County note shelf
Ontonagon County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Ontonagon County. This shelf has 5 practical notes and 7 local stories.
12 notes
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- OutdoorsBond Falls: six boardwalk views near PauldingMichigan DNR's Bond Falls site pairs a roughly 50-foot total drop with an accessible boardwalk and six viewing spots. Vehicle access is seasonal; the trail remains open year-round.
- History and cultureHow Ontonagon got its name -- and the copper boulder behind itOntonagon is an Ojibwe name, carried by the river before the county. And on that river once sat the Ontonagon Boulder -- a sacred 3,700-pound chunk of pure copper, known to the Ojibwe for centuries, now in the Smithsonian.
- Money and taxesIs there a city income tax in Ontonagon?There's no city income tax in Ontonagon County -- and there couldn't easily be one, since the county's only incorporated community is the Village of Ontonagon. The nearest income tax is Grayling, well over two hundred miles away.
- OutdoorsLake Gogebic's quieter, northern halfThe Upper Peninsula's biggest inland lake, Lake Gogebic, reaches up into southwestern Ontonagon County -- where the village of Bergland sits on its northern shore, an hour and a time zone away from the lake's southern end.
- History and cultureOld Victoria, the copper village frozen in timeNear Rockland, a cluster of hand-hewn log cabins still stands where copper miners and their families lived a century ago -- one of the oldest log villages remaining on its original site in America, preserved by volunteers.
- OutdoorsThe Porcupine Mountains, Michigan's biggest wild parkThe Porkies are Michigan's largest state park: roughly 60,000 acres with about 35,000 acres of primary forest, wild rivers, trails, and Lake Superior shoreline.
- OutdoorsAgate Falls: closed through November 1, 2026Agate Falls Scenic Site is closed through November 1, 2026 for trestle work above the path and overlook. When open, a half-mile accessible trail reaches a crest view.
- OutdoorsOne of North America's biggest old-growth forests is in the U.P.Michigan's largest state park holds about 35,000 acres of primary forest, one of the largest relatively undisturbed hemlock-hardwood tracts west of the Adirondacks.
- Home and propertyWhat to know about well and septic in Ontonagon CountyAlmost all of Ontonagon County is on private well and septic. Michigan has no statewide septic code, and the local health department doesn't require an inspection when a property is sold -- though it offers one that some home loans and buyers ask for.
- 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.