Editing Grand Traverse County, Michigan (section)

== History ==
{{See also|History of Northern Michigan}}Prior to European settlement, Grand Traverse County was part of territory under the [[Council of Three Fires]] (comprising the [[Ojibwe]], [[Odawa]], and [[Potawatomi]]). These people called the area at the head of [[Grand Traverse Bay]] '''''{{lang|oj|gichi-wiikwedoongsing}}''''' ([[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]]: 'place at the head of the great bay').

As a duty of the federal government under the [[Treaty of Washington (1836)|1836 Treaty of Washington]], the first permanent settlement in the county was the mission now known as [[Old Mission, Michigan|Old Mission]], established in May 1839 as "Grand Traverse".<ref name=":0" /> Grand Traverse Bay, from which the area takes its name, earned its name from 18th-century French [[voyageurs]] who made ''{{lang|fr|la grande traversée}}'', or "the long crossing", across the mouth of bay.<ref name="clarke">{{cite web |title=Bibliography on Grand Traverse County |url=https://www.cmich.edu/library/clarke/AccessMaterials/Bibliographies/MichiganLocalHistory/Pages/grandtraverse.aspx |access-date=January 19, 2013 |publisher=[[Clarke Historical Library]], Central Michigan University}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Gannett |first=Henry |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ |title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=1905 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n140 141]}}</ref>

The [[Michigan Legislature]] separated the unorganized '''Omeena County''' from part of [[Mackinac County, Michigan|Michilimackinac County]] in 1840.<ref name="dawson" /> Omeena is derived from an [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]] expression, ''{{lang|oj|o-me-nah}}'', meaning "is it so?"<ref name="gt" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Romig |first=Walter |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |year=1986 |isbn=0-8143-1837-1 |location=Detroit |page=415}}</ref>

On April 7, 1851, an act of legislature organized Omeena County, effectively renaming it '''Grand Traverse County'''. The [[County seat|seat of government]] was designated to Boardman's Mills, a location in the young [[Traverse City, Michigan|Traverse City]]. The future counties of [[Antrim County, Michigan|Antrim]], [[Benzie County, Michigan|Benzie]], [[Kalkaska County, Michigan|Kalkaska]], [[Leelanau County, Michigan|Leelanau]], [[Manistee County, Michigan|Manistee]], [[Missaukee County, Michigan|Missaukee]], and [[Wexford County, Michigan|Wexford]] were subsequently attached to Grand Traverse County for administrative purposes, until being organized in their own rights.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History in Grand Traverse County, Michigan |url=http://genealogytrails.com/mich/grandtraverse/history_county8.html |access-date=January 21, 2023 |website=genealogytrails.com}}</ref> However, the act contained no provisions on formation of [[Civil township|townships]] or choosing of [[election official]]s, thus Grand Traverse County had no legal government until 1858. That winter, an act of the state legislature completed the organization of Grand Traverse County and divided the county between two initial townships:<ref name="gt" />
*[[Peninsula Township, Michigan|Peninsula Township]], comprising the Old Mission Peninsula, and
*[[Garfield Township, Grand Traverse County, Michigan|Traverse Township]], which encompassed the rest of the county.

Today, Grand Traverse County contains thirteen townships.

An 1884 article called the Traverse Region famous for "its productiveness of soil, salubrious climate and romantic scenery".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kalkaska County MI - Genealogy & History |url=http://genealogytrails.com/mich/kalkaska/ |access-date=January 21, 2023 |website=genealogytrails.com}}</ref>

===Historical markers===
There are 12 recognized Michigan historical markers in the county:<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.michmarkers.com/Frameset.htm |title = Michigan Historical Markers |work = michmarkers.com |access-date = January 9, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180412064547/http://www.michmarkers.com/Frameset.htm |archive-date = April 12, 2018 |url-status = usurped }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Michigan Historical Markers |url=https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/HistoricalMarkers/ |access-date=January 13, 2023 |website=www2.dnr.state.mi.us}}</ref>  They are:
{{div col}}
* [[City Opera House (Traverse City, Michigan)|City Opera House]]
* Congregation Beth El
* [[Dougherty Mission House]]
* [[Fife Lake–Union District No. 1 Schoolhouse]]
* Friends Meetinghouse
* [[Grand Traverse Bay]]
* Hannah and Lay Mercantile Building
* [[Mission Point Light|Hesler Log House]]
* [[Interlochen, Michigan|Interlochen]]
* Ladies Library Association
* Novotny's Saloon<ref>{{cite web |url = http://archives.record-eagle.com/2006/feb/02dills.htm |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120712013630/http://archives.record-eagle.com/2006/feb/02dills.htm |url-status = dead |archive-date = July 12, 2012 |title = Old restaurant may take on new owners |newspaper = [[Traverse City Record-Eagle]] }}</ref>
* [[Traverse City State Hospital|Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital]]{{div col end}}