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Benzie County, Michigan

43 topographic sheets cover 20 settlements here, and 9 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

9 National Register listings published here, 1 of them a National Historic Landmark.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Michigan within the United States
Benzie County within Michigan

What the record shows

  • 234 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 9 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 5 buildings, 3 structures and 1 district.
  • 1 of the 9 listings was added during the 1970s.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 20 populated places in this county; 20 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

9

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Benzie County Courthousebuilding199696000611
CITY OF MILWAUKEEstructure199090002221
Frankfort Land Company Housebuilding199595000452
Frankfort North Breakwater Lightstructure200505000983
Gwen Frostic Studiobuilding2021100006321
Mills Community Housebuilding197272000593
Navigation Structures at Frankfort Harborstructure199797000973
Point Betsie Light Stationbuilding198484001375
Watervale Historic Districtdistrict200303000624

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

93 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 93 of them, burning about 268 acres. 9 started naturally and 3 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined33
Debris and open burning14
Recreation and ceremony12
Equipment and vehicle use11
Natural9
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Arson/incendiarism3
Smoking3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Other causes1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
31 July 2017Natural55 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesBENZIE 01 GRASS LAKE MARSH
18 November 2016Recreation and ceremony36 acresSleeping Bear Dunes National LakeshorePOPLAR
7 October 2007Recreation and ceremony27 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 July 1995Natural15 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
14 May 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined11 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesBENZIE 02 - REYNOLDS ROAD FIRE
18 April 2004Power generation/transmission/distribution7.6 acresSleeping Bear Dunes National LakeshoreBANCROFT
16 April 2002Power generation/transmission/distribution7.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
13 April 2005Misuse of fire by a minor5.3 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1955 to 2025

60 of 62 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 62 reports for this county, causing 2 deaths, 30 injuries and about $470,750 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Thunderstorm Wind36
Hail20
Tornado4
Flash Flood1
Lightning1

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 1956Tornado (F4)not stated2 killed, 24 hurt, $250,000no account filed
July 1987Thunderstorm Windnot stated6 hurtno account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindLake Ann$60,000Numerous trees downed. Five homes damaged by falling trees.
October 1989Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
June 2010Thunderstorm WindWatervale$16,000Pockets of tree damage occurred in southern Benzie County. A large barn was partially unroofed.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindFrankfort$15,000A 70 mph gust was measured at the Coast Guard Station on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Numerous trees and tree limbs were downed in Frankfort.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindLake Ann$12,000Large maple downed onto two vehicles.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindLake Ann$12,000A large tree was downed onto a car.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindThompsonville Arpt$10,000Local print and broadcast media report downed trees and damage to artwork at Michigan Legacy Art Park due to thunderstorms. Time approximated from radar data.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindBeulah$9,000Scattered trees were downed from the Beulah area to near Cinder and Homestead Roads.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindFrankfort$9,000Several trees and a few power lines were downed.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWatervale$8,000Several trees were downed near Lower Herring Lake.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindFrankfort Arpt$8,000Numerous trees were downed between Frankfort and Benzonia.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindFrankfort$8,000Trees down on M-22 near Sutter Road, and on the Crystal Downs golf course.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindFrankfort$6,000Multiple trees and power lines were downed.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindFrankfort$5,000Local media reports multiple trees and powerlines down in the city of Frankfort. Reports confirmed by emergency manager.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindLake Ann$5,000Trees and powerlines downed.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindThompsonville$4,000Trees downed.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindThompsonville Arpt$3,000Two trees were downed across M-115 near King Rd.
June 1986Tornado (F1)not stated$2,500no account filed
June 2016Thunderstorm WindLake Ann$2,000Several large tree limbs were downed.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindFrankfort$1,000Four funnel clouds were sighted by a Coast Guard Vessel, over water, along the shoreline between Frankfort and the Point Betsie Lighthouse. Trees and power lines were reported downed by the wind along two miles of M22 east of the Point Betsie Lighthouse.
July 1983Tornado (F1)not stated$250no account filed
July 2025Thunderstorm WindCarter Corner-Trees and powerlines down on Thompsonville Highway, south of US-31.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindFrankfort-Multiple trees reported down in the vicinity of Frankfort, MI, including South Shore Rd.
April 2024HailThompsonville-Report of three-quarter-inch hail.
September 2021HailBeulah-Report from mping.
September 2003HailFrankfort-A strong upper level disturbance contributed to widespread thunderstorms. A large number of these produced small hail, though only one report of severe-criteria hail was received. Some waterspouts also occurred over nearby waters of the Great Lakes.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindFrankfort-Trees were downed along M-22.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindBenzonia-A large tree was downed.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindFrankfort-Several trees and power lines down.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindFrankfort-Numerous trees down.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindCountywide-Numerous trees down.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindLake Ann-Several trees down.
August 2001Thunderstorm WindThompsonville-Large tree fell on van.
September 2000Flash FloodCountywide-Flooding of roads.
September 1998Thunderstorm WindCountywide-Scattered reports of trees uprooted and/or snapped off countywide.
May 2019HailBenzonia-no account filed
May 2019HailNessen City-no account filed
October 2016HailLake Ann-no account filed
June 2007HailBenzonia-no account filed
July 2006HailHonor-no account filed
June 2006HailLake Ann-no account filed
October 2006HailBenzonia-no account filed
October 2006HailHonor-no account filed
September 2005HailLake Ann-no account filed
September 2005HailElberta-no account filed
August 2003HailLake Ann-no account filed
August 2003HailLake Ann-no account filed
May 2002HailHonor-no account filed
September 2000LightningCountywide-no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindHonor-no account filed
April 1993HailFrankfort-no account filed
March 1991Thunderstorm Windnot stated-no account filed
March 1991Thunderstorm Windnot stated-no account filed
July 1987Hailnot stated-no account filed
September 1985Thunderstorm Windnot stated-no account filed
September 1985Thunderstorm Windnot stated-no account filed
July 1983Thunderstorm Windnot stated-no account filed
July 1982Hailnot stated-no account filed

Mines and quarries

2 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 2 workings inside this county. All of them still produce. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction1
Silica1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Benzie County PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Walter Rohn PropertySilicaProducerSedimentary

Every populated place in the county

20

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

The vanished settlements of Benzie County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.