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Michigan Counties

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Michigan Counties

The boundaries of the 83 Counties in Michigan have not changed substantially since 1897.

Alcona County, Michigan

Alcona County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Harrisville
Year Organized: 1840
Square Miles: 674

Court House:

106 Fifth Street
County Courthouse
Harrisville, MI 48740-9789

Etymology - Origin of County Name

A Native American word meaning a fine or excellent plan. Alcona County was a name created by Henry Schoolcraft.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

A Native American word meaning a fine or excellent plan. Alcona County was a name created by Henry Schoolcraft.

The county was created by the state legislature on April 1, 1840. It was at first named "Negwegon County", after the name of a well-known Chippewa chief, also known as "Little Wing", who was an American ally against the British in the War of 1812. It was renamed to Alcona County on March 8, 1843, after a neologism manufactured by Henry Schoolcraft from parts of words from Native American languages, plus Arabic, Greek and Latin, which were amalgamated to mean "fine or excellent plain".

Initially, it was attached to Mackinac County for administrative purposes. The attachment shifted to Cheboygan County in 1853, to Alpena County in 1857, Iosco County in 1858, and Alpena County in 1859. Harrisville Township, then comprising the entire county, was organized in 1860. County government was organized in 1869.

Neighboring Counties:

Alpena County (north)
Iosco County (south)
Oscoda County (west)

Cities and Towns:

- Alcona	township
- Greenbush	township
- Gustin	township
- Harrisville (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Hawes	township
- Haynes	township
- Lincoln	village	Incorporated Area
- Mikado	township
- Millen	township
- Mitchell	township

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."