Omena ( ) is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) in Leelanau Township of Leelanau County 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 census it had a population of 295. Overlooking Omena Bay, on the western side of Grand Traverse Bay, Omena is home to wineries and farms including a thriving

organic farming Organic farming, also known as organic agriculture or ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2024 on organic production and labelling of ...

movement that includes cherries and hops. The area has several wineries featuring some of the region's cherry and grape crop, for which the Grand Traverse and Leelanau areas are known. The nearest substantial city is Traverse City, to the south.

History

In 1852, the Rev. Peter Daugherty relocated an Indian mission from Old Mission on the Old Mission Peninsula across the western arm of the Grand Traverse Bay to what was at first called "New Mission". He (built) a small Presbyterian church there as the nucleus of the community. The church continues an active schedule of services during the summer months. It was a stop on the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad and was regarded as a summer resort area. Among others, Benjamin Grierson, a U.S.

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

general, had a summer home in Omena, as did General Byron Cutcheon.

Etymology

Omena is derived from an

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 ...

expression, "''o-me-nah''", meaning "is it so?"

Geography

Omena is in northeastern Leelanau County on the west side of Grand Traverse Bay, an arm of

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 depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

. It is served by one state highway, M-22, which leads south to Traverse City and north to Northport. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Omena CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.10%, are water.

Mayoral elections

Omena is an unincorporated community and therefore lacks a centralized official government system. However, the citizens of Omena, Michigan practice triennial elections for a non-human mayor held by the Omena Historical Society. This was inspired by the canine mayoral elections of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. The current "mayor" of Omena is Rosie Disch, a Golden mixed breed dog. The 2021 election raised $14,000 for the Omena Historical Society. Rosie will be in office for a three-year term. Previous mayor's are: Sweet Tart, the first feline mayor elected to the position from 2018; Polly Loveless, a tri-pod dog who died in office after winning the 2015 election; Maya Deibel, a dog who won the 2012 election; and Tucker Joyce, a dog who won the inaugural election in 2009.

References

External links

Leelanau Township Library WebsiteOmena history
at the Omena Historical Society
New Mission Organics
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Leelanau County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan Census-designated places in Leelanau County, Michigan Census-designated places in Michigan Populated places established in 1852 1852 establishments in Michigan Traverse City metropolitan area