Wexford County, Michigan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Wexford County Courthouse inCadillac | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: "The Wex" | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofMichigan | |
| Coordinates:44°20′N85°35′W / 44.34°N 85.58°W /44.34; -85.58 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Michigan |
| Founded | 1840 (created) 1869 (organized)[1][2] |
| Named after | County Wexford, Ireland |
| Seat | Cadillac |
| Largest city | Cadillac |
| Area | |
• Total | 575.46 sq mi (1,490.4 km2) |
| • Land | 565.00 sq mi (1,463.3 km2) |
| • Water | 10.46 sq mi (27.1 km2) 1.8% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 33,673 |
• Estimate (2024) | 34,460 |
| • Density | 59.598/sq mi (23.011/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional districts | 1st,2nd |
| Website | www |
Wexford County is acounty in theNorthern Lower Peninsula of theU.S. state ofMichigan. As of the2020 United States census, the population was 33,673.[3] Theseat of Wexford County isCadillac, which is also the county's largest city.[4]
Wexford County is largely covered by theManistee National Forest, and thus is heavilywooded. TheManistee River flows from east to west in the north of the county.Briar Hill, the highest point in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, is located in northwestern Wexford County, at 1,706 feet (520 m).
The county is the location of the first known sighting of theMichigan Dogman, in 1887.[5]
The county was established by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 asKautawaubet County,[6][7] fromgaa-dawaabide meaning "broken tooth" in theAnishinaabe language, which was the name of a localPotawatomi chief. In 1843, legislators renamed the county Wexford,[6] afterCounty Wexford in Ireland.[8]
In 1851, Wexford County was attached toGrand Traverse County for administrative purposes.[9] It was then attached toManistee County in 1855, before being organized on its own in 1869.[1]
The Wexford County seat of government, originally located inSherman, was moved toManton in 1881, as the result of a compromise between the feuding residents of Cadillac and Sherman. Cadillac partisans, however, won the county seat by a county-wide vote in April 1882.[10] The day following the election, a sheriff's posse left the city for Manton by special train to seize the county records. After they arrived and collected a portion of the materials, however, an angry crowd confronted the Cadillac men and drove them out of town.[11]
When the sheriff returned to Cadillac, he encountered a force consisting of several hundred armed men; this group reportedly included a brass band. The Sheriff's force, some of whom may have been intoxicated, traveled back to Manton to seize the remaining records. Although Manton residents confronted the Cadillac men and barricaded the courthouse, the posse successfully seized the documents. They returned to Cadillac in dubious glory.[11]
TheManistee River flows westward through the upper part of Wexford County. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, largely tree-covered.[12] The terrain slopes to the west,[13] with its highest point,Briar Hill in Manistee National Forest[14] at 1,706 feet (520 m).
According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 575.46 sqmi (1,490 km2), of which 565.00 sqmi (1,463 km2) is land and 10.46 sqmi (27.1 km2) (1.8%) is water.[15]
Source:[12]
US 131 is a north–south highway that runs in the east of the county. Much of the highway within Wexford County is a freeway, including bypasses ofCadillac andManton. South of Wexford County, the highway can be used to accessReed City,Big Rapids,Grand Rapids, andKalamazoo. North of Wexford County, the highway, as a two-lane road, can be used to accessKalkaska andPetoskey.
Bus. US 131 is abusiness route serving downtown Cadillac. The route was created in 2001 with the completion of the US 131 freeway on the east side of Cadillac.Bus. US 131 is a business route serving downtown Manton. The route was created in 2003 with the completion of the US 131 freeway on the east side of Manton.
M-37 is a north–south route in the west of the county. The highway runs through the villages ofMesick andBuckley. South of Wexford County, the highway can be used to accessBaldwin,White Cloud, andNewaygo. North of Wexford County, the highway can be used to accessTraverse City.
