Alcona County, Michigan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Alcona County Building inHarrisville | |
 Flag  Logo | |
| Mottoes: "First of83" | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofMichigan | |
| Coordinates:44°43′N83°16′W / 44.71°N 83.27°W /44.71; -83.27 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Michigan |
| Founded | established 1840 organized 1869[1] |
| Seat | Harrisville |
| Largest city | Harrisville |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,791 sq mi (4,640 km2) |
| • Land | 675 sq mi (1,750 km2) |
| • Water | 1,116 sq mi (2,890 km2) 62.% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 10,167 |
• Estimate (2024) | 10,624 |
| • Density | 15.1/sq mi (5.82/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | https://alconacountymi.com/ |
Alcona County (/ælˈkoʊnə/al-KOH-nə) is acounty of theU.S. state ofMichigan. As of the2020 census, the population was 10,167.[2] Itscounty seat isHarrisville.[3] Alphabetically it is the first county in Michigan; as its flag states, it is the "First of 83".
The county was created by the state legislature on April 1, 1840.[5][6] It was at first namedNegwegon County,[4] after the name of a well-knownChippewa chief, also known as "Little Wing". He was honored as having been an American ally against the British in theWar of 1812.
It was renamed to Alcona County on March 8, 1843, after aneologism created byHenry Rowe Schoolcraft from parts of words fromNative American languages, plusArabic,Greek andLatin.[7][8] These were amalgamated to mean "fine or excellent plain".[1][9] He was an influential US Indian agent and geographer.
Alcona County was initially attached toMackinac County for purposes of revenue, taxation, and judicial matters. The attachment shifted toCheboygan County in 1853, toAlpena County in 1857, toIosco County in 1858, and toAlpena County in 1859.
Harrisville Township, then comprising the entire county, was organized in 1860. County government was organized in 1869, becoming effective on May 8, 1869.[10][11] The county's slogan on its seal (a single gold star on a green field in the shape of Alcona County) is "First of 83," which refers to its place alphabetically among Michigan counties.[12]
In 2007, Alcona County discovered that $1.2 million was missing and was forced to alter its $4 million budget. An investigation revealed that Thomas Katona, who had been the county treasurer for thirteen years, had wired $186,500 of county funds to accounts associated with a well-knownNigerian scam.[13][14] Katona, who had already lost more than $70,000 of his savings on the scam, ignored repeated warnings from friends and his bank that his so-called investments seemed suspicious.[15]
Katona was sentenced to 9–14 years imprisonment on June 12, 2007, by the 23rd Circuit Court. Judge William Myles said Katona's crimes warranted more severe punishment than called for in state sentencing guidelines, due to the amount of money involved and the number of victims in the case.[16]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,791 square miles (4,640 km2), of which 675 square miles (1,750 km2) is land and 1,116 square miles (2,890 km2) (62%) is water.[17]
The area is part of theAu Sable State Forest, specifically the Grayling FMU (Alcona, Crawford, Oscoda, and northern Iosco counties). The county is considered to be part ofNorthern Michigan.
Alcona County has a shoreline onLake Huron. Through Lake Huron, Alcona County has awater boundary with theCanadian province ofOntario. TheAu Sable River flows through the southwest of the county.
Lakes in the county include:[18]
The county government maintains rural roads, operates the local courts, records deeds, mortgages, andvital records, administerspublic health regulations, and works with state agencies to provide social services. Thecountyboard 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.
The Alcona CountyCircuit Court is part of the 23rd Circuit of Michigan. This multicounty circuit also includesArenac,Iosco andOscoda Counties. This court was previously part of the 26th Circuit, which includedAlpena andMontmorency Counties.
(as of May 2018)
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 185 | — | |
| 1870 | 696 | 276.2% | |
| 1880 | 3,107 | 346.4% | |
| 1890 | 5,409 | 74.1% | |
| 1900 | 5,691 | 5.2% | |
| 1910 | 5,703 | 0.2% | |
| 1920 | 5,912 | 3.7% | |
| 1930 | 4,989 | −15.6% | |
| 1940 | 5,463 | 9.5% | |
| 1950 | 5,856 | 7.2% | |
| 1960 | 6,352 | 8.5% | |
| 1970 | 7,113 | 12.0% | |
| 1980 | 9,740 | 36.9% | |
| 1990 | 10,145 | 4.2% | |
| 2000 | 11,719 | 15.5% | |
| 2010 | 10,942 | −6.6% | |
| 2020 | 10,167 | −7.1% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 10,624 | [21] | 4.5% |
| US Decennial Census[22] 1790-1960[23] 1900-1990[24] 1990-2000[25] 2010-2018[2] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 10,167. The median age was 58.2 years. 13.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 35.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 103.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.5 males age 18 and over.[26][27]
The racial makeup of the county was 94.9%White, 0.2%Black or African American, 0.6%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Asian, <0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 0.4% from some other race, and 3.8% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.2% of the population.[27]
7.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 92.9% lived in rural areas.[28]
There were 4,907 households in the county, of which 16.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.7% were married-couple households, 22.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[26]
There were 10,263 housing units, of which 52.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 88.9% were owner-occupied and 11.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.7%.[26]
As of the2010 United States census, there were 10,942 people living in the county. 97.9% wereWhite, 0.6%Native American, 0.2%Asian, 0.1%Black or African American, 0.2% of some other race and 0.9%of two or more races. 1.1% wereHispanic or Latino (of any race).
In 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $31,362, and the median income for a family was $35,669. Males had a median income of $29,712 versus $20,566 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $17,653. About 9.10% of families and 12.60% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 17.80% of those under age 18 and 9.00% of those age 65 or over.
