Allegan County, Michigan

Allegan County Education, Geography, and History

Allegan County is a county in the state of Michigan. As of 2010 census, the population was 111,408. The county seat is Allegan. The name was coined by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to sound like a Native American word.

Allegan County comprises the Holland, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Muskegon, MI Combined Statistical Area. It is primarily an agricultural area that is rapidly becoming urbanized as the population centers of Grand Rapids on the northeast and Kalamazoo to the southeast expand into Allegan County.

Etymology - Origin of Allegan County Name

Allegan County was a name created by Henry Schoolcraft from The Native American tribe of "Allegawi" or "Allegans" believed by some to have been identical with the mound builders

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Allegan County History

The boundaries of Allegan County were laid out by the legislature in 1831. The county was later organized in 1835. At that time there were only about four families permanently settled in the area. Among the first settlers of Allegan County were Giles Scott and Turner Aldrich.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,833 square miles (4,750 km²), of which 825 square miles (2,140 km²) is land and 1,008 square miles (2,610 km²) (55%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Ottawa County (north)
• Kent County (northeast)
• Barry County (east)
• Kalamazoo County (southeast)
• Van Buren County (south)
  

Education

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