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 8 local stories.
13 notes
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- OutdoorsCrisp Point Lighthouse and the Shipwreck CoastLuce 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 taxesDoes 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 cultureHow Luce County got its nameLuce 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.
- OutdoorsNewberry, Michigan's Moose CapitalNewberry is Luce County's county seat and only incorporated community. Its Moose Capital title is official, but it is not a promise that a moose will appear.
- History and cultureNewberry's iron and timber beginningsNewberry 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.
- OutdoorsTahquamenon Falls from the Newberry sideThe Upper and Lower falls are in Luce County north of Newberry. DNR calls the Upper Falls Michigan's largest waterfall and one of the largest in the eastern United States.
- OutdoorsThe Manistique LakesThe southwest corner of Luce County opens onto the Manistique Lakes -- big, fish-filled waters straddling the Luce-Mackinac line, anchored by Big Manistique Lake.
- History and cultureManoomin, Michigan's official native grainMichigan enacted its manoomin designation in 2023. The law names wild rice as the official native grain and recognizes its wetland and Indigenous cultural importance.
- 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.
- Home and propertyWells, septic systems, and what to check before you buyMost 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 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.