Antrim County, Michigan

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

County Seat: Bellaire
Year Organized: 1840
Square Miles: 477

Court House:

P.O. Box 520
County Courthouse
Bellaire, MI 49615-0520

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Antrim County is named for County Antrim in Ireland.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

The name is taken from County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Antrim was originally named Meegisee, meaning "eagle," which was the name of a Chippewa chief who signed the 1821 Treaty of Chicago and the 1826 Treaty of Mississinwas. The name Antrim was one of five Irish names given to renamed counties in 1843, supposedly in deference to the increasing number of settlers of Irish heritage in Michigan at that time. In the text of the 1843 legislative act, the name was misspelled as "Antim".

Set Off: 1840 as Megisee County. Name changed to Antrim in 1843.

Organized: 1863

Neighboring Counties:

Charlevoix County (north)
Otsego County (east)
Kalkaska County (south)
Grand Traverse County (southwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Banks	township
- Bellaire (County Seat)	village	Incorporated Area
- Central Lake	village	Incorporated Area
- Chestonia	township
- Echo	township
- Elk Rapids	village	Incorporated Area
- Ellsworth	village	Incorporated Area
- Forest Home	township
- Helena	township
- Jordan	township
- Kearney	township
- Mancelona	village	Incorporated Area
- Milton	township
- Star	township
- Torch Lake	township
- Warner	township

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our 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."

Penn Foster High School

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