Washtenaw County, Michigan

Washtenaw County, Michigan
Washtenaw County Courthouse
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Michigan
Michigan's location in the U.S.
Founded	1822 (created) 1826 (organized)
Seat	Ann Arbor
Largest city	Ann Arbor
Area
• Total	722 sq mi (1,870 km2)
• Land	706 sq mi (1,829 km2)
• Water	16 sq mi (41 km2), 2.3%
Population
• (2010)	344,791
• Density	488/sq mi (188/km²)
Congressional districts	7th, 12th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.ewashtenaw.org

Washtenaw County /ˈwɒʃtᵻnɔː/ is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 344,791. The county seat is Ann Arbor. The county was founded in 1822 and organized as a county in 1826.

Washtenaw County comprises the Ann Arbor, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI Combined Statistical Area.

The county is home to the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Washtenaw Community College, and Concordia University Ann Arbor.

The earliest histories mention trade conducted in the area at the Potawatomi Trail and Pontiac Trail crossings of the Huron River by French traders, and later English then American settlers. The first successful settlement was established at the present site of Ypsilanti about 1809 by French traders.

In 1822, the Legislative Council of the Michigan Territory government defined the name and boundaries of the county; however, it was at first administered as a part of Wayne County. The word: Washtenaw is a variant of the Ojibwe word: "Wash-ten-ong," meaning what is now called the "Grand River". At the time of the official naming of the county in 1822, the headwaters of the Grand River fell within the original boundaries of Washtenaw County, which encompassed a much larger area than the current area of the county. In the Ojibwe language, the word "Wash-ten-ong" literally translates as "far away waters", and was then used by the Ojibwe as the name for the Grand River due to the great length of that river. Accordingly, most literally, the definition of the word "Washtenaw" could be said to mean, "far away waters".