Crawford County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 12,988 as of the 2020 census. The county seat of Crawford County is Grayling, the county's only incorporated community.

Crawford County is located in the Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It contains land within three of Michigan's largest watersheds, belonging to the Au Sable, Manistee, and Muskegon rivers and 75% of the county is publicly owned by the Department of Military Affairs, the United States Forest Service or the State of Michigan.

History

The county is named for Col. William Crawford, a Revolutionary War officer captured by Native Americans near Sandusky, Ohio and burned at the stake in 1792. Created by the Michigan Legislature as Shawono County in 1840, before being renamed in 1843 as Crawford County. "Shawono" was derived from an Ojibwe word, zhaawanong, meaning "from the south". The area was administered by other Michigan counties before 1879 when the county government was organized.

Due to the location in rural northern Michigan, Crawford County's greatest economic growth occurred in the 1800s when lumbering clear-cut most of the extensive forests of Norway pine, birch, maple, beech and hemlock. With the trees gone, tourism became the center of the economy. In the 1870s Crawford County became a popular destination for recreational fishing. The Michigan grayling, found in the Au Sable River, first gained the attention of anglers. The Crawford County Avalanche began publishing a weekly paper in 1879. Their first edition featured a fishing story on the front-page. By the end of the century, the grayling species vanished due to a combination of overfishing, river degradation due to logging, and the impact of human-introduced brown trout. The Au Sable River of today boasts large populations of brown and rainbow trout and remains a premiere trout fishing area in both Michigan and the nation.

1900s A 1912 text, A History of Northern Michigan and its people by Perry F. Powers & Harry Gordner Cutler describes Crawford County: The topography is rolling hills but not so steep as to impede farm equipment. The Au Sable River, along with its tributaries, traverse the entire county, providing water and locations for ranching livestock. It also presents an opportunity for superb trout fishing. On the western county line is a natural reservoir that forms the Manistee River. Transportation is primarily provided by the Michigan Central railroad. The Detroit & Charlevoix railroad has track to Frederic, Michigan to the northwest. Half of the land is the county is a gravel loam soil which can produce standard crops. Thousands of acres of clear-cut old growth pine in Crawford County is available to settle. Potatoes, clover and root crops will thrive in this soil. Growing clover seed has become recognized as a “money crop”. Fruit trees are becoming a popular choice with apples being prolific and flavorful. “Plains” soil supports native grasses which stockmen are using for profitable sheep and cattle ranches throughout the county. There are few swamps and lowlands, all along narrow strips beside waterways, which can be productive with proper drainage. Over a hundred years ago, people journeyed "up north" for rest, recreation and their health. Hunting has always been popular, and for wild game, large tracts of second-growth timber on land originally clear-cut provide better food and protection than the original forests did. Deer populations are stable despite the hundreds that are taken every year by settlers and sportsmen.

Winter Sports Park The Grayling Winter Sports Park (GWSP) was opened in 1929. It started as a toboggan run that grew into Michigan's first ski resort. Following the popular 1932 Winter Olympics, Grayling constructed a 66-foot ski jump in 1934. A few years later, a Winter Carnival was started that included a parade, ice sculpture competition, and a Snow Queen pageant. The park's popularity increased to the point where a "Snow Train" was established to bring skiers to Grayling from across the state. Transportation from Lodges in Grayling to the park was provided by flat-bed trucks. Groomed trails were provided for Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

The Cass City Chronicle noted in March 1941, "Due to generous support of the federal park service, state conservation department, and Civilian Conservation Corps, Grayling offers today the finest public toboggan set-up in the entire United States, and this isn't paid ballyhoo. Six steel slides are the only ones of their kind anywhere not excluding Lake Placid or Sun Valley (Idaho). Two ski tows have been in operation; next season there will be three."

The Crawford County operated the GWSP into the late 1960s when Fred Bear, owner of Bear Archery, and other local businessmen assumed operational control. It was renamed, Bear Mountain and they attempted to create a commercial ski area to compete with resorts further north. A legal challenge in 1973 resulted in a judgement giving control back to the county, which has operated it since then as Hanson Hills Recreation Area by the Grayling Recreation Authority.

The annual canoe / kayak race record winning time is held by Scott Norman in his significantly modified kayak, which not only gave him the speed record, but also the distance record, as his brakes failed to deploy and he was retrieved by snowmobile outside of the park near M-93. "

Military

In 1913, lumber baron Rasmus Hanson donated 147,000 acres (590 km2) of harvested timberland to the state of Michigan for military training. Most of the land is situated in Crawford County, with parcels in Kalkaska and Otsego counties. Troops first began training there in 1914. It is the primary training facility for the Michigan National Guard and is the largest National Guard training facility in the United States.

