Ogemaw 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 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 census, the population was 20,770. 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 West Branch. The county

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large newspaper circulation, circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and i ...

is the ''Ogemaw Herald''.

History

Ogemaw County started as part of the Virginia Land owned by England. After the Revolutionary War, it broke up into smaller and smaller pieces. The county was originally created by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 from unorganized territory, but was absorbed into Iosco County in 1867. It was re-created in 1873, and was finally organized in 1875. The county's name is an

Anglicization Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English languag ...

of the Anishinaabemowin word ''ogimaa'', meaning "chief". Ogemaw's name came from an eloquent, respected Native American orator named Little Elk. One of the first settlements in the county was Ogemaw Springs, the genesis of lumbering operations in the county. The settlement of Ogemaw Springs ended when the lumber industry in the region ended. (Due to the lumber industry, railways were built to transport the lumber, and towns often sprang up along the tracks. After timber supplies in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

dwindled, loggers shifted westward to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

to find new sources of lumber, and many of these fledgling settlements foundered.) With Ogemaw Springs in decline, the people flocked to West Branch, causing an economic boom, including the construction of its first hotel. This created even more growth, causing many restaurants, hotels, and businesses to be built, a vast majority of which still stand today.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water. Ogemaw County is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Highways

* – Runs SE across the southwest part of the county; passes south of West Branch. * – Enters from Gladwin County at east of the SW corner of Ogemaw County; runs north and NE to intersection with M-55 near West Branch. * – Runs north–south through the middle of county; passes Rose City. * – Runs east–west across the lower part of county; enters from Iosco County at north of SE corner of Ogemaw County; runs west to intersection with I-75, west of West Branch.

Adjacent counties

* Oscoda County - north * Alcona County - northeast * Iosco County - east * Arenac County - southeast * Gladwin County - southwest * Roscommon County - west * Crawford County - northwest

National protected area

Huron National Forest The Huron National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It was established in 1909 after the logging era began to decline. In 1945, it was administratively combined with the Manistee Nati ...

(part)

State protected area

* Au Sable State Forest (part) * Rifle River State Recreation Area

Communities

Cities

* Rose City * West Branch (county seat)

Village

* Prescott

Civil townships

* Churchill Township * Cumming Township * Edwards Township * Foster Township * Goodar Township * Hill Township * Horton Township * Klacking Township * Logan Township * Mills Township * Ogemaw Township * Richland Township * Rose Township * West Branch Township

Census-designated places

* Lupton * Skidway Lake

Other unincorporated communities

* Camp Lu Lay Lea * Campbells Corners * Damon * Edwards * Elbow Lake * Fayettes Corner * Goodar * Greenwood * Ogemaw Springs * Selkirk * Shady Shores * South Branch

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States census, there were 21,645 people, 8,842 households, and 6,189 families residing in the county. By the 2020 census, its population was 20,770.

Government

For many years, Ogemaw County has been reliably Republican. Since 1884, the Republican Party nominee has carried the county vote in 75% of the national presidential elections (27 of 36). Ogemaw County operates the County 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 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 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 ...

– LaDonna A. Schultz *

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 ...

– Brian D. Gilbert *

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 ...

– Breck Gildner * County Treasurer – Caren Piglowski * Register of Deeds – Denise Simmons * Drain Commissioner – Michael DeMatio * Commissioner Dist. 1 – Craig Scott * Commissioner Dist. 2 – Mark Surbrook * Commissioner Dist. 3 – Ronald Vaughn * Commissioner Dist. 4 – Brad Neubecker * Commissioner Dist. 5 – Jenny DavidOgemaw County website
/ref> (information as of February 2021)

References

External links

Ogemaw County Website

Ogemaw County Herald
- local newspaper * {{Coord, 44.33, -84.13, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MI_source:UScensus1990 Michigan counties 1875 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1875 Michigan placenames of Native American origin