Mason

Formed April 1, 1840 (52^nd county)

Mason County (29,063), Ludington (7,655)

A classic Richardsonian Romanesque 1892 red brick and stone courthouse serves Mason County.  The courthouse is on Ludington Street between Delia and Rowe streets.  Ludington Street is United States Highway 10 in the town.  Sidney J. Osgood provided the courthouse designs.  The courthouse features a tower with a working clock.  There was an 1849 courthouse earlier.  The county was founded on April 1, 1840 from Mackinac County as the 52^nd county.  Burr Caswell Farm (1855), Little Sauble (1861), and Ludington (1873) have all served as county seat.  The county is named for Governor Stevens T. Mason.  He is also the namesake of the county seat of Ingham County.  The county seat is named for lumberman James Ludington. 

Mason County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer and a clerk (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Three Circuit Court Judges and Two District Court Judges serve Mason and Lake counties and Two Probate Court Judges and court clerk serve Mason County (judicial.) The county is on the western border of the southern peninsula.  Lake Michigan is its western border.  The county center is 2 miles Northeast of Ludington.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Manistee, Lake, Newaygo, and Oceana counties and Wisconsin. 

The area of the county is 1242 square miles.  It is 27 out of 83 in the state.  It ranks 49 out of 83 in population in the state.  It has a density of 23.4 persons per square mile making it 55 out of 83 in the state.  Mason County has 34.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 10 enters the county from the east, Lake County, and terminates.  United States Highway 31 crosses north to south from Manistee County to Oceana County.  The county is a rectangle with a “nose” sticking out to the west.  Ludington is on the southwestern coast of the county.  Ludington is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 26.3% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced LOO-DING-TON.