Ogemaw County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,770. The county seat is West Branch. The county newspaper of record is the Ogemaw Herald. Ogemaw County started as part of the Virginia Land owned by England. After the Revolutionary War, it broke up into smaller and smaller pieces. The c…Ogemaw County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,770. The county seat is West Branch. The county newspaper of record is the Ogemaw Herald. Ogemaw County started as part of the Virginia Land owned by England. After the Revolutionary War, it broke up into smaller and smaller pieces. The county was originally created by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 from unorganized territory, but was absorbed into Iosco County in 1867. It was re-created in 1873, and was finally organized in 1875. The county's name is an Anglicization of the Anishinaabemowin word ogimaa, meaning "chief". Ogemaw's name came from an eloquent, respected Native American orator named Little Elk. One of the first settlements in the county was Ogemaw Springs, the genesis of lumbering operations in the county. The settlement of Ogemaw Springs ended when the lumber industry in the region ended. With Ogemaw Springs in decline, the people flocked to West Branch, causing an economic boom, including the construction of its first hotel. This created even more growth, causing many restaurants, hotels, and businesses to be built, a vast majority of which still stand today.
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