Grand Traverse County, Michigan

Grand Traverse County
Grand Traverse County
County
	Official logo of Grand Traverse County Logo
	Location within the U.S. state of Michigan
	Michigan's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 44°44′N 85°33′W / 44.73°N 85.55°W
Country	United States
State	Michigan
Founded	1851
Seat	Traverse City
Area
• Total	601 sq mi (1,560 km2)
• Land	465 sq mi (1,200 km2)
• Water	136 sq mi (350 km2) 22.63%
Population (2000)
• Total	77,654
• Density	170/sq mi (64/km2)
Website	www.co.grand-traverse.mi.us/home.htm

Grand Traverse County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 86,986 The county seat is Traverse City Template:GR.

Grand Traverse County is part of the Traverse City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which also includes Benzie, Kalkaska, and Leelanau counties.

History

In 1840 it was separated and originally named Omeena County. Grand Traverse County was established by an act of the state legislature on April 7, 1851.^[1] See, List of Michigan county name etymologies. The first permanent settlement in the county was the mission now known as Old Mission.

Historical markers

There are eleven recognized Michigan historical markers in the county:^[2] They are:

City Opera House
Congregation Beth El
Fife Lake Union District No. 1 Schoolhouse
Grand Traverse Bay
Grand Traverse County Courthouse
Hesler Log House
Interlochen
Ladies Library Association
Novotny's Saloon^[3]
Park Place Hotel
Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 601 square miles (1,556.6 km²), of which 465 square miles (1,204.3 km²) is land and 136 square miles (352.2 km²) (22.63%) is water.
Grand Traverse County is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Adjacent counties

Antrim County (northeast)
Kalkaska County (east)
Wexford County (south)
Benzie County (west)
Leelanau County (northwest)

Transportation

Air service

Grand Traverse County is served by Cherry Capital Airport, which is located near Traverse City.

Highways

Demographics

As of the census Template:GR of 2000, there were 77,654 people, 30,396 households, and 20,730 families residing in the county. The population density was 167 people per square mile (64/km²). There were 34,842 housing units at an average density of 75 per square mile (29/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.51% White, 0.40% Black or African American, 0.93% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 1.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.1% were of German, 11.3% English, 10.7% Irish, 8.4% American and 7.4% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.4% spoke English and 1.6% Spanish as their first language.

There were 30,396 households out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.70% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.40% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,169, and the median income for a family was $51,211. Males had a median income of $34,796 versus $24,139 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,111. About 3.80% of families and 5.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.30% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Grand Traverse County elected officials

Prosecuting Attorney: Al Schneider
Sheriff: Thomas Bensley
County Clerk: Linda Coburn
County Treasurer: William Rokos
Register of Deeds: Peggy Haines
Drain Commissioner: Kevin McElyea
County Surveyor: Robert Mitchell

(information as of November 2008)

Politics

Grand Traverse County predominantly supports the Republican Party, particularly at the federal level.

In the 2008 presidential election, Republican candidate John McCain received 24,716 votes in the county (50.60% of the total) to Democrat Barack Obama's 23,258 (47.62%), even as Obama carried the state of Michigan by a double-digit margin^[4]. McCain's margin of victory in the county was narrower than usual for a Republican candidate.

In 2004, Republican president George W. Bush received 27,446 votes in the county (59.42%) to Democrat John Kerry's 18,256 (39.52%)^[5].

In 2000, Bush received 22,358 votes in the county (58.48%) to Democrat Al Gore's 14,371 (37.59%) ^[6].

Cities, villages, and townships

Cities

Traverse City

Villages

Townships

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Green Lake Township
- contains Interlochen, site of Interlochen Center for the Arts