Alpena County, Michigan

Alpena County
Alpena County
County
	Alpena County Courthouse
	Seal
	Location within the U.S. state of Michigan
	Michigan's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 45°02′N 83°12′W / 45.04°N 83.2°W
Country	United States
State	Michigan
Founded	February 7, 1857
Seat	Alpena
Largest city	Alpena
Area
• Total	1,695 sq mi (4,390 km2)
• Land	572 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Water	1,123 sq mi (2,910 km2) 66%
Population (2020)
• Total	28,907
• Estimate (2023)	28,904
• Density	66/sq mi (25/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.alpenacounty.org

Alpena County (/ælˈpiːnə/ al-PEE-nə) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,907.^[2] The county seat is Alpena.^[3] It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Alpena County comprises the Alpena, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The county was created by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 as Anamickee County,^[5] then renamed in 1843 to Alpena County,^[4] a pseudo-Native American word — a neologism coined by Henry Schoolcraft, meaning "a good partridge country."^[1]^[6]^[7]^[8] This was part of a much larger effort to rename a great many of the Michigan counties at the time.^[8] The Thunder Bay Band of Chippewa and Ottawa, the original indigenous inhabitants of the area, merged with the Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians in the mid 1800s under Chief Way-ge-maw-waw-be. The county was officially organized in 1857.^[1]^[8]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,695 square miles (4,390 km²), of which 572 square miles (1,480 km²) is land and 1,123 square miles (2,910 km²) (66%) is water.^[9]

Alpena County is in the northeast of the mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Lake Huron and Thunder Bay are to the east, Alcona County to the south, Oscoda County to the southwest, Montmorency County to the west, and Presque Isle County to the north. Most of the county is drained by the Thunder Bay River and its tributaries. The Mackinaw State Forest occupies large tracts of land in the county. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is offshore adjacent to the county.

The 45th parallel bisects the county, meaning it is halfway between the North Pole and the equator.^[10]^[11]

Several islands in Thunder Bay are part of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. There are automated lighthouses on Middle Island and Thunder Bay Island.

Geographic features

Glaciers shaped the area, creating a unique regional ecosystem. A large portion of the area is so-called Grayling outwash plain, consisting of broad outwash plain including sandy ice-disintegration ridges; jack pine barrens, some white pine-red pine forest, and northern hardwood forests. Large lakes were created by glacial action.^[12] Some of the inland lakes are truly massive.^[13]

Adjacent counties

Major highways

US 23 serves Alpena on its way along the Lake Huron shoreline. To the north, it passes past Long Lake and Grand Lake, thence to Rogers City, Michigan, through Cheboygan, Michigan, and on to Mackinaw City, Michigan, where it ends and connects to I-75 and the Mackinac Bridge.
M-32 ends its 100-mile (160 km) easterly cross-peninsular route from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron within downtown Alpena at an intersection with US 23.
M-65 is a more direct route to the south than US 23, which meanders along the lake shore through many villages and towns. M-65 goes north to Rogers City.

National protected area

Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Communities

City

Alpena (county seat)

Village

Hillman (partially)

Charter township

Alpena Charter Township

Civil townships

Census-designated place

Ossineke

Other unincorporated communities

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	290		—
1870	2,756		850.3%
1880	8,789		218.9%
1890	15,581		77.3%
1900	18,254		17.2%
1910	19,965		9.4%
1920	17,869		−10.5%
1930	18,574		3.9%
1940	20,766		11.8%
1950	22,189		6.9%
1960	28,556		28.7%
1970	30,708		7.5%
1980	32,315		5.2%
1990	30,605		−5.3%
2000	31,314		2.3%
2010	29,598		−5.5%
2020	28,907		−2.3%
2023 (est.)	28,904	^[14]	0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census^[15] 1790-1960^[16] 1900-1990^[17] 1990-2000^[18] 2010-2018^[2]

The 2010 United States census^[19] indicated Alpena County had a 2010 population of 29,598. This is a decrease of -1,716 people from 2000. Overall, the county had a -5.5% growth rate during this ten-year period. In 2010 there were 12,791 households and 8,164 families in the county. The population density was 51.8 per square mile (20.0 square kilometers). By the 2020 census, the county population was 28,907.

