Curran ( ) 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 Alcona County 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 Mitchell Township. As an unincorporated community, Curran has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own but does have its own post office with the 48728 ZIP Code.

Geography

Curran is centered along the

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

of M-65 and M-72, which is referred to locally as North Curran Road. The community is 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 Mitchell Township in western Alcona County, which is about northwest of the community of Oscoda. Curran sits at an elevation of above sea level. Little Wolf Creek and Yoder Creek run through the center of the community. Curran is also surrounded by the

Huron National Forest The Huron National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It was established in 1909 after the logging era began to decline. In 1945, it was administratively combined with the Manistee Nati ...

. Curran is served by Fairview Area School District, which is mostly to the west 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 ...

. The eastern portion of the community may be served by

Alcona Community Schools Alcona Community Schools is a school district headquartered in Gustin Township, Michigan, United States. The district has about 700 students and its service area has about of land in Alcona County. In 2000 the district was experimenting wit ...

. The township hall is located within Curran at 6849 West Tower Road. The current post office building is located at 2071 North Curran Road. Curran uses its own post office with the 48728 ZIP Code, which covers most of the sparsely populated areas of western Alcona County. It serves most of Mitchell Township, as well as small portions of Alcona Township, Caledonia Township, and Millen Township to the east. The Curran post office also serves small portions of Comins Township and Clinton Township to the west in Oscoda County, as well as a very small portion of Ossineke Township to the north in

Alpena County Alpena County ( ') is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,907. The county seat is Alpena. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan. Alpena County comprises the Alpena, MI Micropolitan ...

. Other nearby communities include Fairview and Mio to the west,

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 ...

to the southwest, Comins to the northwest, and Barton City and Hubbard Lake to the east.

History

Curran was first settled by Phillip Curran, who built a lumber camp in the area in 1875. More settlers arrived around 1886. In 1890, the Loud & Sons Lumber Company, managed by George Loud, built 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 ...

through the area. The community received its first post office on April 28, 1890 with Edward Cunning as the first postmaster. In the same year, it was discontinued on September 30 but quickly reestablished on October 10 with John Fullerton assuming postmaster duties. Mitchell Township, where Curran is located, was also formally organized in 1890. By 1919, the community had grown to a population of around 150. Curran maintained his logging business until all of the white pines were depleted by the 1920s.

Black Bear Capital of Michigan

Curran is referred to as the "Black Bear Capital of Michigan" due to the abundance of

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), or simply black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear which is Endemism, endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. It is an omnivore, with ...

s in the area, and the title is also extended to Mitchell Township as a whole. The State of Michigan gave the town the designation in 2005 when Governor Grandholm visited the local diner where the town limits begin. The title is also used by the unincorporated community of Strongs in Chippewa Township in the state's

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—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 b ...

. Curran hosts the annual Black Bear Festival every September. The event was founded in 2005 and features a car show, craft show, music, and vendors. The 2020 Black Bear Festival was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan The first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the American state of Michigan were discovered on March 10, 2020, one day before the outbreak of the disease was officially declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. As of December 20, ...

, and the event was also canceled in 2021. The Black Bear Festival resumed in 2022 and continues annually.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Alcona County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan Populated places established in 1875 1875 establishments in Michigan