Grand Traverse County, Michigan

Grand Traverse County
Grand Traverse County Courthouse in Traverse City
Grand Traverse County Courthouse in Traverse City
Official logo of Grand Traverse County
Nickname: 
"GTC"
Map of Michigan highlighting Grand Traverse County
Location within the U.S. state of Michigan
Map of the United States highlighting Michigan
Michigan's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°44′N 85°33′W / 44.73°N 85.55°W / 44.73; -85.55
Country United States
State Michigan
Founded1840
1851 (organized)[1]
Named forGrand Traverse Bay
SeatTraverse City
Largest cityTraverse City
Area
 • Total601 sq mi (1,560 km2)
 • Land464 sq mi (1,200 km2)
 • Water137 sq mi (350 km2)  23%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total95,238
 • Estimate 
(2023)
96,421 Increase
 • Density205/sq mi (79/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district1st
Websitewww.gtcountymi.gov

Grand Traverse County (/ˈtrævərs/ TRAV-ərss) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,238, making it the largest county in Northern Michigan.[2] Its county seat is Traverse City.[3] The county is part of the Traverse City metropolitan area, which also includes neighboring Benzie, Kalkaska, and Leelanau counties.

Long a part of territory under the Council of Three Fires (comprising the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi), Grand Traverse County's first European settlement was established in 1839.[4] It was originally created in 1840 as Omeena County;[5][6] however, it was reorganized in 1851 as Grand Traverse County. The county itself and Traverse City are named after Grand Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan.

Interlochen Center for the Arts, a prestigious boarding school, is located within the county.

Traverse City State Hospital in Traverse City
The Boardman River in southern East Bay Township
Mission Point Light, at the northern tip of the Old Mission Peninsula, lies just south of the 45th parallel.[7]
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference clarke was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ^ Norton, Mike (April 15, 2014). "Exploring the Past in Historic Traverse City".
  5. ^ "Chapter VIII: County of Omeena Laid Off - Grand Traverse County Organized - Organization Completed - County Officers - Acts of Supervisors - County Buildings - Going to Mackinac to Vote - First Term of Court - Bench and Bar - Organization of Towns - Agriculture Society - Railroad - School Matters". The Traverse Region, Historical and Descriptive with Illustrations of Scenery and Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Chicago: H. R. Page & Co. 1884. Retrieved October 21, 2022 – via Genealogy Trails Transcription Team.
  6. ^ George Dawson (1840). Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan Passed at the Annual Session of 1840. Detroit. pp. 196–200.
  7. ^ "45th Parallel - Old Mission Point". www.mnmuseumofthems.org. Retrieved January 20, 2023.