M-42 is an east–west highway in the northeast of the county. The route begins in Manton, and continues east into Missaukee County, where it can be used to accessLake City. Prior to 2007, the highway continued west from Manton to M-37 near Mesick.
M-55 is an east–west route that runs in the south of the county. The highway passes to the south and east of Cadillac, concurrent at points with US 131 and M-115. West of Wexford County, the highway can be used to accessManistee. East of Wexford County, the highway can be used to access Lake City andHoughton Lake.
M-115 is a diagonal northwest–southeast highway. The highway passes through the village of Mesick and passes southwest of Cadillac. Northwest of Wexford County, the highway can be used to accessCopemish andFrankfort. Southeast of Wexford County, the highway can be used to accessClare.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 650 | — | |
| 1880 | 6,815 | 948.5% | |
| 1890 | 11,278 | 65.5% | |
| 1900 | 16,845 | 49.4% | |
| 1910 | 20,769 | 23.3% | |
| 1920 | 18,207 | −12.3% | |
| 1930 | 16,827 | −7.6% | |
| 1940 | 17,976 | 6.8% | |
| 1950 | 18,628 | 3.6% | |
| 1960 | 18,466 | −0.9% | |
| 1970 | 19,717 | 6.8% | |
| 1980 | 25,102 | 27.3% | |
| 1990 | 26,360 | 5.0% | |
| 2000 | 30,484 | 15.6% | |
| 2010 | 32,735 | 7.4% | |
| 2020 | 33,673 | 2.9% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 34,460 | [16] | 2.3% |
| US Decennial Census[17] 1790–1960[18] 1900–1990[19] 1990–2000[20] 2010–2018[3] | |||
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 33,673. The median age was 42.0 years. 23.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.1 males age 18 and over.[21]
The racial makeup of the county was 92.4%White, 0.6%Black or African American, 0.5%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Asian, <0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 0.7% from some other race, and 5.2% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.3% of the population.[22]
36.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 63.7% lived in rural areas.[23]
There were 13,610 households in the county, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.5% were married-couple households, 19.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[21]
There were 16,418 housing units, of which 17.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 75.8% were owner-occupied and 24.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%.[21]
The county government operates thejail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintainsvital records, administerspublic health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. Thecounty board of commissioners controls the budget but has only 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.
(information as of July 2019)[24]
Wexford County is one of the few counties to have given majorities to both the firstRepublican candidate,John C. Frémont,[25] and toJohn McCain in his 2008 presidential campaign.[26] The county also twice favored DemocratBill Clinton.[27]
Wexford County is divided between Michigan's1st and2nd congressional districts, both represented by RepublicansJack Bergman andJohn Moolenaar, respectively.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1884 | 1,220 | 54.81% | 876 | 39.35% | 130 | 5.84% |
| 1888 | 1,437 | 53.96% | 1,065 | 39.99% | 161 | 6.05% |
| 1892 | 1,388 | 49.91% | 1,156 | 41.57% | 237 | 8.52% |
| 1896 | 2,036 | 58.27% | 1,359 | 38.90% | 99 | 2.83% |
| 1900 | 2,519 | 67.75% | 1,014 | 27.27% | 185 | 4.98% |
| 1904 | 3,003 | 76.37% | 690 | 17.55% | 239 | 6.08% |
| 1908 | 2,886 | 71.95% | 831 | 20.72% | 294 | 7.33% |
