Presque Isle County, Michigan


Presque Isle County is a county in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. State of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,982. The county seat is Rogers City. The county was authorized by State legislation on April 1, 1840, but the county government was not established until 1871. The government was reorganized in 1875. The name is an anglicisation of the French word presqu'île or presque-isle, which means a specific kind of peninsula with a very narrow isthmus or connection to another landform, denominated a "presque-isle", i. e., literally "almost an island". A large part of Presque Isle Township consists of that peninsula, with Lake Huron on the east, Grand Lake on the west, and narrow strips of land connecting it to the mainland at the north and south ends. The community of Presque Isle is near the center of this peninsula.

History

Early Native Americans living in the area were nomadic, using the land as hunting grounds. To them the land between the Ocqueoc and Swan Rivers was sacred ground. The name "Presque Isle" was given to the area by French fur traders who portaged over the strip of land that attaches Presque Isle to the mainland.
Early development of the area was delayed because it lacked a navigable river. The Ocqueoc River was Presque Isle's largest river yet was shallow and crooked, and had many rapids. In the spring of 1839 a surveying party, contracted by the State of Michigan, reported that the land of this area was worthless. This further discouraged development until the 1860s when the Crawford family settled into a quiet cove of Lake Huron, south of modern Rogers City. They intended to develop a stone quarry, but found the stone too flaky to be used as building material. Turning to lumbering, they sold the wood to steamers traveling the Great Lakes.
In 1868 W. E. Rogers, an Army officer, organized a surveying party to Presque Isle, with Albert Molitor as supervisor. Seeing the vast forests, they attempted to purchase Crawford's Quarry but were refused. They formed the Molitor-Rogers Company and purchased the land at the future site of Rogers City. The following year a large party of German and Polish immigrants arrived and settled in the area. The Molitor-Rogers Company built a sawmill, store, boarding house, and blacksmith shop. Only the Company supplied the small city. After a difficult winter in 1870–71, the community began to thrive.
The county's original settlers were lumbermen, fishermen, and farmers. In 1907 a mining engineer/geologist from New York, H. H. Hindshaw, visited Crawford's Quarry and found it to be rich in limestone. Following this discovery, the Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company of Calcite, Michigan was founded. The company purchased at Calcite, the new name for Crawford's Quarry. Needing a means of shipping their product, the Bradley Transportation Company was formed. The company is known in the area for being the chief business, employing a significant portion of the residents. One of the darker aspects of the county's history involved the loss of one of the Bradley Transportation Company's cargo ships, the Carl D. Bradley, which sank on Lake Michigan during a windstorm in November 1958, taking 33 lives, 28 of whom resided in Presque Isle County.
Today the world's largest limestone processing plant is in Rogers City, which is also a major Great Lakes port. This is the best natural harbor on Lake Huron between Port Huron and Mackinaw City.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of, of which is land and is water. Although Presque Isle County is on Michigan's Lower Peninsula, it is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Geographic features

By land
By water

Cities

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 12,982 and a median age of 56.1 years. 15.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 32.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.7 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 95.1% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.3% from some other race, and 3.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.2% of the population.
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 6,047 households in the county, of which 17.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.1% were married-couple households, 21.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 9,804 housing units, of which 38.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 86.3% were owner-occupied and 13.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.1%.

2000 census

At the 2000 United States census, there were 14,411 people, 6,155 households, and 4,203 families residing in the county.
As of 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $31,656, and the median income for a family was $37,426. Males had a median income of $31,275 versus $20,625 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,363. About 6.80% of families and 10.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.10% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those over age 64.

Government

Voters in Presque Isle County have generally favored Republican Party nominees. Since 1884, the Republican nominee has garnered the county's vote 72% of the time.
The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services. The county 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.

Elected officials

as of June 2021

Historical markers

There are ten recognized Michigan historical markers in the county:

Newspapers

The following television stations broadcast in Presque Isle County:
  • Channel 4: WTOM-TV "TV 7&4"
  • Channel 6: WCML "CMU Public Television"
  • Channel 8: WGTQ "ABC 29&8"
  • Channel 10: WWUP-TV "9&10 News"
  • Channel 11: WBKB-TV "Channel 11 News"
  • Channel 45: WFUP "Fox 32" .

    Radio

The following radio stations can be heard in Rogers City
;FM
Call SignFrequencyCity Broadcast From
WPHN90.5Gaylord
WCML91.7Alpena
WFDX92.5Atlanta
WKJZ94.9Hillman
WRZG96.7Rogers City
WHAK-FM99.9Rogers City
WWMK106.3Onaway
WHSB107.7Alpena

;AM
Call SignFrequencyCity Broadcast From
WTCM580Traverse City
WHAK960Rogers City

;NOAA Weather Radio
NOAA Weather Radio can be heard on 162.550 MHz

Transportation

Air

There is one county-owned airport in Presque Isle County, providing access to general aviation:
The nearest commercial airline airports are Alpena County Regional Airport near Alpena, and Cherry Capital Airport near.

Major highways

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