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Comins is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Oscoda County Oscoda County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,219, making it the least populous county in the Lower Peninsula, and the sixth-least populous county in the entire state. The county seat ...
in the U.S. state of
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. The community is located within Clinton Township. As an unincorporated community, Comins has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own but does have its own post office with the 48619 ZIP Code.


Geography

Comins is centered along M-33, which is referred to locally as North Abbe Road. The community is located in
Northern Michigan Northern Michigan (also known as Northern Lower Michigan and colloquially within Michigan as "Up North") is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. The region, which is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsul ...
within Clinton Township. It is in northeastern Oscoda County about northwest of the community of Oscoda. The community sits at an elevation of above sea level. Marsh Creek runs near the center of the community, which is also part of Comins Marsh. Comins is not actually located within Comins Township, which is located just south of the center of the community. Many other geographic locations have the name Comins, including a cemetery, stream, and flats, but these are located outside of the community in Comins Township to the south. Comins uses its own post office with the 48619 ZIP Code, which serves most of the sparsely populated areas of Clinton Township, smaller portions of northern Comins Township and eastern Elmer Township, as well as the southernmost portions of Loud Township and Rust Township to the north in
Montmorency County Montmorency County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,153, making it the second-least populous county in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, behind its southern neighbor, Oscoda County. ...
. The current post office is located at 4240 North Abbe Road ( M-33). Comins and the surrounding area are served by Fairview Area School District in the community of Fairview to the south in Comins Township. The district serves all of Clinton Township and Comins Township, as well as the northern half of Elmer Township to the west. Other nearby communities include Fairview and Mio to the south, Curran to the southeast, and Lewiston to the northwest.


History

The area was first settled by logger Coolidge Comins, who moved to the area from
Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...
in 1873. At the time, the area was part of Alcona County to the east. Oscoda County itself was not established until 1881. A
narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter cur ...
was constructed by the H.M. Loud & Sons Lumber Company through the community in the 1890s. The line was operated by Au Sable & North Western Railroad, and the Comins Station had the advantage of being the last station along its route. The railroad allowed for easy transport of lumber to the community of Oscoda on the coast of
Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...
. Comins quickly grew to become the lumbering hub of Oscoda County. Comins also benefited from the folding of the nearby community of
McKinley McKinley may refer to: People *McKinley (name), a page for people with the surname and given name "McKinley" **William McKinley, 25th president of the United States. Places Philippines * Fort William McKinley (now Fort Bonifacio) in Metro Ma ...
, which suffered a series of devastating fires by 1900. Most of its railroad and lumber services moved to Comins, and the McKinley railroad depot building was also physically moved to Comins. Comins received its first post office in 1881. It was discontinued soon after on January 16, 1882, but then reestablished again November 15, 1900. It was again discontinued on February 28, 1913. The post office was ultimately reestablished on March 11, 1914, and it remains in operation. The line was eventually sold to the
Detroit and Mackinac Railway The Detroit and Mackinac Railway , informally known as the "Turtle Line", was a railroad in the northeastern part of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The railroad had its main offices and shops in Tawas City, Michigan, Tawas Cit ...
, which expanded it to a
standard-gauge railway A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
in 1912. Comins grew to include several stores, post office, railroad depot, and a lumber warehouse. Livestock were also shipped from the depot. The community had a population of 35 in 1917. Designated in 1919, M-33 is a
state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
that runs south–north directly through the community. When the lumber sources were depleted, the railway was no longer profitable and discontinued in 1928. The train station and the railway line were eventually removed entirely.


Recent history

In 1985, a Grand Trunk model
caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting; as well as in keeping a lookout for load ...
was donated to Comins from its previous owners in
Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...
. Its intent was to serve as a relic and exhibit of the community's earlier railroad days. Although the service history of the caboose is unknown, it was repainted solid red in the style of a Detroit and Mackinac Railway caboose. It was placed by dual cranes on a small set of railroad tracks. The caboose is located along M-33 across the street from the township hall and currently operates as a museum known colloquially as the Comins Old Red Caboose. An F2 tornado struck the community of Comins in the evening on July 3, 1999. The tornado appeared quickly and cut a devastating path through the community, completely destroying a church, the township hall, post office, and fire department. Several businesses and homes were also destroyed or heavily damaged. Reportedly, the only undisturbed building was the historic caboose museum. Many buildings were not rebuilt, which left some noticeably empty plots in the center of the community. The Clinton Township Hall, which is located in Comins, was rebuilt. It is located at 4245 North Abbe Road right next door to the post office.    In 1995, Comins became the location of the
Kirtland's warbler Kirtland's warbler (''Setophaga kirtlandii''), also known in Michigan by the common name jack pine bird, or the jack pine warbler, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family (biology), family (Parulidae). Nearly Extinction, extinct just ...
chapter of the Michigan
Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...
.


References

{{Oscoda County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Oscoda County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan Populated places established in 1873 1873 establishments in Michigan