Formed April 1, 1840 (60th county)
Otsego County (25,095), Gaylord (4,279)
A Modern design was applied to the 1937 red brick facility which was renovated and converted to the courthouse in 1992. The architect is Donald W. Mogridge. The old courthouse built in 1968 became the Administration Center. It is located at Main and Court streets. Michigan State Highway 32 is Main Street in the town. A traditional 1891 courthouse preceded the latest ones. The county was established on April 1, 1840 from Mackinac County as the 60th county. The county name is Native American for “place of the rock.” The county seat is named for railroad attorney A. S. Gaylord. Otsego Lake was the first county seat until 1876 when Gaylord became the county seat.
Otsego County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer and a clerk (executive). It has 9 Commissioners (legislative.) Two Circuit Court Judges serve Otsego, Crawford, and Kalkaska counties and One District Court Judge, One Probate Court Judge and court clerk serve Otsego County (judicial.) Otsego County is in the northern part of the southern peninsula. The county center is 5.7 miles North-Northeast of Gaylord nearer Vanderbilt. The county is surrounded clockwise by Cheboygan, Montmorency, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Antrim, and Charlevoix counties.
The area of the county is 526 square miles. It is 79 out of 83 in the state. It ranks 57 out of 83 in population in the state. It has a density of 47.7 persons per square mile making it 43 out of 83 in the state. Otsego County has 19.1% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 75 goes north to south in the county from Cheboygan County to Crawford County. The county is a rectangle with the northwest corner cut out. Gaylord is in the western quarter of the county. Gaylord is county seat and the largest city. It is 17.1% of the county population. The county is pronounced OT-SEE-GOE.
Gaylord
Vanderbilt
