Osceola County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 22,891. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Reed City.

History

When established by the Michigan Legislature on April 1, 1840, it was named Unwattin County, after Chief Unwattin of the local

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

people. As a representative of the Ottawa nation, he participated in negotiations for the

Treaty of Washington (1836) {{short description, 1836 treaty between the United States, the Ottawa, and the Chippewa The Treaty of Washington is a treaty between the United States and representatives of the Ottawa and Chippewa nations of Native Americans. With this treaty, ...

that granted a vast expanse of Michigan to the US Federal Government. The name was changed March 8, 1843, to

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Vsse Yvholv in Muscogee language, Creek, also spelled Asi-yahola), named Billy Powell at birth, was an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfa ...

, after the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

chief who achieved renown in Florida. The county was initially attached for administrative purposes to Ottawa County. In 1855, it was attached to Mason County; in 1857, to Newaygo County; and in 1859, to Mecosta County. As the population increased, separate county government was organized in 1869, with Hersey designated as the county seat. Reed City became the official county seat in 1927. The county was developed initially for harvesting and processing lumber, and many European Americans came to work in lumbering and the mills.

Geography

The low rolling hills of Osceola County were completely wooded prior to settlement; at present about half of the area has been cleared and converted to agricultural or urban use. There are numerous small lakes and ponds scattered across the county; the largest is Rose Lake, northeast of LeRoy. The highest point on the terrain ( ASL) is Grove Hill, in Sherman Township. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (6.7%) is water. The county is drained by the Muskegon River and branches of the Manistee River. Osceola County is part of Northern Michigan.

Adjacent counties

* Wexford County − northwest * Missaukee County − northeast * Clare County − east * Isabella County − southeast * Mecosta County − south * Newaygo County − southwest * Lake County − west

Major highways

* * * in Reed City * * *

Demographics

2000 census

At the 2000 United States Census, there were 23,197 people, 8,861 households and 6,415 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 12,853 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.51%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.35%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.50% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.20% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. 0.99% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 26.0% were of German, 11.9% English, 11.0% American, 8.8% Irish, 6.5% Dutch and 5.2% Polish ancestry. 96.8% spoke English, 1.1% German and 1.0% Spanish as their first language. There were 8,861 households, of which 32.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.01. 27.10% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $34,102 and the median family income was $39,205. Males had a median income of $29,837 compared with $22,278 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $15,632. About 9.50% of families and 12.70% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 15.90% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The county government operates the

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

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

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

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.

Communities

Cities

* Evart * Reed City (county seat)

Villages

* Hersey * LeRoy * Marion * Tustin

Unincorporated communities

* Ashton * Dighton *

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

* Ina * Orono * Park Lake * Pisgah Heights *

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

Townships

* Burdell Township * Cedar Township * Evart Township * Hartwick Township * Hersey Township * Highland Township * Le Roy Township * Lincoln Township * Marion Township * Middle Branch Township * Orient Township * Osceola Township * Richmond Township * Rose Lake Township * Sherman Township * Sylvan Township

Education

Intermediate School District

The Mecosta–Osceola Intermediate School District, based in Big Rapids, services the majority of the students in the county (Evart and Reed City), while Wexford-Missaukee Intermediate School District covering services for the others (Marion and Pine River). The ISD offers regional

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

services, a residential

at-risk youth An at-risk student is a term used in the United States to describe a student who requires temporary or ongoing intervention in order to succeed academically. Richardson, Val, comp. "At-Risk Student Intervention Implementation Guide." The Education ...

center, and technical career programs for students of its districts.

Public School Districts

Osceola County is served by the following regular

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

s: * Evart Public Schools * Marion Public Schools * Pine River Area Schools * Reed City Area Public Schools

Private Schools

Osceola County has the following

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

s: * Trinity Lutheran School (

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

)

References

External links

* * {{authority control Michigan counties Michigan placenames of Native American origin 1869 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1869