County note shelf
Luce County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Luce County. This shelf has 5 practical notes and 7 local stories.
12 notes
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- Outdoors Crisp Point Lighthouse and the Shipwreck Coast Luce County's remote Lake Superior shore holds Crisp Point Lighthouse, the Two-Hearted River, and Muskallonge Lake State Park along the old Shipwreck Coast.
- Money and taxes Does Newberry have a city income tax? Luce County has no local income tax -- Newberry is a village, not a city, and only Michigan cities can levy one.
- History and culture How Luce County got its name Luce County was carved from Chippewa and Mackinac counties in 1887 and named for Cyrus G. Luce, the farmer who was serving as Michigan's governor at the time.
- Outdoors Newberry, Michigan's Moose Capital Newberry is Luce County's only town and Michigan's Official Moose Capital -- the southern gateway to Tahquamenon Falls, set deep in the Lake Superior State Forest.
- History and culture Newberry's iron and timber beginnings Newberry sprang up in 1882 around a charcoal-iron furnace and a sawmill, named for a Detroit railroad man who likely never visited -- a logging boomtown whose story still lives in two local museums.
- Outdoors Tahquamenon Falls, the Root Beer Falls (Newberry / Luce side) Tahquamenon Falls, north of Newberry, is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi -- famous for its amber, root-beer-colored water and its huge state park.
- Outdoors The Manistique Lakes The southwest corner of Luce County opens onto the Manistique Lakes -- big, fish-filled waters straddling the Luce-Mackinac line, anchored by Big Manistique Lake.
- Outdoors Crisp Point: The Light That Was Nearly Lost to the Lake A lonely tower on Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast that nearly slid into the lake — saved by stubborn volunteers and relit in 2013.
- Home and property Wells, septic systems, and what to check before you buy Most homes in Luce County's townships rely on a private well and septic system, and the county has no point-of-sale inspection rule, so it's buyer beware.
- Money and taxes Live in a Michigan village? You pay an extra layer of property tax Michigan 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 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.