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County: Benzie (10)
Benzie County, Michigan was formed in 1869 from a portion of Grand Traverse County. The county's name comes from the French phrase "la rivière aux Bec-scies", which means "the river of sawmills". The name refers to the Betsie River, where many of the county's earliest logging operations took place.
The first settler in Benzie County was Joseph Oliver, a Pennsylvanian trapper and trader. He built a log hut at the mouth of the Betsie River.
Created from: Leelanau County (1863)
Boundary finalized: 1869
Hundred Year Population Change: 1900 = 9,685 | 2000 = 15,998
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27 Feb 1863 - BENZIE created from LEELANAU; BENZIE not fully organized, attached to GRAND TRAVERSE "for civil and municipal purposes." (Mich. Acts 1863, reg. sess., no. 48, secs. 1, 7/pp. 56, 58)
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30 Mar 1869 - BENZIE fully organized, detached from GRAND TRAVERSE. (Mich. Acts 1869, reg. sess., no. 385, sec. 1/p. 1083)
Source: [NL]
Bibliography
The following sources are utilized in this website. [SOURCE-YEAR-MMDD-PG]:
- [AAB| = All Aboard!, by Willis Dunbar, Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids ©1969.
- [AAN] = Alpena Argus newspaper.
- [AARQJ] = American Association of Railroads Quiz Jr. pamphlet. © 1956
- [AATHA] = Ann Arbor Railroad Technical and Historical Association newsletter "The Double A"
- [AB] = Information provided at Michigan History Conference from Andrew Bailey, Port Huron, MI
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