Mackinac County | |
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Coordinates: 46°01′N 85°01′W / 46.01°N 85.01°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Michigan |
Founded | October 26, 1818 organized 1849[1][2] |
Named for | Straits of Mackinac |
Seat | St. Ignace |
Largest city | St. Ignace |
Area | |
• Total | 2,101 sq mi (5,440 km2) |
• Land | 1,022 sq mi (2,650 km2) |
• Water | 1,079 sq mi (2,790 km2) 51% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 10,834 |
• Density | 11/sq mi (4/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
Congressional district | 1st |
Website | www |
Mackinac County (/ˈmækənɔː/ MAK-ə-naw, locally /ˈmækənə/ MAK-ə-nə) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,834.[3] The county seat is St. Ignace.[4] Formerly known as Michilimackinac County, in 1818 it was one of the first counties of the Michigan Territory, as it had long been a center of French and British colonial fur trading, a Catholic church and Protestant mission, and associated settlement.[1]
The county's name is shortened from "Michilimackinac", which referred to the Straits of Mackinac area as well as the French settlement at the tip of the lower peninsula.[1] Mackinac County is one of two U.S. counties to feature shorelines on two Great Lakes, being Lake Huron and Lake Michigan (the other county being neighboring Chippewa County).