Allegan County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, the population was 120,502. The county seat is Allegan. The name was coined by

Henry Rowe 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 ...

to sound like a Native American word. Allegan County comprises the Holland, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

– Kentwood– Muskegon, MI Combined Statistical Area. It is primarily an agricultural area that is rapidly becoming urbanized as the population centers of Grand Rapids on the northeast and Kalamazoo to the southeast expand into Allegan County. The county has long been a regional tourist draw, particularly the Tulip Time Festival in Holland and the area along

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. The

shoreline has long been a popular place for vacation homes, and that development continues, especially around Saugatuck and

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

. Another draw is

Allegan State Game Area Allegan State Game Area is a forest attracting campers, hikers, bikers snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, horse trail riders and hunters. It is located in west-central Allegan County, Michigan, with one gateway just west of the city of Allegan ...

, a forest attracting campers, snowmobilers, cross-country skiers and hunters. Allegan County contains

Saugatuck Dunes State Park Saugatuck Dunes State Park is a public recreation area covering on the shore of Lake Michigan between Saugatuck and Holland in Allegan County, Michigan. History The site was once part of the estate of inventor Dorr E. Felt, whose summer home ...

with trails through scenic dunes and a swimming beach on Lake Michigan. The county also contains Pier Cove Park, a public beach with Lake Michigan access.

Lake Allegan Lake Allegan is a man-made lake located in Valley Township just outside the city of Allegan in the U.S. state of Michigan (Allegan County). The water is safe for swimming and boating. The lake has a large surface area of almost 1,600 acres (2 ...

is a popular destination.

History

The Michigan peninsula was long occupied by bands of the Potowatomi and Ojibwe of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians. The United States government forced the tribes to cede their extensive territories to the federal government, in exchange for annuities and small reservations. The federally recognized

Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band The Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan is a federally recognized tribe of Potawatomi people in Michigan named for a 19th-century Ojibwe chief. They were formerly known as the Gun Lake Band of Grand River Ottawa Indi ...

of Pottowatomi has a reservation here. The boundaries of Allegan County were laid out by the

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

legislature in 1831. The county was organized in 1835. At that time there were only about four European-American families in the area. Among the first settlers of Allegan County were Giles Scott and Turner Aldrich.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (55%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Ottawa County – north * Kent County – northeast * Barry County – east *

Kalamazoo County Kalamazoo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. , the population was 261,670. The county seat is Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo County is included in the Kalamazoo– Portage, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Kalamazoo Count ...

– southeast * Van Buren County – south * Lake County, Illinois – southwest * Kenosha County, Wisconsin – west * Racine County, Wisconsin – northwest

Transportation

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Demographics

As of 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 ...

, there were 111,408 people living in the county. 92.9% were White, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.6%

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 ...

, 0.6% Native American, 2.8% of some other race and 1.9% of two or more races. 6.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 23.0% were of Dutch, 17.5%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, 8.3% English, 7.1% Irish and 7.1%

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 ...

ancestry. As of 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 ...

, there were 105,665 people, 38,165 households, and 28,394 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 43,292 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile (20/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.47% White, 1.31% Black or African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.55%

, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.77% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. 5.72% of the population were Hispanic or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 25.6% were of Dutch, 17.8%

, 9.6%

, 8.4% English and 7.2% Irish ancestry, 93.6% spoke only English; 5.2% spoke Spanish at home. There were 38,165 households, out of which 37.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.40% 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 25.60% were non-families. 20.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.15. The county population contained 28.90% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 22.00% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $45,813, and the median income for a family was $51,908. Males had a median income of $38,681 versus $26,887 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,918. About 5.00% of families and 7.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.50% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

*The

Reformed Church in America The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a Mainline Protestant, mainline Reformed tradition, Reformed Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 152,317 members. From its beginning in 1628 unti ...

was the largest Protestant denomination with 4,500 members in 11 churches. *The United Methodist Church was second, with 3,600 congregants in 20 churches. *The Christian Reformed Church was third, with 10 churches and 2,600 members. *The Catholic Church has 10,000 members . * The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has one meetinghouse.LDS.org ''Locator Map'' (accessed 3 September 2018)
/ref>

Government

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, 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: Myrene Koch *

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 ...

: Frank L. Baker *Chief 48th Circuit Court Judge: Hon. Roberts Kengis *48th Circuit Court Judge: Hon. Margaret Bakker *57th District Court Judge: Hon. Joseph Skocelas *57th District Court Judge: Hon. William Baillargeon *Family Court Judge: Hon. Michael L. Buck *

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 ...

: Bob Genetski *

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 ...

: Sally L. Brooks *

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 ...

: Denise Medemar * County Surveyor: Kevin D. Miedema (Information as of September 2022)

Politics

Allegan County has been strongly Republican from its start, and is very Republican even by the standards of West Michigan. Since 1884, the Republican Party nominee has carried the county vote in 94% of the elections (32 of 34 elections). It was one of the few counties in the nation where Franklin D. Roosevelt was completely shut out in all four of his successful runs for president. FDR actually garnered fewer votes in the county in his 46-state landslide of 1936 than he did in 1932.

