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Oscoda ( ) is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...
and
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, su ...
(CDP) in Iosco County in the U.S. state of
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
. The CDP had a population of 916 at the 2020 census. The community is located within Au Sable Township and Oscoda Township at the mouth of the Au Sable River along
Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Straits of Ma ...
.


History

The area was first settled as early as 1867 when the firm of Smith, Kelley, & Dwight purchased land here and platted the community. A post office under the name Au Sable served the area until the Oscoda post office was established on July 1, 1875. The name Oscoda is believed to come from
Henry Schoolcraft Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi R ...
, who used a shortened form of ossin and muscoda, which means a pebbly prairie. The Lumberman's Monument is located nearby and was dedicated in 1932 in honor of the early
lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...
s that first populated the area. The state of Michigan designated Oscoda as the official home of
Paul Bunyan Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in the ...
due to early documented publications in the ''Oscoda Press'' on August 10, 1906 by James MacGillivray. The article was later revised and published in ''
The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival '' Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the '' Detroit Tribune'' on Febru ...
'' in 1910. Wurtsmith Air Force Base was a
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...
commissioned in 1923 in Oscoda. During the Cold War, it was one of the state's three
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile c ...
bases that housed
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic aircraft, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the ...
jets. The air base was decommissioned in 1993. The area is now an ongoing
Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agen ...
site due to extensive groundwater contamination. Parts of the defunct air base now serve as the Oscoda–Wurtsmith Airport with no future plans for the rest of the facility. Oscoda was featured in the 2002 documentary film '' Bowling for Columbine'', in which director
Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ...
interviewed two young residents.
Eric Harris Eric David Harris (April 9, 1981 – April 20, 1999) and Dylan Bennet Klebold (; September 11, 1981 – April 20, 1999) were an American mass murder duo who perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. Harris and Klebold ...
, one of the perpetrators of the
Columbine High School massacre On April 20, 1999, a school shooting and attempted bombing occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth grade, 12th grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and ...
, spent some of his early years in Oscoda while his father served in the U.S. Air Force.


Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (8.42%) is water. The community is located on the northside of the Au Sable River at its river mouth at
Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Straits of Ma ...
. The community of Au Sable is on the southside of the river, and the surrounding areas are part of the Huron National Forest. Au Sable is served by Oscoda Area Schools. The
Shore to Shore Riding & Hiking Trail The Michigan Shore-to-Shore Trail (also known as the Michigan Riding and Hiking Trail) is a trail that runs between Empire on Lake Michigan and Oscoda on Lake Huron across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is open to horseback riders and hike ...
, which is a network of trails, has its eastern terminus in Oscoda.


Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
system, Oscoda has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.


Transportation


Airport

* Oscoda–Wurtsmith Airport is a public use airport that was created in 1993 from part of the disestablished Wurtsmith Air Force Base.


Bus

*
Indian Trails Indian Trails, Inc. is an inter-city bus company based in Owosso, Michigan, with offices in Romulus (in Metro Detroit) and Kalamazoo. History Indian Trails was founded in 1910 in Owosso as the Phillips-Taylor Livery Service, whose main busine ...
has a station in Oscoda that is along the OwossoSt. Ignace route that follows U.S. Highway 23 at this point.


Major highways

* runs south–north along the eastern edge of the community near Lake Huron. * has its southern terminus at US 23 in Oscoda.


Demographics

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 992 people, 460 households, and 260 families residing in the CDP. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...
was 1,135.7 per square mile (440.2/km). There were 599 housing units at an average density of 685.8 per square mile (265.8/km). The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.15%
White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 0.40%
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 1.21% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.71% from other races, and 1.81% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 1.71% of the population. There were 460 households, out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% 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, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.3% were non-families. 38.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.80. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 86.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $30,000, and the median income for a family was $42,250. Males had a median income of $24,667 versus $22,772 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the CDP was $16,191. About 4.4% of families and 8.3% 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 6.4% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.


Media


Newspapers

*The
Iosco County News-Herald
' is the newspaper of record for Iosco County and has an office in Oscoda. *The
Oscoda Press
' is a weekly newspaper that serves the surrounding area.


Radio

* WCMB-FM 95.7 FM is a public radio simulcast of
Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...
's WCMU-FM that is broadcast in Oscoda. * WWTH 100.7 FM is a
classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
station that is also part of the Detroit Tigers Radio Network.


Notable people

* Jack Henry Abbott, author, career criminal, and convicted murderer * Charles Pierce Davey, boxer and boxing commissioner * Wally Gilbert, multi-sport professional athlete * Darryl Hall, professional football player * Charles McRae, professional football player and businessman


References


External links


Au Sable and Oscoda Historical Society
{{authority control Census-designated places in Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan Unincorporated communities in Iosco County, Michigan Census-designated places in Iosco County, Michigan 1867 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1867 Former villages in Michigan Populated places on Lake Huron in the United States