Newaygo County, Michigan

Newaygo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 48,460. The county seat is White Cloud. The county was created in 1840 and organized in 1851. It was either named for an Ojibwe leader who signed the Saginaw Treaty of 1819 or for a Native American word meaning much water.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 862 square miles (2,230 km²), of which 813 square miles (2,110 km²) is land and 48 square miles (120 km²) (5.6%) is water. The county is considered to be part of West Michigan.

The county contains more than 230 natural lakes. The combined total of all the rivers and streams is longer than 350 miles. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, there are three huge dams: Croton, Hardy and Newaygo. The Hardy Dam is the largest earthen dam east of the Mississippi. Over half of the county is in the Manistee National Forest.

Rivers