Alcona County, Michigan

Alcona County Education, Geography, and History

Alcona County is a county of the state of Michigan. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 10,942. The county was created by the state legislature on April 1, 1840. Its county seat is Harrisville. Alphabetically it is the first county in Michigan, as its flag states "First of 83".

Etymology - Origin of Alcona County Name

The county was at first named "Negwegon County", after the name of a well-known Chippewa chief, also known as "Little Wing", who was an American ally against the British in the War of 1812. It was renamed to Alcona County on March 8, 1843, after a neologism manufactured by Henry Schoolcraft from parts of words from Native American languages, plus Arabic, Greek and Latin, which were amalgamated to mean "fine or excellent plain"

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Alcona County History

A Native American word meaning a fine or excellent plan. Alcona County was a name created by Henry Schoolcraft.

The county was created by the state legislature on April 1, 1840. It was at first named "Negwegon County", after the name of a well-known Chippewa chief, also known as "Little Wing", who was an American ally against the British in the War of 1812. It was renamed to Alcona County on March 8, 1843, after a neologism manufactured by Henry Schoolcraft from parts of words from Native American languages, plus Arabic, Greek and Latin, which were amalgamated to mean "fine or excellent plain".

Initially, it was attached to Mackinac County for administrative purposes. The attachment shifted to Cheboygan County in 1853, to Alpena County in 1857, Iosco County in 1858, and Alpena County in 1859. Harrisville Township, then comprising the entire county, was organized in 1860. County government was organized in 1869.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,791 square miles (4,640 km²), of which 675 square miles (1,750 km²) is land and 1,116 square miles (2,890 km²) (62%) is water.

The area is part of the Au Sable State Forest, specifically the Grayling FMU (Alcona, Crawford, Oscoda, and northern Iosco counties). The county is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Alpena County - north
• Iosco County - south
• Ogemaw County - southwest
• Oscoda County - west
• Montmorency County - northwest
  

Education

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