Editing Benzie County, Michigan (section)

== History ==
Today's Benzie County was originally part of [[Leelanau County, Michigan|Leelanau County]]. Leelanau County was separated from [[Mackinac County, Michigan|Michilimackinac County]] in 1840, and was attached to [[Grand Traverse County, Michigan|Grand Traverse County]].<ref name="clarke2">{{cite web |title=Bibliography on Leelanau County |url=https://www.cmich.edu/library/clarke/AccessMaterials/Bibliographies/MichiganLocalHistory/Pages/leelanau.aspx |access-date=January 19, 2013 |publisher=[[Clarke Historical Library]], [[Central Michigan University]]}}</ref> In 1863, The northern section of Leelanau County was organized, and the southern section, now named Benzie County, was left attached to Grand Traverse County.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Benzie County, Michigan History |url=http://genealogytrails.com/mich/benzie/history.html |access-date=November 14, 2022 |website=genealogytrails.com}}</ref> Benzie County was organized in its own right in 1869.<ref name="Clarke" /><ref name=":0" />

=== Etymology ===
The name "Benzie" is derived from the French ''{{lang|fr|la rivière aux Bec-scies}}'', "the river of [[sawbill]]s", ''bec-scie'' ("bill-saw") being a type of ducks. Americans altered the pronunciation of the river's name, which became known as the "[[Betsie River]]". A similar alteration in pronunciation produced "Benzie".<ref name="Clarke" />