Lenawee 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 ...

located 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, ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 99,423. 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 ...

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...

. The county was created in 1822, from territory partitioned from Monroe County. Its governing structure was organized in 1826. Lenawee County comprises the Adrian, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is served by the Toledo

Media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...

. Lenawee County is home to the Potawatomi, Ottawa, Chippewa, Iroquois, Miami, Sauk, Fox, Mascoutens and Huron tribes.

History

The county owes its formation to the 1807

Treaty of Detroit The Treaty of Detroit was a treaty between the United States and the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot and Potawatomi Native American nations. The treaty was signed in Detroit, Michigan on November 17, 1807, with William Hull, governor of the Mi ...

, by which the

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 ...

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 ...

(called Chippewa by the Americans); Wyandot and

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

nations ceded their claims to the United States of their traditional territories in today's southeast Michigan. However, many leaders of these tribes believed that the treaty was coercive and opposed it. They began to collaborate and organize a confederacy of resistance, led by Chief Tecumseh (

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

). They wanted through warfare and alliance with Great Britain to force the US from their territory. This was the period of the US

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

with Great Britain. During this time, the US fought the

Battle of Tippecanoe The Battle of Tippecanoe ( ) was fought on November 7, 1811, in Battle Ground, Indiana, between United States Armed Forces, American forces led by then Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and tribal forces associated with Sh ...

, the

Battle of Lake Erie The Battle of Lake Erie, also known as the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shores of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the British ...

, and the Battle of Thames in this area, against both British and indigenous forces. The United States won the

Battle of the Thames The Battle of the Thames , also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was an American victory in the War of 1812 against Tecumseh's Confederacy and their United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British allies. It took place on October 5, 1813, ...

in 1813, defeating the British and their allies.

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

died in the battle and his confederacy dissolved. (He became the namesake for the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of the same name in Lenawee County.) As a result of this defeat, the confederacy leaders agreed to a peace treaty, the

Treaty of Ghent The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...

, which ended the war with the indigenous peoples. It affirmed US control of the land demarcated in the Treaty of Detroit, comprising much of the future state of

, including what became organized as Lenawee County in the United States. The US continued efforts to force the tribes from these western territories. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States president Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, ...

to authorize the government to relocate Indigenous peoples from territories east of the Mississippi River and move them west, to what became known as Indian Territory (and later Oklahoma). While Indian Removal was directed specifically at Southeast Indian tribes, it was also applied to those further north in the Midwest. Irish Hills Towers

Lenawee County was organized in 1826, after being authorized and described by the Michigan legislature in 1822. It was taken from

Monroe County, Michigan Monroe County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 154,809. The largest city and county seat is Monroe, Michigan, Monroe. The county was establi ...

Etymology

The county's name was a

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

created by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, a US Indian agent in the region who later became a prominent ethnologist. Married to Jane Johnston, a mixed-race woman of high-rank Ojibwe and Scots ancestry, Schoolcraft gained entry to Ojibwe language and culture through her. He later became a proponent of forced Indigenous assimilation. While working in Michigan, he named several of the newly organized counties in the area, all neologisms. 'Lenawee' is thought to be derived from a

misappropriation In law, misappropriation is the unauthorized use of another's name, likeness, identity, property, discoveries, inventions, etc. without that person's permission, resulting in harm to that person. Another use of the word refers to intentional a ...

of an Indigenous word. Scholars debate whether its origins lie in the

Lenape language The Delaware languages, also known as the Lenape languages (), are Munsee and Unami, two closely related languages of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family. Munsee and Unami were spoken aboriginally by the Lenape ...

''leno or lenno, meaning "male,"'' or the Shawnee ''lenawai.''

Geography

According to the

US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.6%) is water. Lenawee County is considered to be part of

Southeastern Michigan Southeast Michigan, also called southeastern Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan that is home to a majority of the state's businesses and industries as well as slightly over half of the state's population, most of whom are c ...

Adjacent counties

* Jackson County, northwest * Washtenaw County, northeast * Monroe County, east *

Lucas County, Ohio Lucas County is a Counties of the United States, county located in the Northwest Ohio, northwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is bordered to the east by Lake Erie, and to the southeast by the Maumee River, which runs to the lake. As o ...

, southeast *

Fulton County, Ohio Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio west of Toledo. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,713. Its county seat and largest city is Wauseon. The county was created in 1850 with land from Henry, Lucas, and Wil ...

, southwest *

Hillsdale County Hillsdale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 45,746. The county seat is Hillsdale. Hillsdale County is the only county in Michigan to border both Indiana and Ohio. Due to an a ...

, west

Major highways

* * * * * * * * Within Lenawee County's townships, north–south roads are referred to as "highways", while east–west roads are referred to as "roads".

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 98,890 people, 35,930 households, and 26,049 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 39,769 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.51%

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 ...

, 2.12%

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 ...

, 0.41% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 3.01% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. 6.96% 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. Residents identified as being 30.4% of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 11.6% English, 10.2% American and 9.9% Irish ancestry. Some 94.7% spoke English and 4.2%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

as their first language. There were 35,930 households, out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.70% 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, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.07. The county population contained 25.90% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 100.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $45,739, and the median income for a family was $53,661. Males had a median income of $38,458 versus $25,510 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 $20,186. About 4.40% of families and 6.70% 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 7.10% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Lenawee County has been reliably Republican in national elections. Since 1884, its voters have selected the Republican Party nominee in 31 of 36 presidential elections. 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, 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 j ...

