Tuscola County, Michigan

Tuscola County, Michigan
Tuscola County Courthouse in Caro
Location in the U.S. state of Michigan
Michigan's location in the U.S.
Founded	April 1, 1840 organized March 2, 1850
Seat	Caro
Largest city	Caro
Area
• Total	914 sq mi (2,367 km2)
• Land	803 sq mi (2,080 km2)
• Water	111 sq mi (287 km2), 12
Population
• (2010)	55,729
• Density	69/sq mi (27/km²)
Congressional districts	5th, 10th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.tuscolacounty.org

Coordinates: 43°28′N 83°27′W / 43.467°N 83.450°W / 43.467; -83.450

Tuscola County is a county located in the Thumb region of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,729. The county seat is Caro. The county was created by Michigan Law on April 1, 1840, from land in Sanilac County and attached to Saginaw County for administrative purposes. The Michigan Legislature passed an act on March 2, 1850, that empowered the county residents to organize governmental functions.

Tuscola County is one of five counties that are in the Thumb area. Like the rest of the thumb, Tuscola County enjoys seasonal tourism from larger cities like Flint, Detroit and Saginaw.

The name Tuscola was a Neologism created by Henry Schoolcraft. One scholar believes it to be a combination of "dusinagon" (level) and "cola" (lands).

The Chippewa/Ottawa word "dusinagon", or "tessi-nagan", actually, means flat dish or plate. The early Chippewa/Ottawa often used a shell or bark from a tree for a dish or plate. Shell in their language was "essi", which may be the root of Tuscola. The Thumb of Michigan, which includes Tuscola, Huron, and Sanilac Counties, was in the 17th century called Skenchioe, which may be related to the Onondaga word "uschwuntschios", which means plain or flat. It was said that Skenchioe, the early home of the Fox People, meant red fox. The French in the early 18th century called the Thumb of Michigan Le Pays Plat, which means The Flat Country. This name was continued by the English in the late 18th century in the name—Flat Country. The Chippewa/Ottawa word "tessi-" is used to make the words for shelf, platform, bench, and plate. The phrase "tessi-aki" may have been used by Algonquin speaking people to mean the entire Thumb of Michigan and meant level land. During the Saginaw Treaty of 1819, the Native chief of Tuscola was Chief Otusson. His name was said to mean "bench in the lodge or platform". The Thumb of Michigan forms a tableland with knolls or hillocks located in the interior part along the Cass River. The county seat of Tuscola is Caro, which is located along one of these large knolls. Caro was called by Native People High Bank. The land around Caro particularly to the north and east is cultivated and widely farmed. Caro is located in Indianfields Township, which was given its name for its plentiful Indian gardens.