Chippewa County, Michigan
Chippewa County | |
---|---|
![]() Chippewa County Courthouse, Sault Ste. Marie | |
UTC−4 (EDT) | |
Congressional district | 1st |
Website | www |

Chippewa County (
History
Chippewa County was much larger when it was created in 1826. Its original bounds included "the Mesaba iron range of Minnesota, the sites of Duluth, Superior, Marquette, Houghton, and all the famous Copper Country." Those regions reorganized when "this tremendous and unwieldy empire of a county was reduced by the Act of March 9, 1843."[5]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,698 square miles (6,990 km2), of which 1,558 square miles (4,040 km2) is land and 1,140 square miles (3,000 km2) (42%) is water.[6] It is the second-largest county in Michigan by land area and fifth-largest by total area.
The
Adjacent counties & districts
By land
- Mackinac County (south)
- Luce County (west)
By water
- Presque Isle County (south)
- Algoma District, Ontario, Canada (north)
- Manitoulin District, Ontario, Canada (east)
National protected areas
- Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge
- Hiawatha National Forest (part)
- Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge
Game areas
The Munuscong Bay is open for hunting, boating and bird watching. The area is known for its duck hunting, including mallards, divers and green-winged teal ducks. The Bay is most known for its icefishing and duck hunting. During opening weekend of duck season (late September), hundreds of hunters come from all over the state to begin their season on the Bay.[citation needed] This area has many types of waterfowl pass through it on their annual migrations.
Communities
City
- Sault Ste. Marie (county seat)
Village
Charter township
Civil townships
Census-designated places
Unincorporated communities
- Barbeau
- Bay Mills
- Bay Mills Indian Community (Indian Reservation)
- Cartonville (ghost town)
- Dafter (named Stevensburg until 1893)
- Drummond
- Eckerman
- Emerson
- Goetzville (named Gatesville until 1917)
- Homestead
- Johnswood
- Hulbert
- Kelden (also spelled Keldon)
- Kinross
- Mission
- Neebish Island
- Paradise
- Pickford
- Raber
- Raco
- Rudyard (named Pine River until 1890)
- Shelldrake (Ghost town)
- Stalwart
- Stirlingville (named Jolly's Landing until 1888)
- Strongs
- Trout Lake
- Whitefish Point
- Vermilion
Indian reservations
- The Bay Mills Indian Community occupies a portion of land within Bay Mills Township and Superior Township, within another smaller portion within Sugar Island Township.
- The Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians occupies scattered pieces of land within Kinross Charter Township, Sugar Island Township, and in the city limits of Sault Ste. Marie.
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1830 | 626 | — | |
1840 | 534 | −14.7% | |
1850 | 898 | 68.2% | |
1860 | 1,603 | 78.5% | |
1870 | 1,689 | 5.4% | |
1880 | 5,248 | 210.7% | |
1890 | 12,019 | 129.0% | |
1900 | 21,338 | 77.5% | |
1910 | 24,472 | 14.7% | |
1920 | 24,818 | 1.4% | |
1930 | 25,047 | 0.9% | |
1940 | 27,807 | 11.0% | |
1950 | 29,206 | 5.0% | |
1960 | 32,655 | 11.8% | |
1970 | 32,412 | −0.7% | |
1980 | 29,029 | −10.4% | |
1990 | 34,604 | 19.2% | |
2000 | 38,543 | 11.4% | |
2010 | 38,520 | −0.1% | |
2020 | 36,785 | −4.5% | |
2023 (est.) | 36,264 | [7] | −1.4% |
US Decennial Census[8] 1790–1960[9] 1900–1990[10] 1990–2000[11] 2010–2018[3] |
In 2020, the county had a population of 36,785.
The
Government
Chippewa County voters have been reliably Republican from the start. Since 1876, they have selected the Republican Party nominee in 86% of national elections (31 of 36).
