County: Alcona

Created from: Name change from Negwegon. Attached to Mackinac County (1840)

Land Transferred from: Michigan Territory Non-County Area 2

Land Transferred to: 

Boundary Finalized: 1881

Locally organized in 1869.

Population: 1900 - 5,691 |  2000 - 11,719

Alcona County was created in 1840, originally called Negwegon County after a Chippewa chief. It was renamed in 1843. It was initially attached to Mackinac County for revenue, taxation and judicial matters, then switched to Cheboygan County in 1853, Alpena County in 1857, Iosco County in 1958 and back to Alpena County in 1859. Local county government was organized in 1869.

Notes

Alcona County was served by the Detroit & Mackinac railway and predessors. It was also home to numerous logging railroads.

The county has one city (Harrisville, the county seat) and one village (Lincoln. It has eleven townships.

Time Line

• 1840. Negwegon (now Alcona) created from Non-County Area 2 attached to Saginaw; Negwegon not fully organized, attached to Michilimackinac (now Mackinac) "for judicial purposes." (Mich. Acts 1840, ann. sess., no. 119, secs. 15, 35/pp. 198, 200)
• 1843. Negwegon renamed Alcona. (Mich. Acts 1843, ann. sess., no. 67/p. 145)
• 1853. Alcona detached from Mackinac, attached to Cheboygan "for judicial and municipal purposes." (Mich. Acts 1853, reg. sess., no. 20/p. 19)
• 1857. Alcona detached from Cheboygan, attached to Alpena "for judicial and municipal purposes." (Mich. Acts 1857, reg. sess., no. 65/p. 162)
• 1858. Alcona detached from Alpena, attached to IOSCO "for judicial and municipal purposes." (Mich. Acts 1858, ext. sess., no. 5, sec. 1/p. 15)
• 1869. Alcona fully organized, detached from Iosco; Oscoda detached from Iosco, attached to Alcona "for judicial and other purposes." (Mich. Acts 1869, reg. sess., no. 266, secs. 1, 5/pp. 336-337)
• 1881. Oscoda fully organized, detached from Alcona. (Mich. Acts 1881, reg. sess., pub., no. 19/p. 16)

Source: [NL]