Ogemaw County, Michigan

Ogemaw County ( ') is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,770. The county seat is West Branch. The county newspaper of record is the Ogemaw Herald.

History

Ogemaw County started as part of the Virginia Land owned by England. After the Revolutionary War, it broke up into smaller and smaller pieces. The county was originally created by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 from unorganized territory, but was absorbed into Iosco County in 1867. It was re-created in 1873, and was finally organized in 1875. The county's name is an Anglicization of the Anishinaabemowin word ogimaa, meaning "chief".

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water. Ogemaw County is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Highways

– Runs SE across the southwest part of the county; passes south of West Branch.
– Enters from Gladwin County at east of the SW corner of Ogemaw County; runs north and NE to intersection with M-55 near West Branch.
– Runs north–south through the middle of county; passes Rose City.
– Runs east–west across the lower part of county; enters from Iosco County at north of SE corner of Ogemaw County; runs west to intersection with I-75, west of West Branch.

Adjacent counties

Oscoda County - north
Alcona County - northeast
Iosco County - east
Arenac County - southeast
Gladwin County - southwest
Roscommon County - west
Crawford County - northwest

National protected area

Huron National Forest (part)

State protected area

Au Sable State Forest (part)
Rifle River State Recreation Area

Communities

thumb|right|380px|[[United States Census|U.S. Census data map showing local municipal boundaries within Ogemaw County. Shaded areas represent incorporated cities.]]

Cities

Rose City
West Branch (county seat)

Village

Prescott

Civil townships

Churchill Township
Cumming Township
Edwards Township
Foster Township
Goodar Township
Hill Township
Horton Township
Klacking Township
Logan Township
Mills Township
Ogemaw Township
Richland Township
Rose Township
West Branch Township

Census-designated places

Lupton
Skidway Lake

Other unincorporated communities

Camp Lu Lay Lea
Campbells Corners
Damon
Edwards
Elbow Lake
Fayettes Corner
Goodar
Greenwood
Ogemaw Springs
Selkirk
Shady Shores
South Branch

Demographics

thumb|2020 population density of Ogemaw County MI by census block

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Ogemaw County, Michigan – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|16,288

|18,405

|20,906

|20,865

|style='background: #ffffe6; |19,268

|99.10%

|98.52%

|96.59%

|96.16%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |92.77%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|18

|28

|37

|style='background: #ffffe6; |59

|0.05%

|0.10%

|0.13%

|0.17%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.28%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|63

|134

|121

|147

|style='background: #ffffe6; |108

|0.38%

|0.72%

|0.56%

|0.68%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.52%

|Asian alone (NH)

|16

|17

|81

|76

|style='background: #ffffe6; |57

|0.10%

|0.09%

|0.37%

|0.35%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.27%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.04%

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |58

|0.04%

|0.02%

|0.01%

|0.04%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.28%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|247

|251

|style='background: #ffffe6; |775

|1.14%

|1.16%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.73%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|53

|104

|252

|309

|style='background: #ffffe6; |437

|0.32%

|0.56%

|1.16%

|1.42%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.10%

|Total

|16,436

|18,681

|21,645

|21,699

|style='background: #ffffe6; |20,770

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 20,770. The median age was 50.6 years. 18.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 26.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.4 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 93.9% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.6% from some other race, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.1% of the population.

<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 9,207 households in the county, of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.6% were married-couple households, 22.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. there were 21,645 people, 8,842 households, and 6,189 families residing in the county.

Government

For many years, Ogemaw County has been reliably Republican. Since 1884, the Republican Party nominee has carried the county vote in 75% of the national presidential elections (27 of 36).

Ogemaw County operates the County jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget and has limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions – police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance etc. – are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Elected officials

Prosecuting Attorney – LaDonna A. Schultz
Sheriff – Brian D. Gilbert
County Clerk – Breck Gildner
County Treasurer – Caren Piglowski
Register of Deeds – Denise Simmons
Drain Commissioner – Michael DeMatio
Commissioner Dist. 1 – Craig Scott
Commissioner Dist. 2 – Mark Surbrook
Commissioner Dist. 3 – Ronald Vaughn
Commissioner Dist. 4 – Brad Neubecker
Commissioner Dist. 5 – Jenny David

(information as of February 2021)

References

External links

Ogemaw County Website
Ogemaw County Herald - local newspaper