County note shelf
Gladwin County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Gladwin County. This shelf has 8 practical notes and 10 local stories.
18 notes
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- History and culture A week by canoe to Dick's Forks: the county's first settler Marvel Secord, Gladwin County's first settler, reached the junction of the Sugar and Tittabawassee rivers in 1861 after a week-long canoe trip; Secord Township and Secord Lake carry his name.
- Outdoors Beaverton's own lake, held back by the city's own dam Ross Lake, a 294-acre impoundment on the Tobacco River at Beaverton, is held back by the Beaverton Dam — owned by the City of Beaverton itself, not the state or county.
- History and culture The Art Deco courthouse with a chief on the lobby floor Gladwin's 1939–40 courthouse on West Cedar Avenue is a buff-brick Art Deco building with a Native American chief worked into the lobby floor and Lady Justice over the bench.
- History and culture The county is named for a man who never set foot in it Gladwin County and its county seat carry the name of Major Henry Gladwin, the British officer who held Fort Detroit through Pontiac's five-month siege in 1763.
- Home and property The lake the county bought for a dollar Wiggins Lake in Sage Township sits behind Chappel Dam, a 1920s hydropower dam on the Cedar River that Gladwin County bought for one dollar in 1961 and still owns today.
- Outdoors The state forest where bird dogs have competed for a century The 4,900-acre Gladwin Field Trial Area, set aside in 1916, is one of the country's top grounds for cover-dog trials, where pointers hunt wild grouse and woodcock in the forest.
- Outdoors The Trail of Two Cities links Gladwin and Beaverton A paved, eight-mile non-motorized trail built by a county authority since 2016 now connects Gladwin and Beaverton, open year-round and free for walking, biking, skiing, and snowshoeing.
- History and culture Beaverton: where two rivers meet Beaverton began as Grand Forks at the Tobacco and Cedar river confluence and still works as a small gateway to water and woods.
- History and culture Gladwin's lumber-town history (and the Carriage Festival) Gladwin grew from a lumber town called Cedar, and its historical village and Carriage Festival keep that local history visible.
- Home and property Secord Township: a septic inspection is required when you buy Secord Township is the one Gladwin County township where CMDHD requires a well and septic evaluation at sale.
- Home and property Buying in Sugar Springs: it's a private community Sugar Springs is a private lake community in Butman Township, Gladwin County, with POA dues and rules.
- Outdoors Gladwin County is built for the outdoors Gladwin and Beaverton work as hubs for state forest land, trails, rivers, lakes, and four-season recreation.
- Money and taxes No city income tax in Gladwin or Beaverton Gladwin and Beaverton levy no city income tax, and neither does Midland, where many commute; Saginaw's 0.75% nonresident rate is the nearest exception.
- Home and property Buying on Secord, Smallwood, or Wixom Lake? Know the dam story Several Gladwin County townships are in the Four Lakes dam-rebuild special-assessment district.
- History and culture Sanford's comeback: the lakes are filling again Six years after the dams gave way and emptied them, the mid-Michigan lakes are returning — Sanford Lake began refilling in April 2026, with the rest on a published schedule.
- Home and property Wells and septic in the townships: get your own inspection Most Gladwin County township buyers should arrange their own well and septic inspection before closing.
- Money and taxes Buying in a township? Watch for special assessments on top of your taxes Michigan township buyers should check for special assessments that can add separate road, sewer, water, lighting, sidewalk, or drain charges.
- Money and taxes In Michigan, you get two property-tax bills a year — not one Most Michigan property owners get separate summer and winter tax bills, with local rules deciding what lands on each bill.