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2024 | 11,249 | 61.18% | 6,796 | 36.96% | 342 | 1.86% |
2020 | 10,681 | 60.44% | 6,648 | 37.62% | 342 | 1.94% |
2016 | 9,122 | 58.65% | 5,379 | 34.59% | 1,051 | 6.76% |
2012 | 8,278 | 52.86% | 7,100 | 45.34% | 282 | 1.80% |
2008 | 8,267 | 49.48% | 8,184 | 48.98% | 257 | 1.54% |
2004 | 9,122 | 55.33% | 7,203 | 43.69% | 163 | 0.99% |
2000 | 7,526 | 52.43% | 6,370 | 44.38% | 458 | 3.19% |
1996 | 5,137 | 38.74% | 6,532 | 49.26% | 1,590 | 11.99% |
1992 | 5,462 | 40.02% | 5,434 | 39.82% | 2,751 | 20.16% |
1988 | 6,786 | 56.23% | 5,222 | 43.27% | 60 | 0.50% |
1984 | 8,135 | 63.77% | 4,575 | 35.86% | 47 | 0.37% |
1980 | 7,059 | 52.31% | 5,268 | 39.04% | 1,167 | 8.65% |
1976 | 7,025 | 53.32% | 6,022 | 45.71% | 128 | 0.97% |
1972 | 7,028 | 59.03% | 4,744 | 39.85% | 134 | 1.13% |
1968 | 5,359 | 52.04% | 4,132 | 40.13% | 806 | 7.83% |
1964 | 4,098 | 38.45% | 6,537 | 61.33% | 23 | 0.22% |
1960 | 6,490 | 55.23% | 5,239 | 44.58% | 22 | 0.19% |
1956 | 6,957 | 62.81% | 4,106 | 37.07% | 14 | 0.13% |
1952 | 7,075 | 62.12% | 4,257 | 37.38% | 57 | 0.50% |
1948 | 4,977 | 53.34% | 3,860 | 41.37% | 494 | 5.29% |
1944 | 5,335 | 54.86% | 4,344 | 44.67% | 46 | 0.47% |
1940 | 5,851 | 51.54% | 5,473 | 48.21% | 29 | 0.26% |
1936 | 4,901 | 47.13% | 5,259 | 50.58% | 238 | 2.29% |
1932 | 5,252 | 54.34% | 4,221 | 43.67% | 192 | 1.99% |
1928 | 5,326 | 68.68% | 2,355 | 30.37% | 74 | 0.95% |
1924 | 5,443 | 77.44% | 516 | 7.34% | 1,070 | 15.22% |
1920 | 4,732 | 74.36% | 1,266 | 19.89% | 366 | 5.75% |
1916 | 2,365 | 54.64% | 1,768 | 40.85% | 195 | 4.51% |
1912 | 889 | 23.31% | 879 | 23.05% | 2,046 | 53.64% |
1908 | 2,418 | 64.19% | 1,175 | 31.19% | 174 | 4.62% |
1904 | 2,920 | 77.78% | 662 | 17.63% | 172 | 4.58% |
1900 | 2,477 | 71.59% | 893 | 25.81% | 90 | 2.60% |
1896 | 2,105 | 65.52% | 1,001 | 31.15% | 107 | 3.33% |
1892 | 1,247 | 52.33% | 1,083 | 45.45% | 53 | 2.22% |
1888 | 1,055 | 51.56% | 909 | 44.43% | 82 | 4.01% |
1884 | 686 | 51.12% | 635 | 47.32% | 21 | 1.56% |
1880 | 396 | 53.15% | 347 | 46.58% | 2 | 0.27% |
1876 | 172 | 37.80% | 283 | 62.20% | 0 | 0.00% |
The county government operates the
Elected officials
- Prosecuting Attorney: Robert L. Stratton III (AKA Rob Stratton)
- Sheriff: Michael Bitnar
- County Clerk: Steve Woodgate
- County Treasurer: Carmen Fazzari
- Register of Deeds: Gigi Ferro
- Drain Commissioner: Anthony Stackpoole
- County Surveyor: Robert Laitinen [14]
(Current as of July 30, 2024)[15]
Transportation
Major highways
All Interstate and US Highways in Michigan are all state-maintained highways and part of the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System.
I-75 is Michigan's longest state highway overall; it ends on the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge at the Canada border.
- Sugar Island.
M-28 is Michigan's longest state highway; it ends at M-129 eight miles (13 km) south of Sault Ste. Marie.
M-48 is a highway that goes through Pickford and Rudyard, and ends at exit 373 on I-75.
M-80 is a highway that begins at exit 378 on I-75, goes through the former base in Kincheloe, and terminates at M-129.
- Tahquamenon Fallsto M-28.
M-129 (also known as Meridian Road) runs through the eastern part of the county, and ends at BS I-75 just south of Sault Ste. Marie.
- Drummond Island.
M-221 is the shortest highway in Chippewa County, just going through Brimley and ending at M-28.
County-designated highways
The following highways are maintained by the Chippewa County Road Commission as part of the county road system. They are assigned numbers by the Michigan Department of Transportation as part of the County-Designated Highway System.
- H-40
H-63 runs via Mackinac Trail, the former route of US 2 before it was replaced by I-75 in 1962.
- US Forest Servicethe Chippewa County Road Commission jointly maintains.
Airports
- Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) serves Chippewa county and the surrounding communities, providing commercial connection to hub airports.
- Drummond Island Airport (DRM) is a public-owned, public-use general-aviation airport with 2 runways (1 hard-surfaced).
The
See also
- Delirium Wilderness
- List of Michigan State Historic Sites in Chippewa County, Michigan
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Chippewa County, Michigan
References
- ^ a b "Bibliography on Chippewa County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
- The News/Chippewa County Government. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 16, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
- ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Newton, Stanely (1923). The story of Sault Ste. Marie and Chippewa County. Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan: The Sault News Printing Company. p. 139. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ^ US Election Atlas
- ^ "Press Release: NCEES honors Michigan surveyor William Karr for service" (PDF). National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 4, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
- ^ Chippewa County website
- MLive. January 28, 2021.
- ^ Lawrence, Eric D. (January 29, 2021). "Upper Peninsula's Chippewa County to host Michigan rocket launch command center". Detroit Free Press. p. 12.(subscription required)