Keweenaw County, Michigan | |
|---|---|
 Keweenaw County Courthouse (built 1866) inEagle River | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofMichigan | |
 Michigan's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:47°29′N88°10′W / 47.48°N 88.16°W /47.48; -88.16 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Michigan |
| Founded | March 11, 1861[1][2] |
| Named after | Keweenaw Bay |
| Seat | Eagle River |
| Largest settlement | Mohawk (CDP) Ahmeek (village) |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,966 sq mi (15,450 km2) |
| • Land | 540 sq mi (1,400 km2) |
| • Water | 5,426 sq mi (14,050 km2) 91% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 2,046 |
• Estimate (2024) | 2,161 |
| • Density | 4/sq mi (1.5/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | www |
Keweenaw County (/ˈkiːwənɔː/,KEE-wə-naw) is acounty in the westernUpper Peninsula of theU.S. state ofMichigan. As of the2020 census, the county's population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county.[3] It is also the state's largest county by total area, including the waters ofLake Superior, as well as the state's northernmost county. Thecounty seat isEagle River.[4]
Located at the northeastern end of theKeweenaw Peninsula, Keweenaw County is part of theHoughton, Michigan micropolitan area. Keweenaw County contains twoNational Park Service units:Isle Royale National Park andKeweenaw National Historical Park. The county is part of Michigan'sCopper Country region, an area wherecopper mining was prevalent from the 1840s to the 1960s.
The county was set off and organized in 1861.[1] It is believed "Keweenaw" is a corruption of anOjibwe word thatmeans "portage" or "place where portage is made";[1] compare the names of the nearbyPortage Lake andPortage River which together make up theKeweenaw Waterway.[6]
Two land masses comprise most of the land portion of the county:Isle Royale and the northeastern half of theKeweenaw Peninsula. The county also includes the waters ofLake Superior between the two, extending to the state's water borders withOntario andMinnesota. It is thus the largest county in Michigan by total area, at 5,966 square miles (15,450 km2), of which just 540 square miles (1,400 km2) is land and 5,426 square miles (14,050 km2) (91%) is water.[7] Of all counties (or equivalents) in theUnited States, Keweenaw County has the highest proportion of water area to total area.
The largest lake entirely within the county is Gratiot Lake at 1,438 acres (5.82 km2), located at the base of the county's two highest peaks: Mt. Horace Greeley at 1,550 feet (470 m) and Mt. Gratiot at 1,490 feet (450 m).[8] Other lakes includeLac La Belle near Bete Grise Bay,Lake Medora,Lake Fanny Hooe nearCopper Harbor, Lake Bailey at the base of Mt. Baldy, and Schlatter Lake at the tip of the peninsula.
By land, one can only access mainland Keweenaw County viaHoughton County.
US 41 runs northeast–southwest through the upper center part of the mainland portion of the county. It enters the southern area of the county atBumbletown passesPhoenix,Delaware,Mandan, Copper Harbor and terminates north of Lake Fanny Hooe.
M-26 loops from Phoenix to the shoreline of Lake Superior, then runs northeasterly along the shoreline to the intersection with US 41 at Copper Harbor.[9]Keweenaw County is the only county in Michigan to connect to the U.S. state ofMinnesota via ferry service fromGrand Portage toWindigo andRock Harbor onIsle Royale.
By land
By water
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 4,205 | — | |
| 1880 | 4,270 | 1.5% | |
| 1890 | 2,894 | −32.2% | |
| 1900 | 3,217 | 11.2% | |
| 1910 | 7,156 | 122.4% | |
| 1920 | 6,322 | −11.7% | |
| 1930 | 5,076 | −19.7% | |
| 1940 | 4,004 | −21.1% | |
| 1950 | 2,918 | −27.1% | |
| 1960 | 2,417 | −17.2% | |
| 1970 | 2,264 | −6.3% | |
| 1980 | 1,963 | −13.3% | |
| 1990 | 1,701 | −13.3% | |
| 2000 | 2,301 | 35.3% | |
| 2010 | 2,156 | −6.3% | |
| 2020 | 2,046 | −5.1% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 2,161 | [10] | 5.6% |
| US Decennial Census[11] 1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13] 1990-2000[14] 2010-2018[3] | |||
The2010 United States census indicated Keweenaw County had a population of 2,156.[15] This decrease of 145 people from the2000 United States census represents a -6.3% change in population. In 2010 there were 1,013 households and 614 families in the county. Thepopulation density was 4 people per square mile (1.5 people/km2). There were 2,467 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1.5/km2). At the2020 census, its population was 2,046.[3]
