Delta County, Michigan

Delta County is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,903.<ref name=QF>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Escanaba.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county was surveyed in 1843 and organized in 1861. Its name originates from the Greek letter delta (Δ), which refers to the triangular shape of the original county<ref name=clarke>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which included segments of Menominee, Dickinson, Iron, and Marquette counties.<ref>Names of Michigan Counties (accessed July 28, 2009)</ref> Recreation and forest products are major industries, and crops include hay, corn, small grains, potatoes, and strawberries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Delta County comprises the Escanaba, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (41%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the fifth-largest county in Michigan by land area.

Adjacent counties

By land

• Menominee County (southwest, Central Time Zone border)
• Marquette County (northwest)
• Alger County (north)
• Schoolcraft County (east)

By water

• Leelanau County (southeast)
• Door County, Wisconsin (south, Central Time Zone border)

National protected area

• Hiawatha National Forest (part)

Communities

File:Delta County, MI census map.png

U.S. Census data map showing local municipal boundaries within Delta County. Shaded areas represent incorporated cities.

Cities

• Escanaba (county seat)
• Gladstone

Village

• Garden

Civil townships

• Baldwin Township
• Bark River Township
• Bay de Noc Township
• Brampton Township
• Cornell Township
• Ensign Township
• Escanaba Township
• Fairbanks Township
• Ford River Township
• Garden Township
• Maple Ridge Township
• Masonville Township
• Nahma Township
• Wells Township

Unincorporated communities

• Bark River
• Brampton
• Chaison
• Fairport
• Fayette
• Ford River<ref name=DCGM/>
• Garden Corners
• Harris
• Hyde<ref name=DCGM/>
• Isabella
• Island View<ref name=DCGM/>
• Kipling<ref name=DCGM/>
• Lake Bluff<ref name=DCGM/>
• Maplewood<ref name=DCGM/>
• Nahma
• Narenta
• Perkins
• Perronville
• Rapid River
• Riverland<ref name=DCGM/>
• Rock
• St. Nicholas<ref name=DCGM/>
• Schaffer
• Wells<ref name=DCGM/>
• West Gladstone

Indian reservations

• A small section of the Hannahville Indian Community, which has most of its territory in neighboring Menominee County to the west, extends into Bark River Township.
• The Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians occupies a very small portion in the southwest city limits of Escanaba.

Demographics

The 2010 United States census<ref name="AFF">Template:Cite web</ref> indicated Delta County had population of 37,069. By 2020, its population was 36,903.

Education

School districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

• Bark River-Harris School District
• Big Bay de Noc School District
• Escanaba Area Public Schools
• Gladstone Area Schools
• Mid Peninsula School District
• Rapid River Public Schools

Government

Delta County operates the County jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget and has 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.

Elected officials

• Prosecuting Attorney: Lauren Wickman
• Sheriff: Edward Oswald
• County Clerk/Register of Deeds: Nancy Przewrocki
• County Treasurer: Sherry Godfrey
• Drain Commissioner: George Maciejewski
• County Surveyor: Mel Davis
• Circuit Court Judge: John B. Economopoulos
• District Court Judge: Steven C. Parks
• Probate Court Judge: Perry R. Lund

Template:Div col end (information as of September 2018)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Transportation

Major highways

• Template:Jct runs east–west through the lower part of the county, entering from Schoolcraft County east of Garden Corners and running westward to an intersection with US 41 at Rapid River.
• Template:Jct runs north–south through central part of the county, entering from Alger County at Trenary, running southerly to Rapid River then southwesterly along the Lake Michigan shore to the southwest corner of county.
• Template:Jct enters from Marquette County at the northwest corner of the county and runs southeasterly to intersection with US 41 at Gladstone.
• Template:Jct runs east–west across the southwestern tip of the county, entering from Menominee County at Schaffer and running southeasterly to an intersection with US 41 west of Narenta.
• Template:Jct runs from the southern tip of the Garden Peninsula at Fayette State Park to an intersection with US 2 at Garden Corners.<ref name="DCGM">Template:Google maps</ref>

Airport

The county is served by Delta County Airport (KESC), southwest of Escanaba. It provides scheduled airline service to Detroit and Minneapolis.

See also

• List of Michigan State Historic Sites in Delta County, Michigan
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Delta County, Michigan

External links

• Delta County government website
• Delta County Profile, Sam M Cohodas Regional Economist, Tawni Hunt Ferrarini, Ph.D. Template:Webarchive
• Template:Cite web