Hartwick Pines

Edward Hartwick graduated from Grayling High School in 1888 and received an appointment to West Point in 1889. Four years later he graduated with high honors and was assigned to the 4th Cavalry. He soon transferred to the 9th Cavalry, known as the Buffalo Soldiers on the western frontier. With the advent of the Spanish–American War, his unit was sent to Cuba where he participated in the Battle of San Juan Hill. At wars end, he returned to Grayling and married Karen Bessie Michelson, then resigned his commission nine months later. He engaged in the banking and lumber business, prospered, and later moved to Detroit. When the United States entered World War I, he volunteered for service at age 46 and was commissioned an Army Major. After just a few months in France, he contracted meningitis and died. In 1927, Karen Michelson Hartwick purchased including the last of virgin old growth pine forest in Michigan's lower peninsula and donated it to the state of Michigan to honor her husband. Hartwick Pines State Park is the largest state park in the lower peninsula.

Fire The Stephen Bridge Road Fire of 1990 was a significant event in Northern Michigan and was reported in the national news. On a snowy day in March 1990, a homeowner was preparing to burn large brush piles from a section of land he recently cleared. He obtained a burn permit before setting the fire and monitoring it. The large piles smoked and smoldered for a couple of weeks before the fire seemed to burn out. One month later, the fire rekindled, burned for a day, then appeared to go out again. Three weeks passed, and a property owner nearby noticed the pile burning, and less than 20 minutes later had spread to the neighboring woodland. An investigation determined that the fire had been continuously burning at the base of the pile from the middle of March until May 8. On that day, a strong wind brought fresh air and the fire took off. Crews contained the fire in less than two days. But, by the time it was all said and done – almost seven weeks after the first flame was sparked 5,916 acres along 8 miles had burned, $5.5 million in property including 76 homes, 125 other buildings, 37 vehicles & boats and $700,000 in timber had been destroyed.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) produced a case study in 1991 titled, "1990 Stephan Bridge Road Fire, northern Lower Michigan".

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water. Although it is located on Michigan's Lower Peninsula, Crawford County is considered to be part of Northern Michigan. The county contains land within three of Michigan's largest watersheds, belonging to the Au Sable, Manistee, and Muskegon rivers.

Crawford County has relatively few lakes, mostly in the northern part of the county. Lake Margrethe is the county's largest and has a surface area of . Other water bodies >100 acres include Big Bradford Lake, Big Bear Lake, KP Lake, Shellenbarger Lake, Shupac Lake and Wakeley Lake. Some of these are so-called kettle lakes,' formed by the melting of blocks of glacial ice, left as the glacier retreated, which created a depression in the soil. The Manistee River flows on the western edge of the county; branches of the Au Sable River flow throughout the remainder of the county.

The county is part of the Au Sable State Forest, specifically the Grayling FMU (Alcona, Crawford, Oscoda, and northern Iosco counties). Parts of the county are also within the Huron National Forest. Glaciers shaped the area, creating a unique regional ecosystem. A large portion of the area is the so-called Grayling outwash plain, which consists of broad outwash plain including sandy ice-disintegration ridges; jack pine barrens, some white pine-red pine forest, and northern hardwood forest. Large lakes were created by glacial action.

Rivers Au Sable River, begins in Otsego County, Michigan and flows through Crawford, Oscoda, Alcona, then Iosco before flowing into Lake Huron. Manistee River begins in Antrim County, Michigan and flows through Otsego, Crawford, Kalkaska, Wexford, then Manistee before flowing into Lake Michigan.

Adjacent counties Otsego County - north Montmorency County - northeast Oscoda County - east Ogemaw County - southeast Roscommon County - south Missaukee County - southwest Kalkaska County - west Antrim County - northwest

Protected areas Huron National Forest (part) Au Sable State Forest Huron–Manistee National Forests Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area

State Parks Hartwick Pines State Park North Higgins Lake State Park

Communities

City Grayling

Charter township Grayling Charter Township

Civil townships Beaver Creek Township Frederic Township Lovells Township Maple Forest Township South Branch Township

Unincorporated communities

Babbits Resort Collens Landing Danish Landing Deerheart Valley Eldorado Five Corners Forbush Corner Frederic Ishaward Lake Margrethe Louis Cabin Landing Lovells McIntyre Landing Rasmus Skyline Village Wildwood

Ghost towns Bucks Deward Pere Cheney

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Crawford County, Michigan – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)9,29511,73713,66013,58612,02698.20%95.73%95.71%96.53%92.59%Black or African American alone (NH)5626021342570.59%2.12%1.49%0.30%0.44%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)441428571830.46%1.16%0.60%0.50%0.64%Asian alone (NH)16423652550.17%0.34%0.25%0.37%0.42%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census114xx0.01%0.01%0.03%Other race alone (NH)5022290.05%0.00%0.01%0.01%0.22%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census134138442xx0.94%0.98%3.40%Hispanic or Latino (any race)49791421822920.52%0.64%0.99%1.29%2.25%Total9,46512,26014,27314,07412,988 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census