Lapeer

Formed September 18, 1822 (11^th county)

Lapeer County (88,615), Lapeer (9,048)

The columned wooden Greek Revival building was constructed in 1846 and augments the 1980 county building.  The courthouse is located at Clay and Court streets.  Michigan State Highway 21 is three blocks south of the site.  Alvin N. Hart and Norman Davidson are the courthouse architects.  The new red brick courthouse was designed by Tomlinson, Harburn, Yurk and Associates.  Lapeer County was established on September 18, 1822 from parts of Oakland and Saint Clair counties as the 11^th county with Lapeer as the only county seat.  The county’s name is French for “flint stone.”  The county seat is named for the county. 

Lapeer County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer and a clerk (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Two Circuit Court Judges, Three District Court Judges, Two Probate Court Judges and court clerk serve Lapeer County (judicial.) The county is in the southeast part of the southern peninsula.  Flint, Michigan is directly to the west of the county.  The county center is 3.2 miles Northeast of Lapeer.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Sanilac, Saint Clair, Macomb, Oakland, Genesee, and Tuscola counties. 

The area of the county is 663 square miles.  It is 49 out of 83 in the state.  It ranks 23 out of 83 in population in the state.  It has a density of 133.7 persons per square mile making it 21 out of 83 in the state.  Lapeer County has 22.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 69 travels east to west in the county from Saint Clair County to Genesee County.  The county looks like a keystone.  The City of Lapeer is in the southwest quarter of the county. Lapeer is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 10.2% of the county population.  This county is in the Detroit-Warren-Livonia Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Otter Lake