County note shelf
Cheboygan County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Cheboygan County. This shelf has 4 practical notes and 14 local stories.
18 notes
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- History and cultureCheboygan and the Coast Guard icebreaker MackinawCheboygan is home port for the USCGC Mackinaw, the Coast Guard's heavy Great Lakes icebreaker.
- OutdoorsCheboygan State Park and the Lake Huron shoreCheboygan State Park gives Benton Township a quiet Lake Huron shoreline, with beach, woods, camping, and the old Cheboygan Point Light site.
- History and cultureDousman's Mill (the old Historic Mill Creek)Dousman's Mill preserves the old Historic Mill Creek sawmill site, one of the oldest industrial places in the Great Lakes.
- Money and taxesIs there a city income tax in Cheboygan County?Cheboygan County has no local income tax: Cheboygan is the county's only city, and it does not levy one.
- History and cultureThe Cross in the WoodsIndian River's Cross in the Woods is a national Catholic shrine centered on a 55-foot redwood cross and a seven-ton bronze figure by Marshall Fredericks.
- OutdoorsBlack Lake and the sturgeon seasonUnder Michigan's sport-fishing rules, Black Lake is the only place where anglers may spear lake sturgeon, during a tightly controlled winter season.
- OutdoorsWolverine and the Sturgeon RiverWolverine and the surrounding Nunda and Wilmot township countryside sit on the fast, trout-filled Sturgeon River.
- History and cultureA Fort Where History Is Literally Being Dug Up, Summer After SummerA reconstructed 1715 French fort under the Mackinac Bridge, sitting atop one of North America's longest-running archaeological digs — active every summer since 1959.
- History and cultureOld Mackinac Point: The Castle the Bridge Made ObsoleteA castle-like lighthouse at the Straits of Mackinac that guided ships from 1892 until the Mackinac Bridge made it obsolete in 1957 — now a museum.
- History and cultureHas wind ever blown a car off the Mackinac Bridge?No. The Mackinac Bridge Authority says two vehicles have gone over the railing since 1957, but neither case was a vehicle being blown off by wind.
- History and cultureWhat's a "Yooper"? What's a "Troll"? And Why Do People Point at Their Hand?A Yooper is from the Upper Peninsula, a Troll lives 'under the bridge' in the Lower, a Fudgie is a tourist — and yes, Michiganders really do use their hand as a map.
- History and cultureWhy the Lower Peninsula Looks Like a Mitten — and How the Two Peninsulas ConnectMichigan's two main peninsulas are separated by the Straits of Mackinac. The five-mile Mackinac Bridge has carried road traffic between them since 1957.
- OutdoorsMullett Lake, Burt Lake, and the resort townsBurt Lake and Mullett Lake anchor Cheboygan County's Inland Waterway lake country, with Indian River, Topinabee, and two state parks.
- OutdoorsThe Dwarf Lake IrisMichigan's state wildflower is a tiny, vivid blue-violet iris that grows almost nowhere else on Earth — only along the northern shores of Lakes Michigan and Huron.
- Home and propertyWells, septic, and what to check before you buyCheboygan County township buyers should check private wells and septic systems themselves because there is no automatic point-of-sale inspection rule.
- OutdoorsThe Inland WaterwayCheboygan is the Lake Huron doorway to the Inland Waterway, Michigan's longest connected chain of inland lakes and rivers.
- Money and taxesBuying in a township? Watch for special assessments on top of your taxesMichigan township buyers should check for special assessments that can add separate road, sewer, water, lighting, sidewalk, or drain charges.
- Money and taxesIn Michigan, you get two property-tax bills a year — not oneMost Michigan property owners get separate summer and winter tax bills, with local rules deciding what lands on each bill.