County note shelf
Sanilac County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Sanilac County. This shelf has 8 practical notes and 25 local stories.
33 notes
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- History and cultureThe fire that gave the Red Cross its first jobOn September 5, 1881, a firestorm burned a million acres across the Thumb in a single day — and the new American Red Cross answered its first-ever disaster call here.
- History and cultureHow Davisville became CroswellThe Black River settlement that became Croswell was first called Davisville, then renamed in 1877 for Charles Croswell — the man who happened to be Michigan's governor at the time.
- History and cultureHow Sandusky stole the county seat — and lost two courthousesSandusky won the Sanilac County seat from Lexington by sitting dead-center on the map; its first courthouse burned in 1915, and a red-brick replacement still stands.
- OutdoorsLexington's state harbor and the breakwall walkLexington State Harbor is a 108-slip Lake Huron marina at the heart of the village, but major harbor work affects marina and breakwall access in 2026 and 2027.
- History and cultureMinden City carries a German hometown's nameA local Michigan place history says Philip Link founded the village in 1855 and named it for his native Minden, Germany.
- OutdoorsSleeping on the edge of Lake Huron at Forester ParkForester Park is a 68-acre county campground six miles north of Port Sanilac, with around 200 sites, rustic cabins, and a swimming beach right on the Lake Huron shore.
- History and cultureThe country doctor's mansion that became a whole villagePort Sanilac's Loop-Harrison mansion was built by a doctor who rode a 40-mile circuit on horseback; today his estate holds 17 historic buildings and a shipwreck room.
- History and cultureThe county hospital a banker's bequest startedMcKenzie Health System in Sandusky, the main hospital for rural Sanilac County, grew out of a 1959 gift from local banker Kenneth McKenzie and opened in 1967.
- History and cultureThe hardware store that has never closed since 1850Raymond Hardware on Ridge Street in Port Sanilac has run continuously since 1850 and is recognized by the state as Michigan's oldest continually operating hardware store.
- History and cultureThe town named for a word carved on a shanty logMarlette Township's official history traces its name to 'Marlatt,' carved on a shanty log by two Ontario brothers who later returned home.
- History and cultureThe village that went from Hall's Corners to Farmers to CarsonvilleCarsonville changed its name three times in thirty years — from a log store called Hall's Corners, to a post office named Farmers, to the name of the hotel keeper who put it on the map.
- Rules and licensesWhere you can legally ride an ORV on Sanilac County roadsSanilac County's ORV ordinance opens most county roads to ATVs and side-by-sides, but riders must stay far right, single file, and under 25 mph — and individual towns can still say no.
- History and cultureForester's saddest ghost storyIn 1876 a heartbroken teenager named Minnie Quay walked into Lake Huron at Forester, and the lumber town has been telling her ghost story ever since.
- History and cultureThe depot a town paid $15,000 to getMarlette's farmers raised $15,000 to lure the railroad in 1881; the 1890 depot they earned survives, restored, as the town's historical museum.
- History and cultureA county fair older than the cars that drive to itThe Croswell Agricultural Society has thrown a county fair on the same Sanilac County grounds for well over a century, and it still fills the place every summer.
- History and cultureBrown City: born on the rails, baptized by fireBrown City started in 1879 as a railroad shipping point for lumber and grain, survived the great fire of 1881 two years later, and straddles two counties.
- History and cultureThe Christmas parade made of glowing tractorsEvery December, Sandusky strings Christmas lights on combines and grain wagons and rolls them down Main Street in a farm-equipment parade that's run for over thirty years.
- History and cultureThe lumberman who left his name and a sauerkraut factoryDeckerville grew up around Charles Decker's 1870 sawmill and gristmill, then spent decades making everything from flax and bricks to barrels of sauerkraut.
- History and cultureAt Ezhibiigaadek Asin, History Is Written in StoneGreenleaf Township holds Michigan's largest known collection of early Native American teachings carved in stone, a living cultural site cared for by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and the state.
- History and cultureLexington grew from county seat to lake resortSanilac County's earliest settlement served as its first county seat before Lake Huron tourism reshaped Lexington.
- History and cultureLighthouse, shipwrecks, and the storm of 1913Port Sanilac's lighthouse, harbor of refuge, shipwrecks, and historic museum tie the village to Lake Huron's maritime history.
- OutdoorsThe last raised bog in MichiganMinden Bog is a rare raised peat bog in Minden Township and the quiet headwaters of the Cass and Black rivers.
- History and cultureThe swinging bridge and the sugar factoryCroswell is known for its swaying Black River footbridge and its Michigan Sugar Company beet-processing factory.
- Money and taxesNo city income taxSandusky, Croswell, Marlette, and Brown City levy no city income tax; the nearest cities that do are Port Huron and Lapeer, each taking 0.5% from nonresident workers.
- History and cultureIs the Whole Lower Peninsula Really Shaped Like a Mitten — and What's "The Thumb"?Michigan's Lower Peninsula really is mitten-shaped, and 'the Thumb' — the part jutting into Lake Huron, around Huron, Tuscola, and Sanilac counties — is a genuine, official nickname.
- Home and propertyBuying along the Lake Huron shoreLake Huron shoreline property in Sanilac County can mean erosion history, public-trust beach access, and state permits for work near the water.
- Home and propertyWind country — turbines, leases, and who decidesIn Michigan's Thumb, wind turbines can affect rural land value, leases, views, local zoning, and state siting decisions.
- Home and propertyWells and septic outside townOutside Sanilac County's cities and villages, most homes rely on private wells and septic systems, so inspections, water tests, and perc tests matter before buying.
- History and cultureWritten in Stone Near Lake HuronSanilac County connects ezhibiigaadek asin, Michigan's largest known collection of early Native American teachings carved in stone, with its Lake Huron shore.
- 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.
- History and cultureThe Thumb feeds America its beansMichigan's Thumb is the nation's powerhouse for navy and black beans, and Tuscola County farmland is at the heart of it.
- 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.