Sanilac County, Michigan
| Sanilac County, Michigan | ||
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 Location in the state of Michigan |
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 Michigan's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | September 10, 1822 | |
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| Seat | Sandusky | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
1,590.22 sq mi (4,119 km²) 963.80 sq mi (2,496 km²) 626.42 sq mi (1,622 km²), 39.39% |
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| Population - (2000) - Density |
44,547 47/sq mi (18/km²) |
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| Website | www.sanilaccounty.net | |
Sanilac County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 44,547 with a projection of 42,064 in 2009. The county seat is Sandusky[1]. The county, which is part of the Thumb region, was created on September 10, 1822, and was fully organized on December 31, 1849.
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[edit] Geography
- According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,590.22 square miles (4,118.7 km2), of which 963.80 square miles (2,496.2 km2) (or 60.61%) is land and 626.42 square miles (1,622.4 km2) (or 39.39%) is water.[2] As mentioned above, Sanilac County is one of five counties that forms the Thumb area. Sanilac County enjoys seasonable tourism in towns such as Lexington, Port Sanilac, and Carsonville. Sanilac County is economically attached to St. Clair County and Huron County and has very fertile, flat land.
- It is considered to be part of the Thumb of Michigan, which in turn is a subregion of the Flint/Tri-Cities.
- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is the controlling regional body for the Catholic Church.[3]
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Huron County (north)
- Tuscola County (west)
- St. Clair County (south)
- Lapeer County (southwest)
- Huron County, Ontario, Canada (east)
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Huron County | |
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| Tuscola County |  |
Lake Huron | ||
 Sanilac County, Michigan  |
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| Lapeer County | St. Clair County |
[edit] Highways
[edit] History
Sanilac County was probably named for a Wyandot (Huron) chief named Sanilac.[4] See List of Michigan county name etymologies.
In the middle of the 19th century, the area now called Port Sanilac was called Bark Shanty. It was named for a lone shanty made of bark, which was used to make shingles from pine. The Algonquin word "zngwak" means pine. Sanilac County was named for Chief Sanilac, who was Wyandotte. The county seat of Sanilac is the city of Sandusky.
[edit] Demographics
The 2010 United States Census[5] indicates Sanilac County had a 2010 population of 43,114. This is a decrease of -1,433 people from the 2000 United States Census. Overall, the county had a -3.2% growth rate during this ten year period. In 2010 there were 17,132 households and 11,885 families in the county. The population density was 44.8 per square mile (17.3 square kilometers). There were 22,725 housing units at an average density of 23.6 per square mile (9.1 square kilometers). The racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 94.8% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races.
There were 17,132 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were husband and wife families, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.6% were non-families, and 26.4% were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.6% under age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.
The 2010 American Community Survey 3-year estimate[5] indicates the median income for a household in the county was $39,138 and the median income for a family was $47,885. Males had a median income of $27,440 versus $16,509 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,671. About 1.5% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.3% of those under the age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Media
Sanilac/GB Broadcasting operates three radio stations in Sanilac County. The county is served weekly by the Sanilac County News of Sandusky and other small newspapers. Also daily deliveries of the Port Huron Times Herald are available in Sanilac County.
[edit] Government
The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only 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.
[edit] Sanilac County elected officials
- Prosecuting Attorney: James V. Young
- Sheriff: Garry Biniecki
- County Clerk: Linda Kozfkay
- County Treasurer: Kathy Dorman
- Register of Deeds: Michele VanNorman
- Drain Commissioner: Gregory L Alexander
- Circuit Court Judge: Hon. Donald A. Teeple
- Probate Court Judge: Hon. R.T. "Terry" Maltby
- District Court Judge: Hon. Gregory S Ross
[edit] Cities, villages, and townships
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Cities |
Villages |
Townships
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Unincorporated |
communities |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ^ Saginaw County Diocese home page,
- ^ Michigan government on origin of county names
- ^ a b "American Factfinder". United States Census Bureau accessdate=March 11, 2012. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.
[edit] Further reading
[edit] External links
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