County note shelf
Chippewa County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Chippewa County. This shelf has 5 practical notes and 14 local stories.
19 notes
Read the county shelf
- History and cultureHow Chippewa County got its nameThe Library of Michigan says the county was named for the Ojibwe, or Chippewa, people, whose tribal governments and treaty rights remain part of life here.
- Money and taxesIs there a city income tax in Sault Ste. Marie?Sault Ste. Marie does not appear on Michigan Treasury's current list of 24 cities that levy income-related municipal taxes. Living in Chippewa County alone does not create a city income-tax bill.
- OutdoorsTahquamenon Falls State Park from the Paradise sideThe park crosses Chippewa and Luce counties. Paradise is its eastern gateway, while DNR maps place the Upper and Lower falls west of the county line in Luce County.
- History and cultureThe Sault Tribe and Bay Mills: sovereign nations of the eastern U.P.Two federally recognized Ojibwe tribes are based in Chippewa County -- the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the largest tribe in Michigan, and the Bay Mills Indian Community near Brimley. Both are sovereign governments with their own land, institutions, and treaty rights.
- History and cultureWhitefish Point and the Edmund FitzgeraldAt Whitefish Point, Lake Superior's oldest operating lighthouse and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum remember the ships and crews lost along this stretch of coast.
- History and cultureMichigan's oldest city is older than the United StatesSault Ste. Marie's 1668 French mission date makes it Michigan's oldest city. Anishinaabeg had gathered at Bahweting, the rapids, for millennia before Europeans arrived.
- History and cultureThe Bannockburn: the real loss behind Lake Superior's ghost-ship legendThe Canadian freighter Bannockburn disappeared in a 1902 Lake Superior storm; uncertain sightings and a reported life preserver later grew into a ghost-ship legend.
- History and cultureThe lighthouse at Lake Superior's Shipwreck CoastLake Superior's oldest operating lighthouse and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum stand at Whitefish Point, near the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
- History and cultureThe Locks Behind America's Domestic Iron Ore SupplyThe Corps says nearly all U.S. domestic iron ore passes through the Soo Locks, which carry vessels around a 21-foot river drop.
- OutdoorsWhy Tahquamenon Falls Looks Like Root BeerTahquamenon's Upper Falls is Michigan's largest waterfall. Its amber water and pale foam come from tannins, soft water, and the force of the falls.
- OutdoorsCrisp Point: The Light That Was Nearly Lost to the LakeA lonely tower on a remote stretch of Lake Superior that nearly slid into the lake — saved by stubborn volunteers and relit in 2013.
- OutdoorsDrummond Island: a border story and a rare alvarA British garrison stayed until 1828, and Michigan DNR says Drummond's Maxton Plains hold North America's largest remaining high-quality alvars.
- History and cultureMishipeshu, the Great Lynx Beneath the WavesIn Ojibwe oral tradition, Mishipeshu is an underwater panther associated with Lake Superior, sacred copper, storms, and safe passage.
- History and cultureThe Shipwreck That Became a Song — and a Bell That Still RingsThe SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a Lake Superior storm in 1975, just 17 miles from safety. All 29 men aboard were lost — and the ship's recovered bell still rings for them every November.
- Home and propertyBuying a home with well and septic in Chippewa CountyChippewa County permits new well and septic work, and its Health Department offers existing-system evaluations for real-estate transactions. Buyers should arrange records, evaluation, pumping, and water testing before closing.
- History and cultureSault Ste. Marie and the Soo LocksThe Soo Locks carry vessels around the St. Marys River's 21-foot drop. The Corps says nearly all U.S. domestic iron ore passes through them.
- Money and taxesLive in a Michigan village? You pay an extra layer of property taxMichigan village residents usually pay village property taxes on top of township taxes, so the village boundary can change a buyer's total rate.
- 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.