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luceLuce County

The county was named for Cyrus Gray Luce, Governor of Michigan from 1887 to 1890.

Originally part of the Indiana Territory, the area that is now Luce County became part of the Michilimackinac Region in 1818. In 1828, the Upper Peninsula was divided into only two counties: Michilimackinac, which included part of the Lower Peninsula, and Chippewa, which include most of the are that is now Luce County. By 1852, the U.P. was divided into five counties: Chippewa, Mackinac, Marquette, Houghton, and Ontonagon.

Before 1870 the county was sparsely settled. When the railroad opened in 1881 between St. Ignace and Marquette, John Newberry founded the Vulcan Furnace Company beside the rail line. The hardwood forests were used for charcoal for iron smelting. A state hospital was opened in 1903, which became one of the largest employers in the county. The county is still mostly undeveloped.

Luce County was first developed as a result of the Detroit, Mackinac & Marquette Railroad building a line through here from St. Ignace to Marquette in 1881 for the purpose of transporting lumber. This attracted investor Truman Newberry, who built the Vulcan Furnace Company in the town which was named after him.

When Luce County was formed out of Chippewa County and a small portion of Mackinac County in 1887, Newberry became the county seat, it being the major population center of the area. Luce County was named for Governor Cyrus Luce.

Luce County is best known for being the home of Tahquamenon Falls, the second largest waterfall east of the Mississippi. The County Seat is Newberry, which contains a variety of resorts, and is a central starting point for fishing, sporting and recreational excursions. Another popular area is the Two Heart River, considered one of Michigan’s premiere Trout streams, which flows into Lake Superior at Two Heart, just east of Muskallonge Lake.

Still sparsely populated, 40% of the county is in the Tahquamenon River and Lake Superior state forests and a large percentage of the county is classified as swampland. The first industrial development was the Vulcan Furnace Company, an iron smelting works in Newberry, followed by logging and then farming. After the Newberry Lumber and Chemical Company (earlier called the Lake Superior Iron and Chemical Plant) closed in 1945, the major role in the county economy was filled with the Newberry Regional Mental Health Center, which was closed in 1992.

Post Office & Schoolhouse combined, circa 1898. Notice the U.S. Life-Saving Service Station lookout tower on the upper left. McMillan Township. First established on July 12, 1888 with W.L.M. Powell as its first postmaster. In 1895 the name was combined to one word Deerpark. Post Office discontinued operation on January 15, 1900; with mail service to Newberry.

Administration building of Newberry State Hospital.

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