Ossineke is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Alpena County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 932 at the 2020 census. The community is located within Sanborn Township, several miles south of Alpena on U.S. Highway 23.
The name is derived from the Anishinaabe word (either the Ojibwa or the Ottawa)
zhingaabe<u>wasiniigi</u>gaabawaad, meaning "Where the image stones stood", though the modern Anishinaabe name for the place is asiniike, meaning "to quarry".
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (0.27%) is water. Ossineke is part of Northern Michigan.
History
The image stones were thought to embody the spirit of Chief Shinggabaw, who promised to return there after death. After they were stolen by a rival tribe, the Great Spirit put them back and destroyed the raiding party. Later, a white fisherman stole them, using them to anchor fishing nets, and they are now somewhere in Lake Huron.
In 1973, the community was the site of the Great Michigan Pizza Funeral. The factory was located at 6050 Gull Road, Osineke, Michigan.
Demographics
As of the census
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox
A large statue of Paul Bunyan with a neutered Babe the Blue Ox is on site in downtown Ossineke, on US-23. This was accomplished after a "mega-move" from its original site in Spruce, Alcona County, Michigan.
Notes
See also
- Great Michigan Pizza Funeral