Antrim County, Michigan

Antrim County, Michigan
Antrim County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 23,431. The county seat is Bellaire. The name is taken from County Antrim in Northern Ireland.
Antrim County is home to Torch Lake, Michigan's deepest and second-largest inland lake. Torch Lake, famous for its clear and blue waters, is part of the Chain of Lakes Watershed, most of which lies within Antrim County. The county is bordered to the west by Grand Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan.
History
Meegisee County was separated from Michilimackinac County as an unorganized county in 1840. It took its name from a Chippewa chief who signed the 1821 Treaty of Chicago and the 1826 Treaty of Mississinewas. Meegisee also derives from the Ojibwe , meaning bald eagle. The county was renamed Antrim County in 1843, one of the Irish names given to five renamed Michigan counties at that time, supposedly in deference to the increasing number of settlers of Irish heritage in Michigan at that time. In the text of the 1843 legislative act, the name was misspelled as "Antim". In 1851, for governmental purposes, Antrim County was attached to Grand Traverse County.
Separate county government was organized in 1863. The county seat was originally located in Elk Rapids, but was moved to Bellaire in 1904 after 25 years of litigation. In 1950 its population was 10,721.
YMCA Camp Hayo-Went-Ha, the oldest American summer camp that sits on its original site, was opened on the shore of Torch Lake in Central Lake Township in 1904.
Antrim County, which has reliably elected Republicans, was in national headlines during the 2020 presidential election because the unofficial tally showed Biden surprisingly ahead on election night. When the County Clerk realized that it was caused by human error, she corrected the tally before submitting to the Secretary of State for certification. Nonetheless, this error and a related lawsuit have been cited in multiple election conspiracies.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (21%) is water.
Antrim County is flanked to the west by Grand Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan. Most of the bodies of water within the Chain of Lakes, including Torch Lake, are within Antrim County.
Lakes
Lake Arthur
Bass Lake
Bates Lake
Beals Lake
Lake Bellaire
Benway Lake
Birch Lake
Boat Lake
Browning Lake
Carpenter Lake
Clam Lake
Eaton Lake
Elk Lake
Ellsworth Lake
Finn Lake
Grass Lake
Green Lake
Hanley Lake
Harwood Lake
Hawk Lake
Henry Lake
Intermediate Lake
Lake of the Woods
Lime Lake
Little Torch Lake
Lyman Lake
Maplehurst Lake
Moblo Lake
Mud Lake
Scotts Lake
Six Mile Lake
Lake Skegemog
Skinner Lake
Smith Lake
St. Clair Lake
Thayer Lake
Toad Lake
Torch Lake
Wetzel Lake
Wilson Lake
Rivers
Boyne River
Cedar River
Dingman River
Elk River
Grass River
Green River
Intermediate River
Jordan River
Manistee River
Torch River
Adjacent counties
By land
Charlevoix County (north)
Otsego County (east)
Crawford County (southeast)
Kalkaska County (south)
Grand Traverse County (southwest)
By water
Leelanau County (west)
Transportation
State-maintained highways
is a north–south highway that runs along the shore of Grand Traverse Bay in western Antrim County, passing through the communities of Elk Rapids, Torch Lake, Eastport, and Atwood. South of Antrim County, US 31 enters Traverse City, and continues further south along the Lake Michigan, passing cities such as Manistee, Ludington, Muskegon, Grand Haven, Holland, and Benton Harbor. North of Antrim County, US 31 passes through Charlevoix and Petoskey before terminating at Interstate 75 south of Mackinaw City.
in Antrim County follows a largely southwest–northeast route in the pastoral east of the county, passing through the communities of Mancelona and Alba. Following a north–south route further inland than US 31, the highway passes through cities to the south such as Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Cadillac. North of Antrim County, the highway terminates at US 31 in Petoskey.
is an east–west highway in northeastern Antrim County. The highway begins at East Jordan, just north of the Antrim County line, and continues east toward Elmira, Gaylord, Atlanta, Hillman, and Alpena. In Antrim County, M-32 shares a brief concurrency with US 131.
is a north–south highway that runs through central Antrim County. The highway enters from the south via a concurrency with US 131. At Mancelona, M-66 takes on an independent route, running north to East Jordan before terminating at US 31 at Charlevoix. South of Antrim County, M-66 runs through communities such as Sturgis, Battle Creek, Ionia, Lake City, and Kalkaska.
is an s-shaped highway, signed as an east–west route, that runs entirely within Antrim County. The highway serves to connect Antrim County's interior villages, Bellaire and Central Lake, with US 31 at Eastport and US 131/M-66 at Mancelona.
