Ogemaw County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,770. The county seat is West Branch. The county newspaper of record is the Ogemaw Herald.

History

Ogemaw County started as part of the Virginia Land owned by England. After the Revolutionary War, it broke up into smaller and smaller pieces. The county was originally created by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 from unorganized territory, but was absorbed into Iosco County in 1867. It was re-created in 1873, and was finally organized in 1875. The county's name is an Anglicization of the Anishinaabemowin word ogimaa, meaning "chief". Ogemaw's name came from an eloquent, respected Native American orator named Little Elk. One of the first settlements in the county was Ogemaw Springs, the genesis of lumbering operations in the county. The settlement of Ogemaw Springs ended when the lumber industry in the region ended. (Due to the lumber industry, railways were built to transport the lumber, and towns often sprang up along the tracks. After timber supplies in the Midwest dwindled, loggers shifted westward to the Pacific Northwest to find new sources of lumber, and many of these fledgling settlements foundered.) With Ogemaw Springs in decline, the people flocked to West Branch, causing an economic boom, including the construction of its first hotel. This created even more growth, causing many restaurants, hotels, and businesses to be built, a vast majority of which still stand today.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 575 sqmi, of which 563 sqmi is land and 11 sqmi (2.0%) is water. Ogemaw County is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

State protected area

Communities

Cities

Village

Civil townships

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States census, there were 21,645 people, 8,842 households, and 6,189 families residing in the county. By the 2020 census, its population was 20,770.

Government

For many years, Ogemaw County has been reliably Republican. Since 1884, the Republican Party nominee has carried the county vote in 75% of the national presidential elections (27 of 36). Ogemaw County operates the County 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

(information as of February 2021)