, 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 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. Adrian College and

Siena Heights University Siena Heights University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic university in Adrian, Michigan, United States. It was founded by the Adrian Dominican Sisters in 1919. History The institution was founded for women in 1919 as St. Joseph's ...

are located within the county. Voters in Lenawee County have supported candidates from both political parties in statewide elections, making it a swing county. Tecumseh and Adrian have tended to lean Democrat, while Dover, Madison, and Riga townships have tended to lean Republican. Lenawee County is located in Michigan's 5th congressional district, which is represented by

Tim Walberg Timothy Lee Walberg (born April 12, 1951) is an American politician serving as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from Michigan since 2011, representing the state's Michigan's 5th congressional district, 5th congression ...

, a resident of the county. Walberg previously served as Lenawee's state representative. The district includes all of Lenawee,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, Hillsdale,

Branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

, and Eaton counties, as well as parts of Calhoun and Washtenaw counties. He defeated incumbent Democrat Mark Schauer. Schauer had defeated Walberg in the 2008 congressional election, after Walberg's first stint in Congress. Most of Lenawee County is represented in the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

by Republican Nancy Jenkins-Arno who represents the 34th District, she also served as the representative of the 57th District. In between her leaving office in 2016 and returning in 2024 Lenawee was represented by Bronna Kahle and Dale Zorn who are also both Republicans and prior to her first term the district was successively represented by brothers Doug and Dudley Spade, both Democrats. Lenawee is also part of the 30th, 31st, and 35th districts of the Michigan House of Representatives and is represented by William Bruck,

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, played his entire 18-year career in the National Basketball Assoc ...

, and Jennifer Wortz respectively. Most of Lenawee is part of the 16th Senate District, represented by Joe Bellino of

Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city in Monroe County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 20,462 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered autonomously. M ...

. It is also part of the 15th Senate district, represented by Jeff Irwin. Until the 2014 state senate election, Lenawee County was part of the 16th State Senate District, represented by Republican Bruce Caswell. The district contained all of Lenawee, Hillsdale, and

counties.

Elected county officials

Lenawee County Courthouse Adrian Michigan

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 ...

: Jacqueline V. Wyse (R) *

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 ...

: Troy Bevier (R) *

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

: Roxann Holloway (R) * County Treasurer: Erin Van Dyke (R) * Register of Deeds: Carolyn S. Bater (R) *

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 und ...

: Edwin Scheffler (R) * County Surveyor: Kevin Pickford (R) Current as of September 21, 2023 https://scdd1b4a5eee451e3.jimcontent.com/download/version/1723046508/module/14941312830/name/OFFICIAL_ElectionSummaryReportRPT.pdf

County Commission

*District 1: David Stimpson (R) *District 2: Dustin Krasny (R), commission vice-chair *District 3: David Aungst (R) *District 4: Beth Blanco (R) *District 5: James Daly (D) *District 6: Terry Collins (R) *District 7: Kevon Martis (R) *District 8: Ralph Tillotson (R) *District 9: Jim Van Doren (R), commission chair Current as of January 7, 2023

Law enforcement agencies

County

*Lenawee County Sheriff's Office

City/Village

*Adrian City Police *Blissfield Police *Clinton Police *Hudson Police *Morenci Police *Tecumseh Police

Township

*Adrian Township Police *Cambridge Township Police *Columbia Township Police *Madison Township Police *Raisin Township Police

Special

*Adrian & Blissfield Railroad Police

Communities

Cities

(county seat) *

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

* Morenci *

Villages

* Addison * Blissfield * Britton * Cement City (partial) * Clayton * Clinton * Deerfield * Onsted

Charter townships

* Adrian Charter Township * Madison Charter Township * Raisin Charter Township

Civil townships

* Blissfield Township * Cambridge Township * Clinton Township * Deerfield Township * Dover Township * Fairfield Township * Franklin Township * Hudson Township * Macon Township * Medina Township * Ogden Township * Palmyra Township * Ridgeway Township * Riga Township * Rollin Township * Rome Township * Seneca Township * Tecumseh Township * Woodstock Township

Census-designated places

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

(called ''Fairfield'' before 1874) * Manitou Beach–Devils Lake

Other unincorporated communities

* Birdsall *

Cadmus In Greek mythology, Cadmus (; ) was the legendary Phoenician founder of Boeotian Thebes, Greece, Thebes. He was, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. Commonly stated to be a ...

Canandaigua Canandaigua () is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,576 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex in the adjacent town of Hopewell. ...

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

* East Ogden * East Raisin * Evans Lake * Fairfield *

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

* Gorman * Ridgeville * Ridgeway *

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

* Springville *

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeas ...

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

* Sand Creek

Notes

External links

Lenawee County Conference & Visitors BureauLenawee County Drain CommissionerLenawee County Government SiteLenawee County Road CommissionComplete text of ''History of Lenawee County'' published in 1909 by the Western Historical Society
*
Lenawee County Directory Site
{{Coord, 41.89, -84.07, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MI_source:UScensus1990 Michigan counties Michigan placenames of Native American origin 1826 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1826