Alcona County is served by threepublic school districts. Public school district boundaries are notcoterminous with the county boundary or any municipality boundaries within the county. Only one district,Alcona Community Schools, is entirely contained within the county, enrolling 690 students for the 2021–2022 school year.[29]
Students on the southern side of the county are assigned toOscoda Area Schools in the neighboring county ofIosco, while students on the western side of the county inMitchell Township are assigned toFairview Area School District, based inOscoda County.[30] Each school district is supported by a differentintermediate school district, with the majority of students enrolled in the county being covered by theAlpena–Montmorency–Alcona Education Service District, based inAlpena.[31]
School districts include:[29][30]
Alcona County has been reliably Republican since the beginning. Since 1884, the county has voted against the Republican nominee for president only five times.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1884 | 545 | 61.51% | 339 | 38.26% | 2 | 0.23% |
| 1888 | 645 | 55.60% | 502 | 43.28% | 13 | 1.12% |
| 1892 | 556 | 57.32% | 380 | 39.18% | 34 | 3.51% |
| 1896 | 743 | 70.90% | 275 | 26.24% | 30 | 2.86% |
| 1900 | 849 | 84.06% | 145 | 14.36% | 16 | 1.58% |
| 1904 | 901 | 87.31% | 92 | 8.91% | 39 | 3.78% |
| 1908 | 824 | 76.37% | 175 | 16.22% | 80 | 7.41% |
| 1912 | 291 | 29.45% | 145 | 14.68% | 552 | 55.87% |
| 1916 | 573 | 53.20% | 453 | 42.06% | 51 | 4.74% |
| 1920 | 1,043 | 75.85% | 264 | 19.20% | 68 | 4.95% |
| 1924 | 1,027 | 72.32% | 184 | 12.96% | 209 | 14.72% |
| 1928 | 1,149 | 78.81% | 302 | 20.71% | 7 | 0.48% |
| 1932 | 881 | 47.83% | 884 | 47.99% | 77 | 4.18% |
| 1936 | 1,276 | 52.95% | 919 | 38.13% | 215 | 8.92% |
| 1940 | 1,648 | 65.89% | 847 | 33.87% | 6 | 0.24% |
| 1944 | 1,503 | 67.40% | 716 | 32.11% | 11 | 0.49% |
| 1948 | 1,425 | 65.73% | 708 | 32.66% | 35 | 1.61% |
| 1952 | 1,441 | 65.06% | 766 | 34.58% | 8 | 0.36% |
| 1956 | 1,991 | 71.52% | 788 | 28.30% | 5 | 0.18% |
| 1960 | 2,053 | 66.25% | 1,038 | 33.49% | 8 | 0.26% |
| 1964 | 1,199 | 42.59% | 1,611 | 57.23% | 5 | 0.18% |
| 1968 | 1,852 | 58.76% | 958 | 30.39% | 342 | 10.85% |
| 1972 | 2,434 | 65.91% | 1,195 | 32.36% | 64 | 1.73% |
| 1976 | 2,328 | 52.87% | 2,038 | 46.29% | 37 | 0.84% |
| 1980 | 2,905 | 57.39% | 1,857 | 36.69% | 300 | 5.93% |
| 1984 | 3,223 | 66.41% | 1,616 | 33.30% | 14 | 0.29% |
| 1988 | 2,966 | 60.47% | 1,918 | 39.10% | 21 | 0.43% |
| 1992 | 2,247 | 38.88% | 2,383 | 41.24% | 1,149 | 19.88% |
| 1996 | 2,227 | 40.09% | 2,619 | 47.15% | 709 | 12.76% |
| 2000 | 3,152 | 52.56% | 2,696 | 44.96% | 149 | 2.48% |
| 2004 | 3,592 | 55.00% | 2,871 | 43.96% | 68 | 1.04% |
| 2008 | 3,404 | 53.02% | 2,896 | 45.11% | 120 | 1.87% |
| 2012 | 3,571 | 58.50% | 2,472 | 40.50% | 61 | 1.00% |
| 2016 | 4,201 | 67.78% | 1,732 | 27.94% | 265 | 4.28% |
| 2020 | 4,848 | 68.63% | 2,142 | 30.32% | 74 | 1.05% |
| 2024 | 5,257 | 70.22% | 2,140 | 28.58% | 90 | 1.20% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 5,048 | 68.52% | 2,133 | 28.95% | 186 | 2.52% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2022 | 3,802 | 63.57% | 2,076 | 34.71% | 103 | 1.72% |
There is a senior citizens center building that opened in the 1940s. In 2023 there was a controversy over how to use a $12,500,000 grant that was to be used to build a replacement building.[40]
US 23 — north ofStandish, it has been designated theSunrise Side Coastal Highway. Parallels the Lake Huron shore, connects withM-72 inHarrisville. US 23 is the most proximate connector toAlpena andMackinaw City.
M-65 — runs along the western side of the county, from US 23 north ofStandish toRogers City.
M-72 — In 1936, downtown Harrisville became the eastern terminus[41] of the 133 miles (214 kilometers)M-72, which runs across thelower peninsula fromEmpire, Michigan. It is one of three true cross peninsular highways.[42]
F-30 — runs from US 23 atGreenbush throughMikado to M-65 atGlennie.
F-32 —
F-41 — runs north–south from US 23 at Oscoda to US 23 south ofOssineke.Alcona County has been a part of developing theOscoda-Wurtsmith Airport, which became a public airport in 1993. It now occupies a portion of the formerWurtsmith Air Force Base, which is inOscoda Township, Michigan in neighboringIosco County, Michigan. It is primarily used for cargo and light general aviation activities. The Airport offers 24-hour near all weather daily access.
Places adjacent to Alcona County, Michigan | |
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Municipalities and communities ofAlcona County, Michigan,United States | ||
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| Ghost town | ||
| Central cities | |
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| Counties | |
| Geography | |
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