Keweenaw County, Michigan

Keweenaw County, Michigan
Keweenaw County is a county in the western Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the state's largest county by total area, including the waters of Lake Superior, as well as the state's northernmost county. The county seat is Eagle River.
Located at the northeastern end of the Keweenaw Peninsula, Keweenaw County is part of the Houghton, Michigan micropolitan area. Keweenaw County also contains two National Park Service units: Isle Royale National Park and Keweenaw National Historical Park.
History
The county was set off and organized in 1861. It is believed "Keweenaw" is a corruption of an Ojibwe word that means "portage" or "place where portage is made"; compare the names of the nearby Portage Lake and Portage River which together make up the Keweenaw Waterway.
Geography
Two land masses comprise most of the land portion of the county: Isle Royale and the northeastern half of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The county also includes the waters of Lake Superior between the two, extending to the state's water borders with Ontario and Minnesota. It is thus the largest county in Michigan by total area, at , of which just is land and (91%) is water. Of all counties (or equivalents) in the United States, Keweenaw County has the highest proportion of water area to total area.
The largest lake entirely within the county is Gratiot Lake at , located at the base of the county's two highest peaks: Mt. Horace Greeley at and Mt. Gratiot at . Other lakes include Lac La Belle near Bete Grise Bay, Lake Medora, Lake Fanny Hooe near Copper Harbor, Lake Bailey at the base of Mt. Baldy, and Schlatter Lake at the tip of the peninsula.
By land, one can only access mainland Keweenaw County via Houghton County.
National protected area
Isle Royale National Park
Keweenaw National Historical Park (part)
Major highways
runs northeast–southwest through the upper center part of the mainland portion of the county. It enters the southern area of the county at Bumbletown passes Phoenix, Delaware, Mandan, Copper Harbor and terminates north of Lake Fanny Hooe.
loops from Phoenix to the shoreline of Lake Superior, then runs northeasterly along the shoreline to the intersection with US 41 at Copper Harbor.
Adjacent counties and district
Keweenaw County is the only county in Michigan to connect to the U.S. state of Minnesota via ferry service from Grand Portage to Windigo and Rock Harbor on Isle Royale.
By land
Houghton County, south
By water
Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada, north
Alger County, east
Marquette County, southeast
Ontonagon County, southwest
Cook County, Minnesota, northwest
Communities
Village
Ahmeek
Census-designated places
Copper Harbor
Fulton
Eagle Harbor
Eagle River (county seat)
Mohawk
Civil townships
Allouez Township
Eagle Harbor Township
Grant Township
Houghton Township
Sherman Township
Defunct townships
Copper Harbor Township
Sibley Township
Other unincorporated communities
Allouez
Bete Grise
Betsy
Bumbletown
Central
Copper Falls
Delaware
Eagle Nest
Gay
Hebards
Lac La Belle
Mandan
Nepco Camp Number 7
Ojibway
Phoenix
Rock Harbor Lodge
Seneca
Snowshoe
Traverse
Vaughnsville
Windigo
Wyoming
Ghost towns
Clifton
Demographics
The 2010 United States census indicated Keweenaw County had a population of 2,156. This decrease of 145 people from the 2000 United States census represents a -6.3% change in population. In 2010 there were 1,013 households and 614 families in the county. The population density was . There were 2,467 housing units at an average density of . At the 2020 census, its population was 2,046.
At the 2010 census, 98.5% of the population were White, 0.1% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American and 1.2% of two or more races; a total of 0.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race); of them, 8.8% were of Finnish, 14.0% German, 9.0% English, 6.6% French, French Canadian or Cajun and 5.7% Irish ancestry. According to the 2022 census estimates, its racial and ethnic makeup was 97% non-Hispanic white, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian American, 2% multiracial, and 1.5% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Through a 2020 survey by the Association of Religion Data Archives, Keweenaw County's religious population was predominantly Christian with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as the largest Christian group for the area. Following, the Roman Catholic Church was the second-largest Christian group in the county.
Politics
Keweenaw County was solidly Republican after the American Civil War, and until the Franklin Delano Roosevelt era. In 1900, 1904 and 1908 it stood as the nation most Republican county. In his last election of 1944, Roosevelt became the first Democrat to win the county since Horatio Seymour in 1868. However, from 1964 to 1996 Keweenaw voted Democratic in every election except 1972 and 1980, thus standing as one of only six counties nationwide to support both Alf Landon and Walter Mondale, who suffered the two worst electoral vote losses since 1824. Since 2000, the county has become solidly Republican again.
Government
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.
The Keweenaw County Courthouse and Sheriff's Residence and Jail in Eagle River faces Lake Superior. The courthouse was built in 1866, followed by the sheriff's residence and jail in 1886, and then remodeled in 1925. In her book Buildings of Michigan, Eckert writes:
"Like a meetinghouse on a New England public square, and enclosed by a high public wall on the east and south sides, ...transformed in 1925 into its present stark white classical appearance. The courthouse for this sparsely populated remote county is remarkable in its formality...These include the giant Doric columns with fillets and bases, a pediment forming a projecting portico, a modillioned cornice, and pedimented side dormers."
The courthouse still preserves its original appearance.
Sparsely-populated Keweenaw County was a mining center in the latter 19th century but in the 20th century turned into a resort community. Because of this trend, Keweenaw County is also the only county in Michigan to have a lower population in the year 2000 than in 1900.
Elected officials
Probate Judge: Keith DeForge
Prosecuting Attorney: Charles (Chuck) Miller
Sheriff: Curt Pennala
County Clerk/Register of Deeds: Julie Carlson
County Treasurer: Eric Hermanson
Mine Inspector: John Cima
(information as of January 2021)
See also
List of Michigan State Historic Sites in Keweenaw County, Michigan
National Register of Historic Places listings in Keweenaw County, Michigan
Copper Country
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Keweenaw Liberty Library
Keweenaw County Profile, Sam M Cohodas Regional Economist, Tawni Hunt Ferrarini, Ph.D.
CopperCountry.com Tourism and Events Information for Keweenaw, Houghton and Ontonagon Counties.
CopperCountryExplorer.com
Keweenaw County Chamber of Commerce
Keweenaw County government website
Hunt's Guide to the Keweenaw Peninsula
Western Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Region
Michigan placenames of Native American origin
Michigan counties
1861 establishments in Michigan
Populated places established in 1861