Summary

Volume 1 reprints the 1855 act organizing Manitou County. It puts the Beaver group, both Fox islands, and both Manitou islands in one county; requires the first election canvass at Saint James; and gives the county concurrent Lake Michigan jurisdiction. The act itself says the county seat would be fixed by the board of supervisors, while the 1874 compiler separately reports that the seat of justice was at Saint James.

This entry keeps the law and later compilation distinct. It does not establish the board action, a lasting boundary, the full working county government, or a modern jurisdiction.

Sources

*Michigan Historical Collections*, vol. 1 (1874), “Manitou County,” pp. 259–260, reprinting the 12 February 1855 organization act, Internet Archive item michiganhistoric01mich.
Described in this archive: Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society collections corpus.
Printed page image checked. The compilation prints the act’s Section 1 grouping the Beaver group, North and South Fox, and North and South Manitou islands in Manitou County. This is an edited 1874 reprint of the law, not the enrolled act itself.
page_evidence · michigan_historical_collections_vol01_p259_leaf274
*Michigan Historical Collections*, vol. 1 (1874), “Manitou County,” p. 260, Internet Archive item michiganhistoric01mich.
Described in this archive: Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society collections corpus.
Printed page image checked. The reprinted act calls for the first county-election canvass at St. James, says the county seat would be fixed by the board of supervisors, and gives concurrent Lake Michigan jurisdiction. The compiler separately states “The seat of justice is at St. James.” The source therefore distinguishes the statutory mechanism from the compilation’s later descriptive statement.
page_evidence · michigan_historical_collections_vol01_p260_leaf275

Added 2 August 2026 · revised 4 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Michigan Historical Collections, volume 1, 1874”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/documents/michigan-historical-collections-volume-01/, accessed [date], citing *Michigan Historical Collections*, vol. 1 (1874), “Manitou County,” pp. 259–260, reprinting the 12 February 1855 organization act, Internet Archive item michiganhistoric01mich. (and 1 further source listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-04. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

BibTeX for “Michigan Historical Collections, volume 1, 1874”RIS for “Michigan Historical Collections, volume 1, 1874”