{"id":4799,"date":"2023-06-29T15:57:53","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T15:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=4799"},"modified":"2026-08-22T01:45:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T01:45:49","slug":"montmorency-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/montmorency-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Montmorency County, Michigan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Montmorency County is a county in Michigan, United States, on the Lower Peninsula&#8217;s northern tier near the Lake Huron watershed. It had a population of 9,153 at the 2020 census and covers 563 square miles (1,460 km2) centred near 45&deg;02&prime;N 84&deg;08&prime;W.<\/p>\n<p>Atlanta is the county seat, and its postal code is 49709. The county has one incorporated village, three census-designated places, and a scatter of unincorporated hamlets across eight civil townships. Montmorency County sits in the Eastern time zone.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Montmorency County<\/h2>\n<p>Montmorency County has no incorporated cities. Hillman is the county&#8217;s one incorporated village; Atlanta, Canada Creek Ranch, and Lewiston are census-designated places (unincorporated but recognized by the Census Bureau); the rest are unincorporated communities and gated recreational subdivisions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Township<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Atlanta<\/td>\n<td>CDP &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>Briley<\/td>\n<td>739<\/td>\n<td>49709<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hillman<\/td>\n<td>Village<\/td>\n<td>Hillman<\/td>\n<td>218<\/td>\n<td>49746<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lewiston<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>Albert<\/td>\n<td>1,282<\/td>\n<td>49756<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Canada Creek Ranch<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>Briley<\/td>\n<td>1,027<\/td>\n<td>49709<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Avery<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>Avery<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>49746<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bigelow<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>Rust<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>49709<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Birchwood Beach<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>Vienna<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>49709<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Big Rock<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>Rust<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>49709<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Garland Village<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>Briley<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>49709<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hetherton<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>Montmorency<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>49709<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rust<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>Rust<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>49709<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Vienna Corners<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>Vienna<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>49709<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Donnelly, Royston, and Vienna Junction from older listings appear in local usage but are not carried on current Census Bureau gazetteer or USPS records for the county, so no population or ZIP figure is published for them here.<\/p>\n<h2>Townships<\/h2>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Township<\/th>\n<th>Pop. (2020)<\/th>\n<th>Main settlements<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Briley<\/td>\n<td>1,861<\/td>\n<td>Atlanta, Canada Creek Ranch, Garland Village<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Albert<\/td>\n<td>1,282<\/td>\n<td>Lewiston<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rust<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>Big Rock, Bigelow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hillman<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>Hillman village<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Vienna<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>Vienna Corners, Birchwood Beach<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Avery<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>Avery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Loud<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>rural, no platted village<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Montmorency<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>Hetherton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>49709 &mdash; Atlanta (also serves Briley, Rust, and Montmorency townships)<\/li>\n<li>49746 &mdash; Hillman (also serves Avery Township)<\/li>\n<li>49756 &mdash; Lewiston (also serves Albert Township)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Vienna and Loud townships share the Atlanta and Hillman ZIP service areas; the county has no ZIP code of its own for those two townships.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Montmorency County lies on a rolling, forested plateau typical of the northern Lower Peninsula, with sandy outwash soils, scattered wetlands, and dense state and national forest land covering most of its area. The Thunder Bay River rises in the county&#8217;s lake chain and flows east to Lake Huron at Alpena, draining much of Montmorency County&#8217;s interior. Canada Creek Ranch, a large private recreational community, occupies part of Briley Township along the Thunder Bay watershed. The county&#8217;s 16 square miles of water are mostly small inland lakes rather than a single large body.<\/p>\n<p>Montmorency County borders Presque Isle County to the north, Alpena County to the east, Alcona County to the southeast, Oscoda County to the south, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/crawford-county-michigan\/\">Crawford County<\/a> to the southwest, Otsego County to the west, and Cheboygan County to the northwest.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>The 2020 census counted 9,153 residents. Lewiston and Canada Creek Ranch are the county&#8217;s two largest census-designated places, each exceeding 1,000 residents; the rest of the population is spread across small unincorporated settlements and rural townships. Median household income in Montmorency County runs well below the Michigan median of $69,183, reflecting the county&#8217;s rural, tourism- and forestry-dependent economy. Population density is about 17 people per square mile, among the lowest in the Lower Peninsula.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Tourism and outdoor recreation drive much of the local economy, built around the county&#8217;s lakes, state forest land, and access to the Thunder Bay River chain for fishing, hunting, and snowmobiling. Dairy farming and dry-bean production remain part of the agricultural base in the county&#8217;s cleared farmland. Service industry and retail trade tied to seasonal visitors, along with Canada Creek Ranch&#8217;s private hunting-and-fishing club, make up much of the non-agricultural employment.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The county was first laid out in 1840 as Cheonoquet County and renamed Montmorency on March 8, 1843, honoring the French ducal house of Montmorency. It was not organized for county government until 1881, decades after its boundaries were set, typical of Michigan&#8217;s sparsely settled northern counties in that era. Atlanta was platted as the county seat as logging and later farming brought settlers north along the new rail and stage routes.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>M-32 runs east&ndash;west through the county connecting Atlanta to Alpena, and M-33 runs north&ndash;south through Hillman and Lewiston. Business M-32 serves Atlanta directly.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alpena &mdash; 27 miles east<\/li>\n<li>Gaylord &mdash; 30 miles west<\/li>\n<li>Grayling &mdash; 40 miles southwest<\/li>\n<li>Cheboygan &mdash; 45 miles north<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The nearest commercial airport is Alpena County Regional Airport, about 30 miles east of Atlanta.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Montmorency County, Michigan?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is in the northern Lower Peninsula, bordered by Presque Isle, Alpena, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Otsego, and Cheboygan counties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Montmorency County?<\/strong><br \/>\n9,153 people, per the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Montmorency County?<\/strong><br \/>\n563 square miles (1,460 km2), of which 547 square miles is land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Montmorency County?<\/strong><br \/>\nAtlanta is the county seat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns and villages are in Montmorency County?<\/strong><br \/>\nOne incorporated village (Hillman), three census-designated places, and several smaller unincorporated communities across eight townships.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in Montmorency County?<\/strong><br \/>\n49709 (Atlanta), 49746 (Hillman), and 49756 (Lewiston).<\/p>\n<p><strong>What river drains Montmorency County?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Thunder Bay River, which rises in the county&#8217;s lake chain and flows east to Lake Huron at Alpena.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/michigan\/\">Towns and villages in Michigan<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Montmorency County is a county in Michigan, United States, on the Lower Peninsula&#8217;s northern tier near the Lake Huron watershed. It had a population of 9,153 at the 2020 census and covers 563 square miles (1,460 km2) centred near 45&deg;02&prime;N 84&deg;08&prime;W. Atlanta is the county seat, and its postal code is 49709. The county has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Montmorency County, Michigan","_seopress_titles_desc":"Montmorency County, Michigan: population, towns, ZIP codes, townships, geography and history for Atlanta, Hillman, Lewiston and more.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-4799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-michigan","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4799"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11464,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4799\/revisions\/11464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}