Welcome... French missionaries exploring the Great Lakes discovered the area now
known as Menominee County. At the mouth of the Menominee River was a marshy area
which yielded wild rice; this is where the city of Menominee stands today. The
name of the area's Indians, Menominee, means wild rice eaters. In 1790 a
French Canadian named Louis Chappieau opened a thriving fur trading operation.
The first sawmill was opened in 1832 and the lumbering industry continued
through the Civil War. By 1890 the area ranked second in the nation as a
principal lumbering region. After 1917 agriculture began to replace lumbering. The first school of agriculture in Michigan was established in Menominee
County.
The county's name comes from an American Indian word meaning "wild rice eater."
The county was originally created under the name of Bleeker in 1861. When county
government was organized in 1863, the name was changed to Menominee.
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I am Colleen, your hostess for Menominee County. This site has been
completely redesigned so your old bookmarks will not work. Please be sure
to create new ones.
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NOTE: I do not live in Michigan
and am unable to assist with local research. In this regard, please have a
look at the Look Up Assistance page.
If you have Menominee
County material you'd like to see displayed on this site, please contact me.
In addition...
To become part of the Michigan Trails to the Past team, please contact
Jan Cortez, our State
Administrator. If a county is already adopted that you're interested
in, Jan can place you on a waiting list she keeps - or you might elect to help
the current host.
