Editing Wexford County, Michigan (section)

==History==
{{See also|History of Northern Michigan}}
[[Image:1842 Manistee Kawtawwabet Missaukee Mickenauk Ogemaw Kanotin Notipeskago Aishcum Unwattin Kaykakee Gladwin Arenac counties Michigan.jpg|thumb|A detail from ''[[:File:1842 A new map of Michigan with its canals roads distances by H.S. Tanner.jpg|A New Map of Michigan with its Canals, Roads & Distances]]'' (1842) by [[Henry Schenck Tanner]], showing Wexford County as "Kawtawwabet" (a misspelling of Kautawaubet, the county's name from 1840 to 1843.<ref name=Newberry/>) Several nearby counties are also shown with names that would later be changed.]]
The county was established by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 as '''Kautawaubet County''',<ref name=Newberry>{{cite web|url=http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/MI_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107012849/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/MI_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 7, 2012|title=Michigan: Individual County Chronologies|author=Newberry Library|author-link=Newberry Library|website=Atlas of County Historical Boundaries|access-date=November 4, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=George Dawson |date=1840 |title=Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan Passed at the Annual Session of 1840 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aDg4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA196 |location=Detroit |pages=196-200}}</ref> after a [[Potawatomi]] phrase meaning "broken tooth," and the name of a local [[Potawatomi]] chief. In 1843, legislators renamed the county Wexford,<ref name=Newberry/> after [[County Wexford]] in [[Ireland]].

In 1851, Wexford County was attached to [[Grand Traverse County, Michigan|Grand Traverse County]] for administrative purposes.<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> It was then attached to [[Manistee County, Michigan|Manistee County]] in 1855, before being organized on its own in 1869.<ref name="Clarke" />

=== County seat battle ===
The Wexford County seat of government, originally located in [[Sherman, Michigan|Sherman]], was moved to [[Manton, Michigan|Manton]] in 1881, as the result of a compromise between the feuding residents of Cadillac and Sherman. Cadillac partisans, however, won the county seat by a county-wide vote in April 1882.<ref name="factbook">Schindler, Kurt H. (2002) [http://35.8.121.133/wexford_county/factbook/pdfs/Chapter%20B2%20History.pdf Wexford County Factbook, ''History,''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204050843/http://35.8.121.133/wexford_county/factbook/pdfs/Chapter%20B2%20History.pdf|date=February 4, 2012}} Chapter B2. [http://www.msue.msu.edu/ MSU Extension]. Retrieved on January 5, 2008</ref> The day following the election, a sheriff's posse left the city for Manton by special train to seize the county records. After they arrived and collected a portion of the materials, however, an angry crowd confronted the Cadillac men and drove them out of town.<ref name="Battle">[http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/battling-for-the-county-seat/ Battling for the County Seat]. ''[http://www.absolutemichigan.com/ Absolute Michigan].'' Retrieved on January 5, 2008.</ref>

When the sheriff returned to Cadillac, he encountered a force consisting of several hundred armed men; this group reportedly included a brass band. The Sheriff's force, some of whom may have been intoxicated, traveled back to Manton to seize the remaining records. Although Manton residents confronted the Cadillac men and barricaded the courthouse, the posse successfully seized the documents. They returned to Cadillac in dubious glory.<ref name="Battle" />