Manistee

Formed April 1, 1840 (51^st county)

Manistee County (25,029), Manistee (6,266)

The 1951 Modern tan brick and masonry building is on 3^rd Street between Maple and Oak streets.  United States Highway 31 is three blocks east.  J. & G. Daverman provided the courthouse designs.  An Administration Building was built in 2003.  There was a classy 1878 courthouse previously.  The county was established on April 1, 1840 from Mackinac County as the 51^st county with Manistee as the only county seat.  The county and county seat are named for the river which is Native American for “river whose mouth is islands.”  Manistee County was the birthplace of 1 Michigan Governor, Fred W. Green. 

Manistee County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer and a clerk (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  One Circuit Court Judge and Three District Court Judges serve Manistee and Benzie counties and Two Probate Court Judges and court clerk serve Manistee County (judicial.) Manistee County is on the western coast of the southern peninsula.  Lake Michigan forms its western border.  The county center is 12.1 miles Northeast of Manistee nearer Norwalk.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Benzie, Grand Traverse, Wexford, Lake, and Mason counties and Wisconsin. 

The area of the county is 1281 square miles.  It is 26 out of 83 in the state.  It ranks 58 out of 83 in population in the state.  It has a density of 19.5 persons per square mile making it 61 out of 83 in the state.  Manistee County has 32.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 31 crosses the county north to south from Benzie County to Mason County.  The county looks like a fat plow.  The City of Manistee is in the southwest corner of the county.  Manistee is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 25.0% of the county population.  The county and county seat are pronounced MAN-I-STEE.