Baraga County ( ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 8,158, making it Michigan's fifth-least populous county. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is L'Anse. The county is named after Bishop Frederic Baraga, a Catholic missionary who ministered to the Ojibwa Indians in the Michigan Territory. The

L'Anse Indian Reservation The L'Anse Indian Reservation is the land base of the federally recognized Keweenaw Bay Indian Community ( oj, Gakiiwe’onaning) of the historic Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians. (The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community was defined in 1934 by ...

of the Ojibwa is within Baraga County.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (16%) is water. The county is located in the state's Upper Peninsula on the shore of

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

, at the southeast base of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The villages of Baraga and L'Anse are located at the base of Lake Superior's Keweenaw Bay. Point Abbaye projects north into the lake, enclosing

Huron Bay Huron Bay is a long, narrow fjord long, located in Baraga County, Michigan, on the northern shore of the Upper Peninsula of the State of Michigan. The bay, oriented in a northeast-southwest direction, is bounded by the Huron Mountains on its ea ...

. The eastern two-thirds of the county includes much of the

Huron Mountains The Huron Mountains are located in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, mostly in Marquette and Baraga counties, overlooking Lake Superior. Their highest peak is Mount Arvon which, at above sea level, is the highest point in the s ...

, including Mount Arvon—the highest natural point in Michigan at 1,979 feet (603 m).

Major highways

* – runs north–south through the upper central part of county. The highway enters at the northeast corner of the county on the west shore of Keeweenaw Bay and runs south along the shoreline to Baraga and L'Anse, then turns inland (south) past Alberta, then east through Nestoria and Three Lakes. It exits into Marquette County at Imperial Heights. * – runs south from its intersection with US-41 south of Alberta into Iron County. * – enters the west side of the county then runs east and east-northeast to the intersection with US-141 at Covington. * – runs east–west through the northwest corner of county. It enters from Alston in Houghton County, then runs east to intersection with US-41 at Baraga.

Adjacent counties

* Marquette County (east) * Iron County (south) * Houghton County (west)

National protected areas

Keweenaw National Historical Park Keweenaw National Historical Park is a unit of the U.S. National Park Service. Established in 1992, the park celebrates the life and history of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2009, it is a pa ...

(part) *

Ottawa National Forest The Ottawa National Forest is a national forest that covers in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It includes much of Gogebic and Ontonagon counties, as well as slices of Iron, Houghton, Baraga, and Marquette counties. The ...

(part)

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

indicates Baraga County had a population of 8,860. This increase of 114 people from the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

. is a 1.3% population growth. In 2010 there were 3,444 households and 2,209 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 10 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 5,270 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). 75.0% of the population was

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 13.1% Native American, 7.2% Black or African American, 0.1%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.2% of some other race and 4.4% of two or more races. 1.0% were

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...

(of any race). 22.5% were of

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

, 9.1%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 8.8% French, French Canadian or

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

, 5.6%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and 5.5%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

ancestry. There were 3,444 households, out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.82. The age distribution of the county population was the following: 20.2% were under the age of 18, 7% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.9 years. 54.9% of the population was male, 45.1% was female. The median income for a household in the county was $40,115, and the median income for a family was $50,996. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $19,076. About 9.5% of families and 13% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 19.2% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Baraga County has tended to support Republican candidates. Since 1884 its voters have selected the Republican Party nominee in 64% (22 of 35) of the national elections through 2020, and in all presidential elections since 2000. Baraga County operates the County jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records, administers

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget and has limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions – police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance etc. – are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Communities

Villages

* Baraga * L'Anse (county seat)

Census-designated place

* Zeba

Other unincorporated communities

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

* Arnheim * Arvon * Assinins (called Fewsville 1872–1894) * Aura * Bear Town * Beaufort Lake * Covington *

Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Min ...

* Imperial Heights * Keweenaw Bay * Laughs Lake * McComb Corner *

Nestoria Nestoria is a vertical search engine for real estate. In terms of users, Nestoria is the 5th largest property web site in the UK (February 2012 ) and the 9th in Spain ( comScore, May 2009 ). __TOC__ Overview Nestoria aggregates real estate ...

* Pelkie * Pequaming * Saint Cyr * Skanee * Summit * Three Lakes * Tioga *

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

* Vermilac * Watton

Townships

* Arvon Township * Baraga Township * Covington Township * L'Anse Township * Spurr Township

Indian reservations

* The

occupies two sections of Baraga County within portions of Baraga, L'Anse, and Arvon townships. The reservation also has very small portion in Chocolay Charter Township in neighboring Marquette County to the east.

References

External links

Baraga County Government website

Baraga County Profile, Sam M Cohodas Regional Economist, Tawni Hunt Ferrarini, Ph.D.

Western Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Region
{{Coord, 46.72, -88.34, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MI_source:UScensus1990 Michigan counties 1875 establishments in Michigan