Ontonagon County ( ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 5,816, making it Michigan's third-least populous county. The county seat is Ontonagon. The county was set off in 1843, and organized in 1848. Its territory had been organized as part of Chippewa and Mackinac counties. With increasing population in the area, more counties were organized. After Ontonagon was organized, it was split to create

Gogebic County Gogebic County ( ) is the westernmost county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan, and the westernmost in the state as a whole. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 14,380. The county seat is Bessemer. This was historical ...

. It is also the westernmost U.S. county that uses the Eastern Time Zone. The county is named after the Ontonagon River. The name is said to be loosely derived from an Ojibwe language word ''noojitoon ziibi'', meaning "hunting river." A French transliteration, ''Nantounagon,'' identified the river on a 1670 French map. Alternatively, and perhaps more accurately, it is said to be derived from the

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

''onagon'', which means "dish" or "bowl." ''See''

List of Michigan county name etymologies There are 83 counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The boundaries of these counties have not changed substantially since 1897. However, throughout the 19th century, the state legislature frequently adjusted county boundaries. County creation wa ...

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (65%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Michigan by area. At a longitude of 89.5°W, it is the westernmost county in the United States contained entirely within the Eastern Time Zone.

Geographic features

Lake of the Clouds Lake of the Clouds is a lake located in Ontonagon County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan within the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. The lake is situated in a valley between two ridges in the Porcupine Mountains. ...

* Lake Superior *

Lake Gogebic Lake Gogebic ( ) is the largest natural inlandHanchin, P. A., (2011) ''The fish community and fishery of Lake Gogebic, Gogebic and Ontonagon counties, Michigan in 2005-06 with emphasis on walleye, northern pike, and smallmouth bass''. Michigan D ...

is the largest lake in the Upper Peninsula. *

Corpse Pond Corpse Pond is a small lake in Ontonagon County, Michigan, located at . See also *List of lakes in Michigan This is a list of lakes in Michigan. The United States, American state of Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes, Great Lakes. T ...

* Ontonagon River * Firesteel River *

Flintsteel River The Flintsteel River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed February 3, 2012 river in Ontonagon County on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. It is a tribu ...

* Halfway Creek * Townline Creek *

Maple Leaf Creek Maple Leaf Creek is located in McMillan Township of Michigan's Ontonagon County in the Upper Peninsula. The creek has its origin in Section 17 of the township, and winds its way through Sections 16 and 15, flowing into the South Branch Ontonagon ...

Major highways

* – runs north–south through east-central part of county. Enters south line from Watersmeet, passes Paulding, Bruce Crossing, and Rockland, ending at Ontonagon. * – enters east line of county at 12 miles (19 km) south of NE county corner. Runs SW, passing Mass City and Lake Mine, to intersection with M-38 east of Rockland. * – runs east–west thru southern part of county. Enters 10.4 miles (16.6 km) north of SE county corner. Runs westerly into Gogebic County. * – enters east line of county at a point east of Mass City. Runs west to Lake Mine, then WNW to terminus at Ontonagon. * – runs north–south through center part of county. Enters south line on west side of Lake Gogebic; runs north to Lake Superior shoreline. Runs NE along shoreline to terminus at Ontonagon.

Airport

Ontonagon County Airport Ontonagon County Airport, also known as Schuster Field , is a county-owned public-use airport located 3 miles (5 kilometre, km) west of the central business district of Ontonagon, Michigan, a village in Ontonagon County, Michigan, Unit ...

(KOGM) serves the county and surrounding communities.

Adjacent counties

Keweenaw County Keweenaw County (, ; , ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, the state's northernmost county. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the ...

– northeast *

Houghton County Houghton County is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 37,361. The county seat and largest city is Houghton. Both the county and the city were named for Michigan State geo ...

– east *

Iron County Iron County is the name of four counties in the United States: *Iron County, Michigan *Iron County, Missouri *Iron County, Utah *Iron County, Wisconsin Iron County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, t ...

– southeast/CST Border *

– south/CST Border * Ashland County, Wisconsin – west/CST Border * Cook County, Minnesota – northwest/CST Border

National protected areas

* Keweenaw National Historical Park (part) * Ottawa National Forest (part)

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

indicates Ontonagon County had a population of 6,780. This decrease of 1038 people from the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

represents a -13.3% change in population. In 2010 there were 3,258 households and 1,954 families in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 5,672 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (2/km²). 97.3% of the population were White, 1.1% Native American, 0.2%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.1% Black or African American, 0.1% of some other race and 1.3% of two or more races. 0.9% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). There were 3,258 households, out of which 15.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% 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, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.61. The county population contained 15.8% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 16.7% from 25 to 44, 37.0% from 45 to 64, and 26.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52.7 years. The population is 51.6% male and 48.4% female. The median income for a household in the county was $34,786, and the median income for a family was $46,845. The per capita income for the county was $22,195. About 9.0% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

History

In 1843, Michigan's Upper Peninsula was divided into Mackinac, Chippewa, Marquette, Schoolcraft,

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

, and Ontonagon Counties. In 1845, a portion of Ontonagon County was partitioned to be part of

. In 1846, the village of Ontonagon was named as the county seat of Ontonagon County.

Government

Ontonagon County is fairly balanced to Republican-leaning. Since 1876 its voters have selected the Republican Party nominee in 62% (23 of 37) of the national elections through 2020. Ontonagon County operates the County jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and

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 social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget and has 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: Michael D. Findlay *

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 ...

: Dale Rantala *

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 ...

Register of Deeds Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over ...

: Stacy C. Preiss *

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 ...

: Jeanne M. Pollard * Mine Inspector: Douglas Roberts As of September 2018

Communities

Village

* Ontonagon (county seat)

Civil townships

* Bergland Township * Bohemia Township * Carp Lake Township * Greenland Township * Haight Township * Interior Township * Matchwood Township * McMillan Township * Ontonagon Township * Rockland Township * Stannard Township

Census-designated places

* Bergland * Bruce Crossing *

Ewen Ewen is a male given name, most common throughout Scotland as well as Canada, due to the immigration of Scottish people. It is an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic name, Eòghann. It is possibly a derivative of the Pictish name, ''Uuen'' (or ' ...

* Greenland *

* Mass City *

Rockland Rockland may refer to: People *Per Bergsland, nicknamed Peter Rockland, one of three successful escapees from Stalag Luft III (the "Great Escape") Places ;In Canada *Rockland, Greater Victoria *Rockland, Nova Scotia *Rockland, Ontario ;In the Uni ...

* White Pine

Unincorporated communities

* Agate * Algonquin * Calderwood * Carp Lake * Craigsmere * Maple Grove * Matchwood * Paulding * Paynesville *

Robbins Robbins may refer to: People * Robbins (name), a surname Fictional characters * Al Robbins, medical doctor in ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' * Arizona Robbins, surgeon in ''Grey's Anatomy'' * Ashley Mizuki Robbins, protagonist in the video ...

* Trout Creek * Victoria

Ghost town

* Adventure

Indian reservation

* The Ontonagon Indian Reservation, a branch of the Lake Superior Chippewa, has a reservation in the northeastern section of Ontonagon Township on the shores of Lake Superior. The reservation occupies of land but recorded no permanent population at the 2010 Census.

References

External links

Ontonagon Chamber Of Commerce

Ontonagon County Website
{{Coord, 46.98, -89.27, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MI_source:UScensus1990 Michigan counties 1848 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1848