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 legislative action 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 peninsula, or 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 had no navigable river. The Ocqueoc River was Presque Isle's largest river but it was shallow and crooked, with 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 present-day 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 huge forests, they attempted to purchase Crawford's Quarry but were refused. They formed the Molitor-Rogers Company purchasing the land at the 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. The small city was solely supplied by the company. 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 8000 acre 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 area's residents. One of the darker aspects of the county's history involved the Bradley Transportation Company when one of their cargo ships, the Carl D. Bradley sank on Lake Michigan during a windstorm in November 1958 with the loss of 33 lives, 28 of whom resided in Presque Isle County (23 were from Rogers City, three were from Onaway and two were from Posen or Metz Township). 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 2573 sqmi, of which 659 sqmi is land and 1914 sqmi (74%) is water. Although Presque Isle County is on Michigan's Lower Peninsula, it is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Geographic features

Lakes

Adjacent counties

By land By water

Communities

Cities

Villages

Civil townships

Census-designated place

Other unincorporated communities

Demographics

At the 2000 United States census, of 2000, there were 14,411 people, 6,155 households, and 4,203 families residing in the county. In 2020, there were 12,982 people 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 (26 of 36 elections). 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:

Media

Newspapers

Television

The following television stations broadcast in Presque Isle County:

Radio

The following radio stations can be heard in Rogers City NOAA Weather Radio can be heard on 162.550 MHz (Call Sign KIG83, Alpena)

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 (Traverse City).

Major highways

Footnotes