Welcome to Kent County

      Welcome to this website which is a part of MIGenWeb and USGenWeb^®, a network of websites that provide free online genealogical information.

    This county site is up for adoption. If you would like to consider being county coordinator, please see MIGenWeb Official Notices. It is one of the largest of the county sites in MIGenWeb, so you will start with a lot of data to work with!

     Kent became a county in 1831.  On March 22, 1842, the legislature changed the name of the town from Kent to Grand Rapids, which is the county seat.  Settlers from the east began arriving in the 1820's and the area became the furniture manufacturing capital of America by the turn of the century. The current Grand Rapids area population is about 500,000, making it the second largest city in the state.

     The photo to the left is the Kent County Courthouse.