certificates or divorce party and death certificates. In some ...

, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Elected officials

* Prosecuting Attorney: Jason Haag *

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

: Brian Gutowski *

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

: Jill Nowak *

County Treasurer A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

: Rachel Nelson * Register of Deeds: Penny Pepera *

Drain Commissioner A drain commissioner is an elected official in county government of the U.S. state of Michigan who is responsible for planning, developing and maintaining surface water drainage systems under Public Act 40 of 1956. In counties with a population unde ...

: Ken Hilliard * County Surveyor: Patrick Bentley (information as of February 2012)

Fire departments and emergency medical services

County ambulance service

As of early 2021 North Flight EMS has since transferred the primary ambulance service to Mobile Medical Response.

Fire departments

* Arcadia Township Fire Department * Bear Lake Township Fire Department * City of Manistee Fire Department * Cleon Township Fire Department * Dickson Township Fire Department * East Lake Township Fire Department * Filer Township Fire Department * Manistee Township Fire Department * Maple Grove Township Fire Department * Norman Township Fire Department * Onekama Township Fire Department * Stronach Township Fire Department

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (58%) is water. Manistee County is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Adjacent counties

* Benzie County - north *

Grand Traverse County Grand Traverse County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,238, making it the largest county in Northern Michigan. Its county seat is Traverse City. The county is part of the Trave ...

- northeast * Wexford County - east * Lake County - southeast * Mason County - south * Manitowoc County, Wisconsin - southwest * Kewaunee County, Wisconsin - west

National protected area

* Manistee National Forest (part) * Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness

Transportation

Airport

Manistee County-Blacker Airport is approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Manistee.

Major highways

* runs through Manistee and Bear Lake * begins north of Manistee and goes through Onekama and

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

* begins north of Manistee and runs across the Lower Peninsula to

Tawas City Tawas City is a city in and county seat of Iosco County, Michigan, Iosco County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,834 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city is mostly surrounded by Tawas Township, Michigan, Tawa ...

* comes from Wexford County * unsigned highway that connects US 31 in Manistee to

Orchard Beach State Park Orchard Beach State Park is a public recreation area covering on the shore of Lake Michigan in Manistee Township, Manistee County, Michigan. Situated on a bluff three miles north of the city of Manistee, the state park offers, camping, hikin ...

Bicycle routes

* comes from Mason County and goes through Manistee, Onekama, and Arcadia to proceed north to Benzie County with M-22

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 24,527 people, 9,860 households, and 6,714 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile (17/km²). There were 14,272 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.16% White, 1.63% Black or African American, 1.30% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races. 2.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.5% were of German, 16.9% Polish, 8.8% English, 8.8%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and 7.1% Irish ancestry. 96.2% spoke English and 2.3% Spanish as their first language. There were 9,860 households, out of which 27.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.10% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.90% were non-families. 27.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.86. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.60% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 18.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 103.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,208, and the median income for a family was $41,664. Males had a median income of $33,211 versus $20,851 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,204. About 6.90% of families and 10.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.50% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Manistee (county seat)

Villages

* Bear Lake * Copemish *

Eastlake Eastlake may refer to: Places ;Australia * Kingston, Australian Capital Territory, formerly called Eastlake ** Eastlake Football Club, an amateur Australian Rules Football Club named after that location ;United States * Eastlake, Lake County, C ...

* Kaleva * Onekama

Census-designated places

* Brethren * Filer City * Oak Hill * Parkdale * Stronach * Wellston

Other unincorporated communities

* Marilla * Norwalk * Pierport

Townships

* Arcadia Township * Bear Lake Township * Brown Township * Cleon Township * Dickson Township * Filer Charter Township * Manistee Township * Maple Grove Township * Marilla Township * Norman Township * Onekama Township * Pleasanton Township * Springdale Township * Stronach Township

Education

School districts include: *

Bear Lake School District Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the N ...

* Benzie County Central School * Kaleva Norman Dickson School District *

Manistee Area Schools Manistee may refer to: Places * Manistee, Michigan * Manistee, Alabama * Manistee County, Michigan ** Manistee County-Blacker Airport * Manistee Township, Michigan * Manistee National Forest, jointly administered as part of the Huron-Manist ...

Mason County Eastern District Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

Mesick Consolidated Schools Mesick ( ) is a village in Wexford County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 397 at the 2020 census. The majority of the village is located within Springville Township with a very small portion extending east into Antioch Townsh ...

Onekama Consolidated Schools Onekama is the name of a village and a township in Manistee County, in the U.S. state of Michigan: * Onekama, Michigan * Onekama Township, Michigan Onekama Township is a civil township of Manistee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The populat ...