Formed March 9, 1843 (69th county)
Schoolcraft County (8,049), Manistique (2,834)
A Modern red/brown brick courthouse was built in 1975. It is at the corner of Walnut and Maple streets. Michigan State Highway 94 is Maple Street in the city. G. Arntzen & Company are the architects. A military gun sits on the courthouse grounds. The classier 1890 courthouse was destroyed by fire. The county was created on March 9, 1843 from parts of Chippewa and Mackinac counties as the 69th county. It is named for explorer Henry Schoolcraft. The county seat is named for the river. Onota was the first county seat until 1879 when Manistique assumed the position.
Schoolcraft County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer and a clerk (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) One Circuit Court Judge serves Schoolcraft, Alger, Luce, and Mackinac counties and Two District Court Judges and One Probate Court Judge serve Schoolcraft and Alger County and a court clerk serves Schoolcraft County (judicial.) Schoolcraft County is on the southern border of the northern peninsula. Lake Michigan is its southern coast. The county center is 12.8 miles Northeast of Manistique. The county is surrounded clockwise by Alger, Luce, Mackinac, Charlevoix, Leelanau, and Delta counties.
The area of the county is 1884 square miles. It is 13 out of 83 in the state. It ranks 80 out of 83 in population in the state. It has a density of 4.3 persons per square mile making it 79 out of 83 in the state. Schoolcraft County has 35.2% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 2 crosses the county east to west from Mackinac County to Delta County. The county looks like a knife blade. Manistique is located on the southern coast of the county. Manistique is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 35.2% of the county population. The county seat is pronounced MAN-IS-TEEK.
Manistique
