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Clare County, Michigan

43 topographic sheets cover 20 settlements here, and 3 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

3 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Michigan within the United States
Clare County within Michigan

What the record shows

  • 227 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 3 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 2 buildings and 1 district.
  • 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

3

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
Clare Congregational Churchbuilding199494001424
Clare Downtown Historic Districtdistrict201616000178
George and Martha Hitchcock Housebuilding198282002832

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

544 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 544 of them, burning about 1,463 acres. 9 started naturally and 41 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning175
Missing data/not specified/undetermined115
Equipment and vehicle use77
Arson/incendiarism41
Recreation and ceremony39
Misuse of fire by a minor23
Smoking18
Railroad operations and maintenance17
Power generation/transmission/distribution16
Fireworks11
Natural9
Other causes3

The five largest, by the area the report gives. One of them was set deliberately.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
5 April 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined62 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 April 2005Arson/incendiarism50 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 April 2010Smoking43 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesCLARE 07
12 March 2003Debris and open burning40 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
11 April 2002Railroad operations and maintenance40 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 April 1994Misuse of fire by a minor33 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 March 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined30 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
22 May 1994Missing data/not specified/undetermined26 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

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

Storms, 1960 to 2024

60 of 125 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 125 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 2 injuries and about $7,269,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Thunderstorm Wind69
Hail39
Tornado10
Flash Flood5
Lightning1
Flood1