There were 16,053 housing units at an average density of 28.1 per square mile (10.8 square kilometers). Among the population at the time, 97.5% of the population were White, 0.5% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.1% of some other race and 1.1% of two or more races. 1.0% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 26.8% were of German, 19.5% Polish, 12.9% French, French Canadian or Cajun, 8.1% English, 6.4% Irish and 5.7% American ancestry.^[20]

There were 12,791 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were husband and wife families, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.2% were non-families, and 30.8% were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.9% under age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 31.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.

The 2010 American Community Survey 3-year estimate^[19] indicated the median income for a household in the county was $36,242 and the median income for a family was $46,718. Males had a median income of $27,002 versus $15,670 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,713. About 2.5% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.2% of those under the age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

United States presidential election results for Alpena County, Michigan^[21]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	10,686	62.91%	6,000	35.32%	301	1.77%
2016	9,090	61.55%	4,877	33.02%	801	5.42%
2012	7,298	51.79%	6,549	46.48%	244	1.73%
2008	7,125	47.11%	7,705	50.95%	294	1.94%
2004	7,665	50.39%	7,407	48.70%	139	0.91%
2000	6,769	47.90%	7,053	49.91%	310	2.19%
1996	4,525	33.54%	7,114	52.73%	1,853	13.73%
1992	4,878	32.37%	6,894	45.75%	3,297	21.88%
1988	6,664	51.05%	6,341	48.58%	49	0.38%
1984	8,212	61.30%	5,136	38.34%	49	0.37%
1980	6,901	49.89%	5,834	42.18%	1,097	7.93%
1976	6,380	49.59%	6,310	49.04%	176	1.37%
1972	6,513	55.05%	5,104	43.14%	214	1.81%
1968	5,717	50.77%	4,788	42.52%	756	6.71%
1964	3,954	34.47%	7,508	65.45%	10	0.09%
1960	6,573	56.41%	5,071	43.52%	9	0.08%
1956	7,142	70.18%	3,033	29.80%	2	0.02%
1952	6,248	66.32%	3,134	33.27%	39	0.41%
1948	4,313	60.30%	2,743	38.35%	96	1.34%
1944	4,453	60.78%	2,856	38.98%	18	0.25%
1940	4,822	57.19%	3,597	42.66%	13	0.15%
1936	3,536	49.97%	3,231	45.66%	309	4.37%
1932	3,222	45.99%	3,562	50.84%	222	3.17%
1928	3,467	63.43%	1,984	36.30%	15	0.27%
1924	4,628	75.78%	948	15.52%	531	8.69%
1920	3,467	63.38%	1,893	34.61%	110	2.01%
1916	2,020	57.93%	1,392	39.92%	75	2.15%
1912	709	19.99%	1,105	31.15%	1,733	48.86%
1908	2,358	68.07%	949	27.40%	157	4.53%
1904	2,498	69.37%	907	25.19%	196	5.44%
1900	2,283	59.34%	1,435	37.30%	129	3.35%
1896	1,777	51.03%	1,665	47.82%	40	1.15%
1892	1,526	49.11%	1,536	49.44%	45	1.45%
1888	1,486	47.14%	1,504	47.72%	162	5.14%
1884	927	43.87%	1,127	53.34%	59	2.79%

The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county 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.

The county operates three parks (and camp grounds) with beaches on local lakes,^[22] namely Beaver Lake Park in Lachine;^[23] Long Lake Park in Alpena;^[24] and Sunken Lake Park in Posen^[25]

Media

The Alpena News^[26] is the daily newspaper of record for much of Northeast lower peninsula of Michigan. For a complete list of other media, see Alpena, Michigan.