Founded: Set off from Marquette and Menominee Counties.  Organized in 1891, Dickinson is the youngest county in Michigan.
Origin of Name: Donald M. Dickinson, Postmaster General under President Grover Cleveland
County seat: Iron Mountain.

Land Area:  777 square miles
Physiography: Forests, rolling terrain, 524 miles of rivers and 7,650 acres of lakes
Elevation: 900-1500 feet

Dickinson County is located in the southwest portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula at 46°00'N 87°52'W.  The county is drained by the Menominee, Ford, and Escanaba Rivers.  Bordering counties are Iron County, Marquette County, and Menominee County.  Dickinson County is bounded on the southwest by Wisconsin.

This is primarily a dairying and agricultural area raising cattle, potatoes, and hay ~ though there is still some lumbering.  Most manufacturing is found at Iron Mountain.  The region is viable tourist area with resorts, hunting, fishing, and winter sports. 

Dickinson is one of four Michigan counties in the central time zone.  Its northern boundary and the northern part of its eastern boundary coincide with Central⁄Eastern time zones. 

Population Statistics

The State of Michigan

Michigan got its name from the Indian word "michi-gama," meaning "Great Lake." This state touches on all but one of the Great Lakes and has 40,000 square miles of water within its boundaries. Woodland Indians lived in the land when French explorers and fur traders first came to it.  Once the timber, minerals, and fertile soil were discovered, settlers flocked to Michigan. They stayed to make this state first in production of automobiles, breakfast cereals, furniture, cherries, cucumbers, navy beans, and seedling pines.

Michigan  "Wolverine State"
Admitted to the Union: Thursday, January 26, 1837
Capital: Lansing (1879)
Motto: Si Quaeris Peninsulam Ameonam, Circumspice
(If You Seek a Beautiful Peninsula, Look Around)
Land Area (square miles):  58,216

• Population is ranked 8th (in US) at 9,549,353 (1995 estimate)
• Total area - 96,791 square miles [including water areas]
• Greatest length [north to south] - 310 miles
• Greatest width [east to west] - 400 miles
• Highest point - 1,980 feet
• Lowest point - 572 feet
• Highest recorded temperature - 112 degrees
• Lowest recorded temperature - -51 degrees
• Michigan is the only state that touches four of the five Great Lakes.
• 3,126 miles of Great Lakes shoreline (more fresh water coastline than any other state)
• 38,575 sq. mi. of Great Lakes water area
• 40 of Michigan's 83 counties touch at least one of the Great Lakes.
• Anywhere in Michigan, you are within 85 miles of one of the Great Lakes.
• Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes and more than 36,000 miles of streams. You are    never more than six miles from one of them.
• 18.4 million acres of forest
• The State Trunkline System totals 9,607 miles. All are toll free.
• Principal cities - Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Dearborn, Lansing
•  White pine is the state tree
• Robin is the state bird
• Apple blossom is the state flower
• Petoskey is the state stone
• Isle Royale greenstone is the state gem
• Brook trout is the state fish
• State song is "Michigan My Michigan"

A Brief Comment Regarding the Upper Peninsula

The U.P. was settled far earlier than it would have been had mineral wealth not been discovered.  This area was far removed from the nearest settlements.  Its only link to “civilization” was the Great Lakes waterway which was completely cut off during the winter months.  The isolation and mix of native and ethnic settlers created a region with a unique cultural heritage.

It is amazing that the landscape of sculptured rocks and broken ridges described by early settlers over 100 years ago are still there.  The vegetation has been changed substantially in some places, but these landmarks provide a wonderful aid to visualize how wilderness looked and felt to Michigan’s early pioneers.  And more poignantly, to realize those places where whole towns of people lived and died are reclaimed by forests, with only overgrown cemeteries to stand as a reminder of their existence.  The histories preserved in books serve as a reminder of how short life is and reminds us from whence we came.