Iosco 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 of

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, ...

; its eastern border is formed by Lake Huron. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,237. Its seat of government is Tawas City.

Etymology

''Iosco'' has traditionally been said to be a Native American word meaning "water of light", but was actually coined as a pseudo-Native American name by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, an American geographer and ethnologist who served as the U.S. Indian agent in Michigan in the late 19th century. He named several counties and towns during the state's formative years.

History

The county was created by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 as Kanotin County, and renamed Iosco County in 1843. It was administered by a succession of other Michigan counties before the organization of county government in 1857. A majority of the population was

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

. The area offered shelter from tall white pines and food from the river and lake. Iosco County was cut from a piece of land ceded by the Ojibwe to the U.S. government. When the lumber boom hit, many more people moved to the area. The 400-acre Alabaster Historic District, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, is associated with an operating gypsum open-pit mine south of Tawas City. The large company town included internal rail lines for transportation and a tramway extending over Lake Huron on long piers for loading gypsum onto ships. Started in 1862, the mine supplied gypsum for temporary buildings constructed in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

at the World Columbian Exposition of 1893. Two companies continue to mine gypsum in Iosco County. In 2009, Alabaster Township formed the nonprofit Alabaster Wind Power Development Corp. to conduct the necessary two-year studies of wind data at this site as a potential location for development of

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

s. It proposed using 10 large tramway platforms that extend more than 6,000 feet into the lake to gauge winds. The turbines could be built on the tramways. At the time, the federal government was offering subsidies for such studies and development of alternative energy projects.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (71%) is water. It is considered part of Northern Michigan. In total, it covers about 6,361,837 acres.

Geographic features

*Lumberman's Monument *Canoer's memorial *60 Lakes Area - Located near Hale *Iargo Springs *Tawas Point Light House - First lit in 1853 *Tawas Bay * Pine River – rises in Alcona County and flows into Iosco County, where it empties into Van Etten Lake at northwest of Oscoda. * Au Sable River
Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area
* Van Etten Lake *Tawas Lake * Foote Dam Pond * Au Sable State Forest (partial) – the Grayling Fire Management Unit consists of Alcona, Crawford, and Oscoda Counties, and northern Iosco county.

Major highways

* – known as the Sunrise Side Coastal Highway. * – one of three cross-peninsular state highways. It begins in Tawas City at the junction with US 23. * * * River Road National Scenic Byway – starts at M-65 and runs parallel with the Au Sable River for eastward to US 23 in Oscoda, Michigan. It is a designated National Scenic Byway. It passes the Lumberman's Monument.

Adjacent counties

By land * Alcona County - north * Arenac County - southwest * Ogemaw County - west * Oscoda County - northwest By water * Huron County - southeast

National protected area

* Huron National Forest (part)

Communities

Cities

* East Tawas * Tawas City (county seat) * Whittemore

Charter townships

* Au Sable Charter Township * Oscoda Charter Township

Civil townships

* Alabaster Township * Baldwin Township * Burleigh Township * Grant Township * Plainfield Township * Reno Township * Sherman Township * Tawas Township * Wilber Township

Census-designated places

* Au Sable * Oscoda * Sand Lake

Other unincorporated communities

* Alabaster * Foote Site Village * Hale * Long Lake * National City * South Branch

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States census, there were 27,339 people, 11,727 households, and 7,857 families in the county. Most of the population is located on the shoreline along US-23, East Tawas, Tawas City, and Oscoda 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 20,432 housing units at an average density of . By the 2020 census, its population was 25,237. In 2000, the county's racial makeup was 96.92%

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 ...

, 0.41%

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 ...

, 0.66% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 0.23% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. 0.98% 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. 23.2% were of German, 12.3% English, 10.6% Irish, 9.9% American, 8.3% Polish and 7.1% French ancestry. 97.4% spoke English and 1.0% Spanish as their first language. There were 11,727 households, out of which 24.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% 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, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.79. The county population included 22.40% under the age of 18, 5.40% from 18 to 24, 23.40% from 25 to 44, 27.30% from 45 to 64, and 21.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $31,321, and the median income for a family was $37,452. Males had a median income of $30,338 versus $21,149 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 $17,115. 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 18.50% of those under age 18 and 7.60% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and 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 social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget, with 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

Iosco County has been reliably Republican from the beginning. Since 1884, the Republican presidential nominee has carried the county in 29 of 36 elections.

County elected officials

Prosecuting Attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

: James Bacarella *

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, the , which is common ...

: Scott D. Frank * County Clerk: Nancy J. Huebel * County Treasurer: Cathy Anderson * Register of Deeds: Ericka Earl * Drain Commissioner: Fred Strauer County commissioners * District 1: Robert Huebel III * District 2: Terry Dutcher * District 3: Charles Finley * District 4: John Moehring * District 5: Donald "Jay" O'Farrell

Education

Iosco County has four public school districts: * Hale Area Schools * Oscoda Area Schools * Tawas Area Schools * Whittemore-Prescott Area Schools There are also three private elementary schools: *Emanuel Lutheran School (Tawas City) *Holy Family School (East Tawas) *Shady Grove School (Whittemore) Alpena Community College offers college-level courses at its campus on the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda and local public school facilities.

Media

*The '' Iosco County News-Herald'' is the newspaper of record for Iosco County. *The ''Oscoda Press'' is a weekly newspaper serving northern Iosco County and southern Alcona County.

References

External links

*
County of Iosco, links, media, history, parks, and services

''Enchanted forest'', Northern Michigan source for information, calendars, etc.

Iosco County website
{{Coord, 44.28, -83.34, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MI_source:UScensus1990 Michigan counties 1857 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1857