Alcona County, Michigan

Alcona County is a county of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,167. Its county seat is Harrisville. Alphabetically it is the first county in Michigan; as its flag states, it is the "First of 83".

History


The county was created by the state legislature on April 1, 1840. It was at first named Negwegon County, after the name of a well-known Chippewa chief, also known as "Little Wing". He was honored as having been an American ally against the British in the War of 1812.

It was renamed to Alcona County on March 8, 1843, after a neologism created by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft from parts of words from Native American languages, plus Arabic, Greek and Latin. These were amalgamated to mean "fine or excellent plain". He was an influential US Indian agent and geographer.

Alcona County was initially attached to Mackinac County for purposes of revenue, taxation, and judicial matters. The attachment shifted to Cheboygan County in 1853, to Alpena County in 1857, to Iosco County in 1858, and to Alpena 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. 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.

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-known Nigerian scam. 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.

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.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1791 sqmi, of which 675 sqmi is land and 1116 sqmi (62%) is water.

The area is part of the Au Sable State Forest, specifically the Grayling FMU (Alcona, Crawford, Oscoda, and northern Iosco counties). The county is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Alcona County has a shoreline on Lake Huron. Through Lake Huron, Alcona County has a water boundary with the Canadian province of Ontario. The Au Sable River flows through the southwest of the county.

Lakes
Lakes in the county include:


 * Lake Huron
 * Alcona Lake
 * Badger Lake
 * Bear Lake
 * Brownlee Lake
 * Byron Lake
 * Cedar Lake
 * Clear Lake
 * Crooked Lake
 * Crystal Lake
 * Curtis Lake
 * Honawan Lake
 * Horseshoe Lake
 * Hubbard Lake, one of the state's twenty largest inland lakes.
 * Hunter Lake
 * Indian Lake
 * Jenkins lake
 * Jewell Lake
 * Lost Lake
 * North Hoist Lake
 * North Lake
 * O'Brien Lake
 * Poplar Lake
 * Reid Lake
 * South Hoist Lake
 * Tompson Lake

Adjacent counties

 * AlconaDam.JPG on the Au Sable River in Curtis Township.]] Alpena County - north
 * Iosco County - south
 * Ogemaw County - southwest
 * Oscoda County - west
 * Montmorency County - northwest

National protected area

 * Huron National Forest (part)

City

 * Harrisville (county seat)

Village

 * Lincoln

Civil townships

 * Alcona Township
 * Caledonia Township
 * Curtis Township
 * Greenbush Township
 * Gustin Township
 * Harrisville Township
 * Hawes Township
 * Haynes Township
 * Mikado Township
 * Millen Township
 * Mitchell Township

Census-designated places

 * Hubbard Lake
 * Lost Lake Woods

Other unincorporated communities

 * Alcona
 * Alvin
 * Backus Beach
 * Barton City
 * Black River
 * Bryant
 * Cheviers
 * Curran
 * Curtisville
 * Glennie
 * Greenbush
 * Gustin
 * Killmaster
 * Kurtz
 * Larson Beach
 * Mikado
 * Springport
 * Spruce
 * Wallace

Ghost town

 * Bamfield

Government
The county government maintains rural roads, operates the local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records, administers public health regulations, and works with state agencies to provide 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.

The Alcona County Circuit Court is part of the 23rd Circuit of Michigan. This multicounty circuit also includes Arenac, Iosco and Oscoda Counties. This court was previously part of the 26th Circuit, which included Alpena and Montmorency Counties.

Elected officials
(as of May 2018)
 * Prosecuting Attorney: Thomas Jay Weichel
 * Sheriff: Scott A. Stephenson
 * County Clerk/Circuit Court Clerk: Stephany Eller
 * County Treasurer: Cheryl L. Franks
 * Register of Deeds: Melissa A. Cordes
 * Road Commissioners: Alfred J. Scully, Harry L. Harvey, Theodore R. Somers

Demographics
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 10,942 people living in the county. 97.9% were White, 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% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). By the 2020 census, there were 10,167 people in the county.

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. The per capita income for the county was $17,653. About 9.10% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.80% of those under age 18 and 9.00% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Alcona County is served by three public school districts. Public school district boundaries are not coterminous 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.

Students on the southern side of the county are assigned to Oscoda Area Schools in the neighboring county of Iosco, while students on the western side of the county in Mitchell Township are assigned to Fairview Area School District, based in Oscoda County. Each school district is supported by a different intermediate school district, with the majority of students enrolled in the county being covered by the Alpena–Montmorency–Alcona Education Service District, based in Alpena.

Districts
School districts include:


 * Alcona Community Schools
 * Fairview Area School District
 * Oscoda Area Schools

Politics
Alcona County has been reliably Republican since the beginning. Since 1884, the county has voted against the Republican nominee for president only five times.

Newspapers

 * The Alcona County Review located in Harrisville is the county's newspaper of record, and has served the community since 1877.
 * The Alpena News serves the northeastern lower peninsula.
 * The Oscoda Press is a weekly newspaper serving southern Alcona County and northern Iosco County.
 * Daily editions of the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News are available throughout the area.

Radio

 * WXTF-LP

Historical markers

 * Greenbush School
 * West Harrisville Depot in Lincoln
 * Springport Inn, Springport home of Civil War Captain Joseph VanBuskirk.

Parks and recreation
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.

Highways

 * — north of Standish, it has been designated the Sunrise Side Coastal Highway. Parallels the Lake Huron shore, connects with M-72 in Harrisville. US 23 is the most proximate connector to Alpena and Mackinaw City.
 * — runs along the western side of the county, from US 23 north of Standish to Rogers City.
 * — In 1936, downtown Harrisville became the eastern terminus of the 133 mi M-72, which runs across the lower peninsula from Empire, Michigan. It is one of three true cross peninsular highways.
 * — runs from US 23 at Greenbush through Mikado to M-65 at Glennie.
 * — runs north–south from US 23 at Oscoda to US 23 south of Ossineke.
 * — runs north–south from US 23 at Oscoda to US 23 south of Ossineke.

Airport
Alcona County has been a part of developing the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport, which became a public airport in 1993. It now occupies a portion of the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base, which is in Oscoda Township, Michigan in neighboring Iosco County, Michigan. It is primarily used for cargo and light general aviation activities. The Airport offers 24-hour near all weather daily access.