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

is the only Democrat to have carried the county since 1884, and even then only by 701 votes; it was the last time a Democrat has managed even 40 percent of the county's vote until Barack Obama received 43.63 percent of its vote in 2008. The only other time that the Republicans lost the county in the 20th century was in 1912, when the GOP was mortally divided and Theodore Roosevelt carried it on the Bull Moose ticket.

Communities

Cities

* Allegan (county seat) *

Fennville Fennville is a city in Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,745 at the 2020 census. Located on M-89 on the boundary between Manlius Township to the north and Clyde Township to the south, Fennville is located abo ...

* Holland (partial) * Otsego * Plainwell * Saugatuck * South Haven (partial) * Wayland

Villages

Hopkins Hopkins is an English, Welsh and Irish patronymic surname. The English name means "son of Hob". ''Hob'' was a diminutive of ''Robert'', itself deriving from the Germanic warrior name ''Hrod-berht'', translated as "renowned-fame". The Robert spell ...

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

Unincorporated communities

Argenta Argenta may refer to: People * Argenta (surname) Places * Argenta, British Columbia, Canada, a settlement * Argenta, Emilia–Romagna, Italy, a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ferrara * Argenta, Illinois, United States, a village * Arge ...

* Bakersville *

Beachmont Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately from downtown Boston. Founded as North Chelsea in 1846, it was renamed in 1871 after the American Revolutionary War patriot Paul Revere. In 1914, the T ...

* Bentheim * Belknap * Bradley *

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

* Boyd * Burnips * Castle Park * Cedar Bluff *

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

* Chicora * Corning * Diamond Springs *

Dorr Dorr may refer to: * Dorr (surname) * Dorr, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran * Dorr Township, McHenry County, Illinois * Dorr Township, Michigan ** Dorr, Michigan See also * Door (disambiguation) * Dorr Rebellion * Wilmer Cutler P ...

* Dunningville * East Saugatuck *

East Martin East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

Fillmore Fillmore may refer to: Places Canada * Fillmore, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Fillmore No. 96, Saskatchewan United States * Fillmore, California * Fillmore District, San Francisco, California * Fillmore, Louisiana * Fillmore, Illino ...

* Ganges * Glenn * Glenn Haven Shores * Glenn Shores * Graafschap * Grange Corners * Green Lake *

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Hawkhead Hawkhead ( sco, Hauchheid, gd, Ceann an Dail) is an area near Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The village is on the Hawkhead Burn and White Cart Water, crossed via Hawkhead Bridge. It is near Dykebar, Hunterhill and Blackhall neighbourhoods ...

* Hilliards * Hooper * Hopkinsburg * Kibbie * Lacota *

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

* Leisure * Macatawa * Macks Landing *

Merson Merson is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Billy Merson (1879–1947), English music hall performer and songwriter *George F. Merson (1866–1959), Scottish pharmacist who produced surgical catgut *Jack Merson (1922–2000), form ...

* Miami Park * Millgrove * Moline * Monteith Station * Monterey * Monterey Center * Mount Pleasant *

Neeley Neeley is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Clifton Neeley, also known as Clifton McNeely, (1919–2003), American basketball player and coach *Cynthia Neeley, American politician in Michigan *George A. Neeley (1879–1919), U.S. ...

* New Salem * New Richmond * Old Saugatuck * Old Squaw Skin Landing * Overisel * Oxbow * Pearl * Pier Cove * Plummerville * Pullman * Sandy Pines * Shelbyville *

Sherman Park Sherman Park is a sixty-acre park in the New City neighborhood of South Side, Chicago. It was designed by renowned landscape architects John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., and celebrated Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. It open ...

* Shorecrest * Shorewood * South Haven Highlands * South Monterey * Spring Grove * Sulphur Springs *

Watson Watson may refer to: Companies * Actavis, a pharmaceutical company formerly known as Watson Pharmaceuticals * A.S. Watson Group, retail division of Hutchison Whampoa * Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM research center * Watson Systems, make ...

Townships

* Allegan Township * Casco Township * Cheshire Township * Clyde Township * Dorr Township * Fillmore Township * Ganges Township * Gun Plain Charter Township * Heath Township * Hopkins Township * Laketown Township * Lee Township * Leighton Township * Manlius Township * Martin Township * Monterey Township * Otsego Township * Overisel Township * Salem Township * Saugatuck Township * Trowbridge Township * Valley Township * Watson Township *

Wayland Township Wayland Township is a civil township of Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,088 at the 2010 census. Communities Bradley is an unincorporated community situated just east of exit 61 off U.S. Highway 131 at . The ...

References

External links

Allegan County
* {{Coord, 42.59, -85.90, type:adm2nd_region:US-MI, , display=title Michigan counties Grand Rapids metropolitan area 1835 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1835