Jennings, Michigan

Jennings is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Missaukee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 229 at the 2020 census, down from 264 in 2010. The CDP is located mostly in Lake Township with a small portion extending north into Caldwell Township.

History
Jennings was a lumbering center founded by Austin and William Mitchell, who named it for William Jennings Bryan. A post office opened on March 8, 1883, with J. Frank Schryer as the first postmaster. The office was discontinued on July 31, 1956. Jennings was a terminus of the Missaukee spur of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, with a junction on the main line named Round Lake.

The community of Jennings was listed as a newly-organized census-designated place for the 2010 census, meaning it now has officially defined boundaries and population statistics.

Geography
Jennings is in western Missaukee County, bordered to the east by Crooked Lake. It is 7 mi by road west of Lake City, the county seat, and 10 mi northeast of Cadillac. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Jennings CDP has an area of 0.76 sqmi, all land.

The census-designated place is defined as being within Caldwell and Lake townships. All 264 residents and 0.67 sqmi of land were within Lake Township, while no residents and 0.09 sqmi of land are within Caldwell Township to the north.