Editing Ontonagon County, Michigan (section)

== History ==
In 1843, Michigan's [[Upper Peninsula]] was divided into [[Mackinac County, Michigan|Mackinac]], [[Chippewa County, Michigan|Chippewa]], [[Marquette County, Michigan|Marquette]], [[Schoolcraft County, Michigan|Schoolcraft]], [[Delta County, Michigan|Delta]], and Ontonagon Counties. In 1845, a portion of Ontonagon County was partitioned to be part of [[Houghton County, Michigan|Houghton County]].<ref>Sawyer, p. 466</ref> In 1846, the village of Ontonagon was named as the county seat of Ontonagon County.<ref>Sawyer, pp. 498-9</ref>

Ontonagon County is part of [[Copper Country]], a region of the Upper Peninsula with prevalent [[Copper mining in Michigan|copper mining]] from 1845 until the late 1960s. Prehistoric mining was conducted by local [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] populations. The first attempts by Europeans to mine copper in the area came in 1771 in the [[Ontonagon River]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calumet |first=Mailing Address: 25970 Red Jacket Road |last2=Us |first2=MI 49913 Phone: 906 337-3168 Contact |title=Timeline of Michigan Copper Mining Prehistory to 1850 - Keweenaw National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/kewe/learn/historyculture/copper-mining-timeline.htm |access-date=October 4, 2023 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> The Ontonagan Copper Boulder was removed from the west branch of the Ontonagon River and transported in 1842 to Detroit where it was weighed at 3708 pounds, thence to the Smithsonian Institution.<ref name=Andreas1883>[http://genealogytrails.com/mich/ontonagon/history1.html History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan – Ontonagon]. Chicago: The Western Historical Company. A. T. Andreas, Proprietor 1883. Transcribed by Debi Hanes. Accessed via genealogytrails.com November 12, 2023.</ref> The last copper mine in Copper Country was the [[White Pine mine]], which closed in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calumet |first=Mailing Address: 25970 Red Jacket Road |last2=Us |first2=MI 49913 Phone: 906 337-3168 Contact |title=Timeline of Michigan Copper Mining 1951 to Present - Keweenaw National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/kewe/learn/historyculture/copper-mining-timeline-page-4.htm |access-date=October 4, 2023 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref>

=== Etymology ===
The county is named after the [[Ontonagon River]]. The name is said to be loosely derived from an [[Ojibwe language]]  word ''noojitoon ziibi'', meaning "hunting river."<ref name="Clarke" /> A French transliteration, ''Nantounagon,'' identified the river on a 1670 French map. Alternatively, and perhaps more accurately, it is said to be derived from the [[Ojibwa]] ''onagon'', which means "dish" or "bowl."<ref>[http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-15481_20826_20829-54126--,00.html "Michigan Counties" from the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728130613/http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-15481_20826_20829-54126--,00.html|date=July 28, 2009}}</ref><ref name=Andreas1883 /> ''See'' [[List of Michigan county name etymologies]].