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
November 2013Thunderstorm WindHarrison1 hurt, $75,000Several trees and power lines were blown down and one person was injured by a falling tree. Part of US-10 was blocked by several downed large trees and one tree fell on a house.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindHamilton Township1 hurt, $50,000A barn and silo were damaged. A travel trailer was damaged by fallen trees. One man was injured when a tree fell on his vehicle. Sheriff Department received reports of tornadoes, but none were confirmed.
April 2013FloodLeota$3,000,000Significant flooding occurred on rivers and streams across Clare county.
July 2024Tornado (EF1)Lake George$2,000,000The first indications of tornado damage were near Bringold Avenue about one-third of a mile south of Mannsiding Road. The tornado traveled east northeast across Lake George and continued east near Cedar Road and continued on to the east northeast |crossing US-127 and ending just south of the intersection of East Gladwin Road and South Rodgers Avenue.||The damage included boats flipped on Lake George as well as hundreds of|trees downed along the path - including some trees falling onto homes.|There was a concentrated area of damage where winds were estimated|at 95 mph just east of Old State Road about one-quarter mile south|of Mannsiding Road. After that, the damage became intermittent and|weaker with some pockets of 65-80 mph damage.
September 1998HailLeota$300,0001.75 to 3 inch hail damaged buildings and vehicles damage amount is unknown.
April 2020HailLake$250,000Large hail up to one and three quarters inches in diameter was reported near Clare.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindLeota$200,000Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped and there was damage to buldings and vehicles due to fallen trees. Leota was especially hard hit.
October 1998Tornado (F0)Clare$200,000Tornado continued into Clare County then lifted and moved ne
June 2021Tornado (EF0)Dover$100,000An NWS storm survey concluded that an EF-0 tornado occurred with a path length of about a hundred yards. The upwind side of a barn wall was partly caved in. Tree limbs were snapped and a house attachment or garage-like structure on cinderblocks was destroyed. One large and healthy tree northeast of the garage-like structure damage and along the centerline of the tornado track was completely delimbed. Elsewhere, there were trees snapped or sheared. Near the end of the path a section of metal roofing was torn off a barn.
May 2001Flash FloodCountywide$100,000no account filed
August 2024Thunderstorm WindClare$75,000A large tree fell on several parked cars.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindHarrison$50,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down.
September 2021Thunderstorm WindLake George$50,000Several trees and power lines were blown down near Lake George and Arthur Avenues and around Lake George.
May 1999Thunderstorm WindHarrison$50,000Large trees and some power lines were downed by gusty winds in Harrison.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindTemple$50,000Numerous trees and power lines were downed across Clare County and one home was damaged. No injuries were reported. Damages were estimated at $50,000.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindHarrison to$50,000Numerous trees were uprooted or blown down due to high thunderstorm winds from Harrison to Meredith in north central and northeast Clare County.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindLeota$50,000no account filed
July 2003HailLeota$40,000One and three quarters inch diameter hail was reported in Meredith and Leota.
June 2003HailClare$30,000A report of one inch diameter hail was received from Clare.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindLake$30,000no account filed
May 2000HailHarrison$30,000no account filed
June 2024Thunderstorm WindLeota$25,000Several large trees were blown down.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindLeota$25,000The Clare county road commission indicated numerous trees were blown down over roads, especially in Winterfield township.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindClare$25,000A tree was blown down onto a house in Clare.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindLeota$25,000no account filed
May 2001Flash FloodCountywide$25,000no account filed
June 1987Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
March 1976Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
August 2015Thunderstorm WindHarrison$20,000Scattered areas of downed trees were reported across portions of Clare county.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindLake George$20,000Several trees were blown down across Lincoln township in Clare county. Six trees were blown down at the intersection of Cranberry Lake Road and Harding Avenue.
August 2000HailLake$20,000no account filed
September 2000Thunderstorm WindHarrison$20,000no account filed
June 2016Thunderstorm WindBrowns Corner$15,000A trained spotter reported that numerous healthy poplar trees of around a foot and a half in diameter were blown down onto portions of Route 127 near Snow Snake Ski and Golf. Several trees were also blown down on the golf course.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindHarrison$15,000Law enforcement reported that the back side of a barn was blown out with numerous trees down near the intersection of Hemlock Avenue and Clarence Road.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindTemple$15,000A report of up to two dozen ten to twelve inch diameter oak and elm trees being blown down was received from five miles east northeast of Temple along Bringold Avenue.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindFarwell$15,000Several trees were blown down and power lines were also downed in Farwell.
September 2001Thunderstorm WindLeota$15,000no account filed
July 2023Thunderstorm WindHarrison$10,000A state official reported that several trees were blown down near Harrison.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindHarrison$10,000Multiple trees were blown down five miles east of Harrison.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindFarwell$10,000Several trees were blown down in and near Farwell.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindLake$10,000A few trees and power lines were blown down in Garfield township.
July 2014HailFarwell$10,000The public reported hail up to one and three quarters inch in diameter near Farwell.
July 2007HailFarwell$10,000One inch diameter hail was reported at Clare and seven eighths inch diameter hail was reported at Farwell.
June 2005HailHarrison$10,000One inch diameter hail was reported six miles northeast of Harrison.
May 2004HailLake George$10,000Three quarters inch hail was reported by the public in Lake George.
May 2001Tornado (F0)Browns Corner$10,000A F0 tornado briefly touched down in Browns Corners. It had a path length of only a tenth of a mile, and a width of 30 yards. The only damage observed was to a few trees.
February 1999Thunderstorm WindClare$10,000A 60 mile per hour wind gust was reported and some trees were downed.
September 2016Thunderstorm WindHarrison$5,000A 911 call center reported that several trees were blown down near Budd Lake.
October 2007Thunderstorm WindDover$5,000Several trees and power lines were blown down by wind gusts estimated at 60 mph.
October 2007Thunderstorm WindLake$5,000Several trees and power were blown down by wind gusts estimated at 60 mph.
June 2006HailClare$5,000Three quarters inch hail was reported by amateur radio operators in Clare.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindHarrison$5,000Three trees were blown down in Hayes and Surrey townships.
September 1998Thunderstorm WindHarrison$5,000Wind Damage to homes and trees 4 NE Harrrison.
September 1997Thunderstorm WindClare$5,000Clare County Central Dispatch reported trees and power lines downed in and around the city of Clare at 2:00 PM EDT.
September 1997Thunderstorm WindFarwell$5,000Clare County Central Dispatch reported trees were downed in Farwell at 2:20 PM EDT.
August 1995Thunderstorm WindClare$5,000Thunderstorm winds knocked down a few large trees up to one foot in diameter just east of U.S. 27, causing minimal structural damage to a mobile home.
July 1996LightningTemple$5,000no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindLake George$4,000Two trees were blown down near Lake George in the area of Clarence Rd. and Bringold Ave.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindLake George$2,500One tree reported downed near M-115 in southwest Clare County. Other trees were downed across county from this severe thunderstorm.
September 2001Thunderstorm WindHarrison$2,000no account filed

Mines and quarries

9 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 9 workings inside this county. 5 still produce and 4 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction7
Clay2

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

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Clare Prtlnd Cmnt Co Clay ProspectClayProspect
McKenna Clay PitClayPast Producer
Larman Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Loomis PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Martz Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Mcculloch Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Mcquestion Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Shively Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Weldon Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

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.

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.