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County: Clare (18)
Created from: Mackinac County
Boundary finalized: 1840
Population: 1900 = 8,360 | 2000 = 31,252
Clare County, Michigan was created in 1840 from Mackinac County. The county was originally called Kaykakee County until it was renamed Clare County in 1843. The name Clare was chosen by an Irish surveyor after his native County Clare in Ireland.
The county was established during Michigan's lumbering era. The Lake George & Muskegon Railroad was the first successful logging railroad and helped revolutionize the logging industry.
In the 1870s, logging was a major industry in Clare County. Dozens of logging camps existed, and towns and villages sprang up around the camps and the railroads that served them.
The county was administered by other Michigan counties until 1871 when the county government was organized. The first county seat was Farwell, but in 1877 the county seat was moved to Harrison.
Clare County has a total area of 575 square miles. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 30,926. The only incorporated cities in the county are Clare and Harrison. [GGAI]
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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