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'Macomb County' is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 788,149. The county seat is Mt. Clemens⁶. The county is part of Metro Detroit. The county was named for an early U.S. Army commander, Alexander Macomb, Jr..

Contents

Geography

Adjacent counties

Demographics

History

Parks and recreation

Government

Macomb County Elected Officials

Noted people from Macomb County

Actors/Actresses

Athletes

Musicians

Other

Cities, villages, and townships

External links

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 570 square miles (1,476 km²)—480 square miles (1,244 km²) of it is land and 89 square miles (231 km²) of it (15.68%) is water.
Lake St. Clair borders the county on the east.

Adjacent counties

★ St. Clair County, Michigan - northeast

★ Lapeer County, Michigan - northwest

★ Oakland County, Michigan - west

★ Wayne County, Michigan - south

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 788,149 people, 309,203 households, and 210,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,640 people per square mile (633/km²). There were 320,276 housing units at an average density of 667 per square mile (257/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.66% White, 2.71% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 2.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.1% were of German, 17.1% Polish, 13.6% Italian, 7.5% Irish and 5.5% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 87.6% spoke English, 1.7% Italian, 1.4% Polish, 1.2% Spanish, 1.1% Arabic and 1.1% Syriac as their first language.
Two Native American tribes had over 1000 people who self-identified with the tribe in Macomb County in 2000. 1781 county residents indicated that they were Cherokee on the census form. 1038 did the same for being Chippewa.^[1] This is the tribe known as the Ojibwa. It should be kept in mind that whether someone marked "Ojibwa", "Chippewa" or "Anishabaag" it was all grouped together in the reported counts.
Among Asians groups, Macomb County has six with over 1000 people. The most numerous were the 5713 Asian Indians. Filipinos came in a close second numbering 4155, this includes many children who are Filipino on their mother's side and European-American on their father's side. Chinese number 2489. Koreans numbered 1853, while Vietnamese numbered 1557. There were 1103, the only Asian group without a nation to be so recognized.^[2] It should be remembered that people from Iran and further west are classed as whites.
There were 309,203 households out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $52,102, and the median income for a family was $62,816. Males had a median income of $48,303 versus $30,215 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,446. About 4.00% of families and 5.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.00% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.
The years 2000-2005 saw the African American population in Macomb County more than double. This growth largely resulted from an exodus of African Americans from Detroit. By 2005 Census estimates for Macomb County showed it was 5.6% African American, meaning that the growth of the African-American population in the county had been well over 100% in the last 5 years. The percentage of Asians had risen to 2.9%, largely fueled by the exodus of the eastside Detroit Hmong population northward into Warren. The American Community Survey showed 1.5% of Macomb County's population reporting two or more races.

History

The Ojibwa were the first settlers in the area. The first Europeans arrived in the area during the 17th century. A Moravian colony was established in the county in the late 18th Century. They included French fur trappers and missionaries. In addition to the original French and English, later settlers included Germans, Belgians and others who came directly from Europe.
Macomb County was formally organized on January 15, 1818 as the third county in the Michigan territory. At that time, it covered a much larger area than it does today. In 1819 and 1820, large portions of the county were removed to form the counties of Oakland, Lapeer, Genesee and St. Clair. The county was named in honor of General Alexander Macomb, Jr. a highly decorated veteran of the War of 1812.
The county gained fame in the 1980s and '90s as a bellwether of state and national politics. Macomb's large cohort of working-class, socially conservative whites gave it one of the nation's most prominent concentrations of "Reagan Democrats", and outsider candidates with a conservative-populist bent have done well there in the past (e.g. George Wallace in 1968 and Pat Buchanan in 1992).

Parks and recreation

Macomb County is home to more than 130 parks covering 12,000 acres (49 km²) managed by the state, regional, county, and local government. There are four major public parks in the County - Freedom Hill County Park, Macomb Orchard Trail, Metro Beach Metropark, and Stony Creek Metropark. The county also has 31 miles of shoreline and over 100 marinas.

Government

The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Macomb County Elected Officials

★ Prosecuting Attorney: Eric J. Smith (Democrat)

★ Sheriff: Mark A. Hackel (Democrat)

★ County Clerk/Register of Deeds: Carmella Sabaugh (Democrat)

★ County Treasurer: Ted B. Wahby (Democrat)

★ Public Works Commissioner: Anthony V. Marrocco (Democrat)

★ State Senator: Alan Sanborn (Republican)

★ County Commission or Board of Commissioners: 26 members, elected from districts (17 Democrats, 9 Republicans)

★ Circuit Court: 12 judges (non-partisan)

★ Probate Court: 2 judges (non-partisan)
(information as of February 2006)

Noted people from Macomb County

Actors/Actresses

★ Dave Coulier, actor/comedian, St. Clair Shores

★ Dean Cain, actor, Mount Clemens

★ Faye Grant, actress, St. Clair Shores

Athletes

★ Derian Hatcher, NHL player, Sterling Heights

★ Kevin Hatcher, NHL player, Sterling Heights

★ Matt Hunwick, NHL player, Warren

★ Craig Kowalski, ECHL player, Warren

★ Denny Felsner, NHL player, Warren

★ Dick Enberg, sports announcer, Armada

★ Michele Van Gorp, WNBA player from Duke University

★ Shirley Muldowney, race car driver, Armada

★ Bryan Herta, race car driver, Warren

★ Johnny White, race car driver, Warren

★ John Smoltz, MLB player, Warren

★ Steve Phillips, MLB coach, Warren

★ Jim Sorgi, NFL player, Fraser

Musicians

★ Kid Rock, Romeo

★ Alice Cooper, St. Clair Shores

★ Mitch Ryder, Roseville

★ Justin Jeffre, (''98 Degrees''), Mount Clemens

★ Uncle Kracker, Mount Clemens

★ Eminem, Warren

Other

★ Candice Miller, Michigan politician

★ Alex Groesbeck, politician, Warren

★ Butch Hartman, creator of the cartoon show ''The Fairy Oddparents'', New Baltimore

★ Martha Griffiths, Lieutenant Governor of Michigan in the late 1980s, Armada

★ Jerry M. Linenger, NASA astronaut, Eastpointe

Cities, villages, and townships

★ Armada Township

★ Armada, village

★ Bruce Township

★ Center Line, city

★ Chesterfield Township

★ Clinton Charter Township

★ Eastpointe, city

★ Fraser, city

★ a small part of Grosse Pointe Shores, village

★ Harrison Charter Township

★ Lake Township (the part of Grosse Pointe Shores in Macomb County)

★ Lenox Township

★ Macomb Township

★ Memphis, city

★ Mount Clemens, city (county seat)

★ New Baltimore, city

★ New Haven, village

★ Ray Township

★ Richmond Township

★ Richmond, city

★ Romeo, village

★ Roseville, city

★ Shelby Charter Township

★ St. Clair Shores, city

★ Sterling Heights, city

★ Utica, city

★ Warren, city

★ Washington Township

External links

★ Macomb County - Offical Website

★ Office of Carmella Sabaugh (County Clerk/Register of Deeds)

★ Macomb County Library

★ Macomb County Voice