| 1912 | 1,075 | 26.52% | 817 | 20.15% | 2,162 | 53.33% |
| 1916 | 2,333 | 55.21% | 1,683 | 39.82% | 210 | 4.97% |
| 1920 | 3,406 | 73.03% | 1,095 | 23.48% | 163 | 3.49% |
| 1924 | 3,926 | 77.47% | 592 | 11.68% | 550 | 10.85% |
| 1928 | 4,825 | 84.53% | 853 | 14.94% | 30 | 0.53% |
| 1932 | 3,425 | 50.34% | 3,251 | 47.78% | 128 | 1.88% |
| 1936 | 3,153 | 44.35% | 3,771 | 53.05% | 185 | 2.60% |
| 1940 | 4,322 | 59.00% | 2,947 | 40.23% | 57 | 0.78% |
| 1944 | 4,074 | 61.21% | 2,489 | 37.39% | 93 | 1.40% |
| 1948 | 3,833 | 57.06% | 2,635 | 39.23% | 249 | 3.71% |
| 1952 | 5,569 | 68.98% | 2,407 | 29.82% | 97 | 1.20% |
| 1956 | 5,052 | 65.76% | 2,604 | 33.89% | 27 | 0.35% |
| 1960 | 5,262 | 65.00% | 2,807 | 34.67% | 27 | 0.33% |
| 1964 | 3,016 | 40.50% | 4,414 | 59.28% | 16 | 0.21% |
| 1968 | 4,364 | 56.38% | 2,832 | 36.59% | 544 | 7.03% |
| 1972 | 5,221 | 61.43% | 3,048 | 35.86% | 230 | 2.71% |
| 1976 | 5,670 | 54.96% | 4,519 | 43.80% | 128 | 1.24% |
| 1980 | 6,027 | 54.01% | 4,173 | 37.39% | 960 | 8.60% |
| 1984 | 7,279 | 67.93% | 3,398 | 31.71% | 38 | 0.35% |
| 1988 | 6,043 | 58.07% | 4,287 | 41.20% | 76 | 0.73% |
| 1992 | 4,696 | 37.34% | 4,894 | 38.92% | 2,985 | 23.74% |
| 1996 | 4,866 | 40.93% | 5,510 | 46.35% | 1,512 | 12.72% |
| 2000 | 7,215 | 55.58% | 5,326 | 41.03% | 441 | 3.40% |
| 2004 | 8,966 | 59.14% | 6,034 | 39.80% | 160 | 1.06% |
| 2008 | 8,044 | 51.10% | 7,379 | 46.88% | 318 | 2.02% |
| 2012 | 8,450 | 56.72% | 6,184 | 41.51% | 264 | 1.77% |
| 2016 | 10,000 | 65.06% | 4,436 | 28.86% | 934 | 6.08% |
| 2020 | 12,102 | 66.16% | 5,838 | 31.92% | 352 | 1.92% |
| 2024 | 12,968 | 66.51% | 6,224 | 31.92% | 307 | 1.57% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 12,457 | 64.83% | 6,063 | 31.56% | 694 | 3.61% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2022 | 9,131 | 60.45% | 5,645 | 37.37% | 329 | 2.18% |
There are many attractions and hot spots in Wexford County. TheManistee National Forest is one recreation site. The Manistee River is used by fishermen, kayakers, and canoers. There are many lakes; the largest are Cadillac and Mitchell. Two hundred miles of snowmobile trails are maintained by the Cadillac Winter Promotions volunteer group. There are at least eight golf courses near Cadillac. There are several museums near Cadillac. TheWexford Civic Center is a 4,000 capacity arena, 300 capacity hockey facility, 300 capacity grand stand, and several buildings for agricultural shows and expos.
TheWexford–Missaukee Intermediate School District, based inCadillac, services the school districts in the county (with the exception ofBuckley Community Schools, which is covered byNorthwest Educational Services). Theintermediate school district offers regional special education services and technical career programs to students of its districts.[30][31]
Wexford County is served by the following regularpublicschool districts:[32]
The county also has onecharter school, theHighpoint Virtual Academy of Michigan.
Wexford County has the followingprivate schools:[33]
There are several recognized Michigan historical markers in the county:[34][35]
Places adjacent to Wexford County, Michigan | |
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Municipalities and communities ofWexford County, Michigan,United States | ||
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| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| Central cities | |
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| Counties | |
| Geography | |
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| Economy | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