County-designated highways
serves as an easterly extension of M-88. The highway begins at US 131/M-66 in Mancelona, and continues east to Otsego County.
serves as a cutoff between US 131 at Alba and M-32 west of Gaylord in Otsego County.
is an east–west route in northwest Antrim County, connecting US 31 near Atwood to the village of Ellsworth and M-66 at East Jordan.
is a north–south route in northern Antrim County, connecting Ellsworth to US 31 in Charlevoix County.
is a short route in northeastern Antrim County, serving as a direct route between M-32 and M-75 near Boyne City.
Airports
Antrim County Airport - county-owned public-use airport, northeast of Bellaire, for general aviation. One paved runway. No airline service.
Demographics
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 23,580 people, 9,890 households, and 6,925 families in the county. The population density was . There were 17,824 housing units at an average density of . 96.8% of the population were White, 1.0% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.4% of some other race and 1.4% of two or more races. 1.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 20.2% were of German, 13.4% English, 8.9% Irish, 6.9% French, French Canadian or Cajun, 6.9% Polish and 6.4% American ancestry.
There were 9,222 households, out of which 26% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.78.
The county population contained 21.10% under the age of 18, 6.30% from 19 to 24, 3.9% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males.
Government
Antrim County has been reliably Republican since its organization. Since 1884 its voters have selected the Republican Party nominee in 94% (33 of 35) of the national elections through 2020.
Antrim 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
Prosecuting Attorney: James Rossiter
Sheriff: Daniel S. Bean
County Clerk: Sheryl Guy
County Treasurer: Sherry A. Comben
Register of Deeds: Patty Niepoth
Drain Commissioner: Mark Stone
County Surveyor: Scott Papineau
(information as of September 2018)
Communities
Villages
Bellaire (county seat)
Central Lake
Elk Rapids
Ellsworth
Mancelona
Civil townships
Banks Township
Central Lake Township
Chestonia Township
Custer Township
Echo Township
Elk Rapids Township
Forest Home Township
Helena Township
Jordan Township
Kearney Township
Mancelona Township
Milton Township
Star Township
Torch Lake Township
Warner Township
Census-designated places
Alba
Alden
Eastport
Lakes of the North
Unincorporated communities
Antrim
Atwood
Elmira
Clam River
Kewadin
Pleasant Valley
Torch Lake
Torch River
Ghost towns
Antrim City
Chestonia
Comfort
Creswell
Elgin
Essex
Green River
Wetzel
Indian reservations
Grand Traverse Indian Reservation, which has territories in five counties, occupies two small sections within Helena Township and one section in Milton Township.
Education
The Northwest Educational Services, based in Traverse City, services the students in the county along with those of Benzie, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, and Kalkaska. The intermediate school district offers regional special education services, early education and English learner programs, and technical career pathways for students of its districts.
Antrim County is served by the following regular public school districts:
Alba Public Schools
Bellaire Public Schools
Boyne City Public Schools
Boyne Falls Public School District
Central Lake Public Schools
Charlevoix Public Schools
East Jordan Public Schools
Elk Rapids Schools
Ellsworth Community Schools
Gaylord Community Schools
Mancelona Public Schools
Antrim County has the one private school, the Ebenezer Christian School (Christian).
See also
List of Michigan State Historic Sites in Antrim County, Michigan
National Register of Historic Places listings in Antrim County, Michigan
References
External links
Antrim County Website
Antrim County Online News Website and Event List
Michigan counties
Populated places established in 1863
1863 establishments in Michigan