Ontonagon County is a county in Michigan, United States, on the shore of Lake Superior at the western tip of the Upper Peninsula. It had a population of 5,816 at the 2020 census and covers 3,741 square miles (9,690 km2) in total — 1,311 square miles of land and an unusually large 2,430 square miles of Lake Superior water — centred near 46\u00b059\u2032N 89\u00b016\u2032W.<\/p>\n
Ontonagon is the county seat and its postal code is 49953. The county has one incorporated village, eight census-designated places, and a further dozen or so unincorporated communities, spread across 11 civil townships. It sits in the Eastern time zone — the westernmost point in the contiguous United States that keeps Eastern Time year-round.<\/p>\n
Ontonagon County has roughly three dozen named places on the map. Ontonagon village is the only incorporated municipality and the county seat; eight places are census-designated places (CDPs) recognized by the Census Bureau but not self-governing; the rest are unincorporated communities — crossroads, old mining camps, and rail sidings, several now reduced to a handful of houses or none at all.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontonagon<\/td>\n | Village · seat<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 49953<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bergland<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 49910<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bruce Crossing<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 49912<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ewen<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 49925<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Greenland<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 49929<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mass City<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 49948<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Rockland<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 49960<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Trout Creek<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 49967<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| White Pine<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 49971<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Agate<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Baltimore<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Buckshot Landing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Calderwood<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Carp Lake Landing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Craigsmere<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Firesteel<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Gem<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Grand Rapids<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Green<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| LaFayette Landing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lake Gogebic<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lake Mine<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Matchwood<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| McKeever<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Merriweather<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Nonesuch<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| North Paynesville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Old Victoria Historic Townsite<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Paulding<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Paynesville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Robbins<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Rousseau<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Silver City<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sleepy Hollow<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Topaz<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Victoria<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Wainola<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Wasas<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Grand Rapids here is a small unincorporated place in the county’s interior, not to be confused with the much larger city of the same name on the Lower Peninsula. Old Victoria Historic Townsite preserves a 19th-century copper-mining camp near Victoria, a separate but nearby unincorporated community.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nSmaller unincorporated communities such as Paulding, Matchwood, and Topaz have no ZIP code of their own and are served by the nearest post office town listed above.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nOntonagon County occupies the far western end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, fronting Lake Superior along its entire northern edge. Inland, the terrain rises into the Porcupine Mountains, the highest ground in the Midwest outside the Black Hills, and much of the county’s western half lies inside the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. The Ontonagon River, which gives the county its name, drains the interior north into Lake Superior at the village of Ontonagon; Lake Gogebic, the largest inland lake in the Upper Peninsula, sits on the county’s southern boundary. Because the Lake Superior water within the county’s boundary is included in its area, Ontonagon is one of the most water-heavy counties in the country by percentage.<\/p>\n Ontonagon County borders Houghton County<\/a> to the east, Keweenaw County<\/a> to the northeast across Lake Superior waters, Iron County<\/a> to the southeast, and Gogebic County<\/a> to the south and southwest.<\/p>\n The county’s population was 5,816 at the 2020 census, making it one of the least populous counties in Michigan. Ontonagon village and the Bruce Crossing and White Pine areas hold the largest shares of that population; most of the rest is scattered across small townships and unincorporated communities. The county’s median household income trails well below the Michigan median of $69,183, reflecting the decline of copper and iron mining that once anchored the local economy. Population density is roughly 4 people per square mile of land — among the lowest of any county in the state.<\/p>\n Ontonagon County’s economy today rests on forestry, tourism, and public-sector jobs, a shift from the copper-mining boom that built the county in the 19th century. The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and the Ottawa National Forest, which covers much of the county’s land area, draw hikers, hunters, and snowmobilers, and White Pine still carries the name of the White Pine copper mine that operated in the area for decades before closing. Ontonagon village serves as the county’s commercial and government center, with the county courthouse and the harbor on Lake Superior.<\/p>\n Ontonagon County was set off in 1843 and formally organized in 1848, carved from the vast original Chippewa and Mackinac counties as copper discoveries along Lake Superior drew settlers to the Upper Peninsula. The county’s name comes from the Ontonagon River, an Ojibwe word variously translated as referring to a hunting river or to a bowl-shaped landform. In 1887, the county’s western portion was split off to form Gogebic County as mining and rail development pushed settlement further west. Copper mining dominated the local economy for more than a century, with mines at White Pine among the last active copper operations in the region before closing in the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n US 45 and M-64 run north-south through the county, meeting M-38 and M-26 along the Lake Superior shoreline near Ontonagon.<\/p>\n The nearest commercial airport is Houghton County Memorial Airport (CMX) in Hancock, roughly 35 miles to the east.<\/p>\n Where is Ontonagon County?<\/strong> What is the population of Ontonagon County?<\/strong> How big is Ontonagon County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Ontonagon County?<\/strong> How many towns and villages are in Ontonagon County?<\/strong> |