# Chippewa County, Michigan

Chippewa County (/ˈtʃɪpəwɑː/ CHIH-pə-wah) is a county in the eastern Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,785. The county seat is Sault Ste. Marie. The county is named for the Ojibwe (Chippewa) people, and was set off and organized in 1826. Chippewa County comprises the Sault Ste. Marie, MI micropolitan statistical area. With shorelines on Lake Huron and Lake Superior, Chippewa County is one of two U.S. counties to contain shorelines on two Great Lakes, the other being neighboring Mackinac County. The county's irregular shape follows the Canadian border, itself following the St. Marys River. Drummond Island is part of 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."

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,698 square miles (6,990 km$^2$), of which 1,558 square miles (4,040 km$^2$) is land and 1,140 square miles (3,000 km$^2$) (42%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Michigan by land area and fifth-largest by total area.
The Michigan Meridian runs through the eastern portion of the county. South of Nine Mile Road, M-129 (Meridian Road) overlays the meridian. In Sault Ste. Marie, Meridian Street north of 12th Avenue overlays the meridian.

### 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. This area has many types of waterfowl pass through it on their annual migrations.

## Communities
### City

* Sault Ste. Marie (county seat)

### Village

* DeTour Village

### Charter township

* Kinross Charter Township

### Civil townships

* Bay Mills Township
* Bruce Township
* Chippewa Township
* Dafter Township
* Detour Township
* Drummond Township
* Hulbert Township
* Pickford Township
* Raber Township
* Rudyard Township
* Soo Township
* Sugar Island Township
* Superior Township
* Trout Lake Township
* Whitefish Township

### Census-designated places

* Brimley
* Kincheloe

### 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

In 2020, the county had a population of 36,785.
The 2010 American Community Survey 3-year estimate indicated the median income for a household in the county was $39,351 and the median income for a family was $54,625. Males had a median income of $25,760 versus $16,782 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,334. About 2.3% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.0% of those under the age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

## 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).
United States presidential election results for Chippewa County, Michigan :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | 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 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

* 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
(Current as of July 30, 2024)

## 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.
* BS I-75 travels from I-75 into downtown Sault Ste. Marie, and ends at the ferry to 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.
* M-123 is a highway that is the main connector from Tahquamenon Falls to 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.
* M-134 is a highway that goes to and terminates on 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.
* FFH 42(Whitefish Bay National Forest Scenic Byway), is a National Forest Scenic Byway with the US Forest Service the 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 Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association announced that Chippewa County will house its new command and control center. In last year, this is the third major announcement from the organization — guiding Michigan's aerospace and defense manufacturing community within the global industry. Previously, MAMA announced plans for a Oscoda, Michigan Wurtsmith Airport horizontal launch site at and a Marquette, Michigan vertical launch site.