Presque Isle County, Michigan
| Presque Isle County, Michigan | ||
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 Location in the U.S. state of Michigan |
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 Michigan's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1840 (created) 1875 (reorganized) |
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| Seat | Rogers City | |
| Largest city | Rogers City | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 2,573 sq mi (6,664 km2) | |
| • Land | 659 sq mi (1,707 km2) | |
| • Water | 1,914 sq mi (4,957 km2), 74% | |
| Population | ||
| • (2010) | 13,376 | |
| • Density | 20/sq mi (8/km²) | |
| Congressional district | [[Michigan's 1st (US Senate) 37th (State Senate) 106th (State HR) congressional district|1st (US Senate) 37th (State Senate) 106th (State HR)]] |
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| Time zone | Eastern | |
| Website | www |
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Presque Isle County is a county located in the Lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,376. The county seat is Rogers City. The county was set off on April 1, 1840 and a county government was first organized in 1871. The government was re-organized in 1875
Both the county and Presque Isle Township are named for Presque Isle (French, "almost an island"; the term for a narrow peninsula). A large part of the township consists of that peninsula, with Lake Huron on the east and Grand Lake on the west and narrow strips of land connecting it to the mainland at the north and south ends. The community of Presque Isle is situated near the center of this peninsula.
Early Native Americans living in the area were nomadic, using the land as hunting grounds. To them the land between the Ocqueoc and Swan Rivers was sacred ground. The name "Presque Isle" was given to the area by fur traders who portaged over the strip of land that attaches Presque Isle to the mainland.
Early development of the area was delayed because it had no navigable river. The Ocqueoc River was Presque Isle's largest river but it was shallow and crooked, with many rapids. In the spring of 1839 a surveying party, contracted by the state of Michigan, reported that the land of this area was worthless. This further discouraged development until the 1860s when the Crawford family settled into a quiet cove of Lake Huron, south of present-day Rogers City. They intended to develop a stone quarry, but found the stone too flaky to be used as building material. Turning to lumbering, they sold the wood to steamers traveling the Great Lakes.
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