Alcona County, Michigan

Alcona County is a county of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,942. Its county seat is Harrisville. Alphabetically it is the first county in Michigan, as its flag states "First of 83".

History

The county was created by the state legislature on April 1, 1840. It was at first named "Negwegon County", after the name of a well-known Chippewa chief, also known as "Little Wing", who was an American ally against the British in the War of 1812. It was renamed to Alcona County on March 8, 1843, after a neologism manufactured by Henry Schoolcraft from parts of words from Native American languages, plus Arabic, Greek and Latin, which were amalgamated to mean "fine or excellent plain".See and compare, List of Michigan county name etymologies, List of Michigan counties, and List of abolished U.S. counties.

Initially, it was attached to Mackinac County for administrative purposes. The attachment shifted to Cheboygan County in 1853, to Alpena County in 1857, Iosco County in 1858, and Alpena County in 1859. Harrisville Township, then comprising the entire county, was organized in 1860. County government was organized in 1869. The County's slogan on its seal (a single gold star on a green field in the shape of Alcona County) is "First of 83," which refers to its place alphabetically among Michigan counties.