At the 2010 census, 98.5% of the population wereWhite, 0.1%Black or African American, 0.1%Native American and 1.2%of two or more races; a total of 0.7% wereHispanic or Latino (of any race); of them, 28.8% were ofFinnish, 14.0%German, 9.0%English, 6.6%French,French Canadian orCajun and 5.7%Irish ancestry.[16] According to the 2022 census estimates, its racial and ethnic makeup was 97%non-Hispanic white, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.2%Asian American, 2% multiracial, and 1.5% Hispanic or Latino of any race.[3]
Through a 2020 survey by theAssociation of Religion Data Archives, Keweenaw County's religious population was predominantly Christian with theEvangelical Lutheran Church in America as the largest Christian group for the area. Following, theRoman Catholic Church was the second-largest Christian group in the county.[17]
Keweenaw County was solidly Republican after theAmerican Civil War, and until theFranklin Delano Roosevelt era. In 1900,[18] 1904[19] and 1908[20] it stood as thenation's most Republican county. In his last election of 1944, Roosevelt became the first Democrat to win the county sinceHoratio Seymour in 1868.[21] However, from 1964 to 1996 Keweenaw voted Democratic in every election except 1972 and 1980, thus standing as one of only six counties nationwide[a] to support bothAlf Landon andWalter Mondale, who suffered the two worst electoral vote losses since 1824. Since 2000, the county has become solidly Republican again.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1884 | 620 | 74.43% | 201 | 24.13% | 12 | 1.44% |
| 1888 | 411 | 68.50% | 185 | 30.83% | 4 | 0.67% |
| 1892 | 400 | 65.36% | 202 | 33.01% | 10 | 1.63% |
| 1896 | 411 | 88.96% | 45 | 9.74% | 6 | 1.30% |
| 1900 | 452 | 92.24% | 31 | 6.33% | 7 | 1.43% |
| 1904 | 659 | 94.55% | 29 | 4.16% | 9 | 1.29% |
| 1908 | 1,026 | 90.56% | 63 | 5.56% | 44 | 3.88% |
| 1912 | 495 | 44.80% | 59 | 5.34% | 551 | 49.86% |
| 1916 | 860 | 77.97% | 194 | 17.59% | 49 | 4.44% |
| 1920 | 1,272 | 90.15% | 89 | 6.31% | 50 | 3.54% |
| 1924 | 1,421 | 91.15% | 50 | 3.21% | 88 | 5.64% |
| 1928 | 1,305 | 76.58% | 360 | 21.13% | 39 | 2.29% |
| 1932 | 1,454 | 72.45% | 527 | 26.26% | 26 | 1.30% |
| 1936 | 1,070 | 49.68% | 1,060 | 49.21% | 24 | 1.11% |
| 1940 | 1,080 | 52.43% | 967 | 46.94% | 13 | 0.63% |
| 1944 | 866 | 47.14% | 965 | 52.53% | 6 | 0.33% |
| 1948 | 814 | 50.09% | 647 | 39.82% | 164 | 10.09% |
| 1952 | 801 | 51.38% | 747 | 47.92% | 11 | 0.71% |
| 1956 | 834 | 54.76% | 689 | 45.24% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 684 | 50.93% | 655 | 48.77% | 4 | 0.30% |
| 1964 | 374 | 30.28% | 860 | 69.64% | 1 | 0.08% |
| 1968 | 525 | 43.97% | 602 | 50.42% | 67 | 5.61% |
| 1972 | 715 | 60.49% | 456 | 38.58% | 11 | 0.93% |
| 1976 | 606 | 47.68% | 658 | 51.77% | 7 | 0.55% |
| 1980 | 583 | 46.27% | 570 | 45.24% | 107 | 8.49% |
| 1984 | 599 | 48.82% | 628 | 51.18% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1988 | 536 | 45.81% | 631 | 53.93% | 3 | 0.26% |
| 1992 | 378 | 32.23% | 582 | 49.62% | 213 | 18.16% |
| 1996 | 491 | 39.53% | 572 | 46.05% | 179 | 14.41% |
| 2000 | 740 | 55.10% | 540 | 40.21% | 63 | 4.69% |
| 2004 | 781 | 54.27% | 630 | 43.78% | 28 | 1.95% |
| 2008 | 756 | 53.62% | 610 | 43.26% | 44 | 3.12% |
| 2012 | 774 | 55.60% | 582 | 41.81% | 36 | 2.59% |
| 2016 | 814 | 56.76% | 527 | 36.75% | 93 | 6.49% |
| 2020 | 862 | 55.36% | 672 | 43.16% | 23 | 1.48% |
| 2024 | 896 | 55.51% | 690 | 42.75% | 28 | 1.73% |
The county government operates thejail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, andvital records, administerspublic health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services. Thecounty 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.The Keweenaw County Courthouse and Sheriff's Residence and Jail in Eagle River faces Lake Superior. The courthouse was built in 1866, followed by the sheriff's residence and jail in 1886, and then remodeled in 1925. In her bookBuildings of Michigan, Eckert writes:[23]
The courthouse still preserves its original appearance.
Sparsely populated Keweenaw County was a mining center in the latter 19th century but in the 20th century turned into a resort community. Because of this trend, Keweenaw County is also the only county in Michigan to have a lower population in the year 2000 than in 1900.
(information as of January 2021)[24]
Places adjacent to Keweenaw County, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofKeweenaw County, Michigan,United States | ||
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