Mason 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 ...

located 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 29,052. 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 Ludington. Mason County comprises the Ludington, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The county is named for Stevens T. Mason, Governor of Michigan from 1835 to 1840. It was created by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 as Notipekago County, then renamed Mason County in 1843. The county was administered by Ottawa County prior to the organization of county government in 1855. Mason County, does not have an official flag.

Geography

According to the

US 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 (60%) is water.

Major highways

* – runs east–west through central part of county. Runs from Ludington through Amber, Scottville, Custer, and Branch. * – enters Mason County at 2 miles (3.2 km) east of SW corner; runs north to intersect US-10 near Ludington. Runs concurrent with US-10 east for 5 miles (8 km), then runs north. Exits county at 4 miles (6.4 km) east of NW corner of county. * – runs NW from Ludington along shoreline of Lake Michigan to Ludington State Park. * is a business spur running east of Ludington. ''Mason County MI'' Google Maps (accessed 25 September 2018)
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U.S. Bicycle Routes

* enters Mason County from Pentwater; has a concurrency with USBR 20; proceeds north into

Manistee County Manistee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 25,032. The county seat is Manistee. The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county. Th ...

* begins (until near future) at SS ''Badger'' with US 10; has a concurrency with USBR 35; goes through Freesoil; proceeds east into Lake County; proceeds east for about 310 miles to Marine City

Adjacent counties

* Manistee County – north * Lake County – east * Newaygo County – southeast * Oceana County – south *

Sheboygan County, Wisconsin Sheboygan County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan. The county was created in 1836 and organized in 1846. At t ...

– southwest *

Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Manitowoc County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 81,359. Its county seat is Manitowoc. The county was created in 1836 prior to Wisconsin's statehood and organized in 1848. Manitowoc Count ...

– west

National protected area

Manistee National Forest The Manistee National Forest is a national forest located in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It has a total area of . It was established in 1938, and combined with the Huron National Forest in 1945 for administrative purposes, creating the Hur ...

(part)

Demographics

As of 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 ...

, of 2000, there were 28,274 people, 11,406 households, and 7,881 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 57 people per square mile (22/km²). There were 16,063 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.84%

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 ...

, 0.73%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.78% Native American, 0.28%

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 ...

, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.82% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.53% from two or more races. 3.01% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 24.5% were of

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 ...

, 10.4%

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

, 8.8%

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 ...

, 8.5%

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 ...

, 7.7%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and 5.0%

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

ancestry. 96.0% spoke

and 2.2%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

as their first language. There were 11,406 households, out of which 29.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.40% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92. The county population contained 24.20% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 25.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,704, and the median income for a family was $41,654. Males had a median income of $33,873 versus $22,616 for females. 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 $17,713. About 8.20% of families and 11.00% 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 16.50% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Mason County has usually voted Republican in national elections. Since 1884, the county's voters have selected the Republican Party nominee in 82% (28 of 35) of the national elections through 2020. Mason 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.

Elected officials

Prosecuting Attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

: Lauren Kreinbrink * Sheriff: Kim C. Cole * County Clerk: Cheryl Kelly * County Treasurer: Andrew Kmetz IV *

Register of Deeds Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over ...

: Diane L. Englebrecht * Drain Commissioner: Dan Rohde *

County Surveyor A county surveyor is a public official in the United Kingdom and the United States. United Kingdom Webb & Webb describe the increasing chaos that began to prevail within this same period in field of county surveying in England and Wales, with c ...

: Jim Nordlund * County Board of Commissioners by district: ** District 1: Nick Kreiger ** District 2: Gary Castonia ** District 3: Jody Hartley ** District 4: Lewis G. Squires ** District 5: Steven K. Hull ** District 6: Janet S. Anderson (Chair) ** District 7: Ron Bacon (information as of Jan 2021)

Communities

Cities

* Ludington (county seat) * Scottville

Villages

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

Free Soil The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into ...

Charter township

* Pere Marquette Charter Township

Civil townships

* Amber Township * Branch Township * Custer Township * Eden Township * Free Soil Township * Grant Township * Hamlin Township * Logan Township * Meade Township * Riverton Township * Sheridan Township * Sherman Township * Summit Township * Victory Township

Unincorporated communities

Branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...

(partially) * Chapple Corners * Fairview *

Fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

* Ferryville * Walhalla

Indian reservation

*The

Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Little River Band of Ottawa Indians ( oj, Gaaching-Ziibi Daawaa Anishinaabe) is a federally recognized Native American tribe of the Odawa people in the United States. It is based in Manistee and Mason counties in northwest Michigan. It was recog ...

, a federally recognized Odawa Native American tribe, occupies a small reservation of approximately within Custer Township. The tribe also occupy another reservation within Brown Township just north in

References

External links

Mason County Press

Mason County Website

Mason County History Companion

Mason County Michigan History and Directory

Mason County Memories
{{Coord, 44.02, -86.50, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MI_source:UScensus1990 Michigan counties 1855 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1855