BlockBefore

Roscommon County, Michigan

32 topographic sheets cover 20 settlements here, and 1 property is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

1 National Register listing published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Michigan within the United States
Roscommon County within Michigan

What the record shows

  • 229 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 1 property here is on the National Register of Historic Places, listed as a building.
  • 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

1

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
Eggleston Schoolbuilding199696000368

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

316 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 316 of them, burning about 3,041 acres. 9 started naturally and 24 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined88
Equipment and vehicle use53
Debris and open burning49
Recreation and ceremony42
Arson/incendiarism24
Smoking21
Misuse of fire by a minor16
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Natural9
Fireworks2
Railroad operations and maintenance2

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

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
16 April 2005Equipment and vehicle use1,557 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesBOYCE LAKE FIRE
18 April 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined153 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesCANOE CAMP FIRE
15 May 1995Arson/incendiarism83 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 April 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined75 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
31 March 2010Recreation and ceremony62 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesROSCOMMON 02
27 April 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined43 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesROSCOMMON 05
12 September 2004Misuse of fire by a minor40 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
17 April 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined34 acresMichigan Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

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

Storms, 1962 to 2026

60 of 172 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 172 reports for this county, causing 2 deaths, 1 injury and about $52,071,750 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Thunderstorm Wind102
Hail56
Tornado9
Lightning2
Funnel Cloud1
Flash Flood1
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
July 1995Thunderstorm Windnot stated2 killed, $50,000,000Thunderstorm winds did widespread tree damage across all but extreme southeast Roscommon County, with well over 100,000 trees down. Most of the trees brought down were the largest and healthiest, as they had the highest tops and heaviest foliage. Widespread damage to residences, cottages, garages, vehicles was caused by falling trees, while the winds damaged and destroyed docks and boats on the lee shores of all county lakes. Consumers Power Company estimated over 100 miles of phone and power lines down in the county and electrical service remained out to thousands of homes and cottages for periods ranging from a few days to over a week. Average wind gusts in most areas were estimated in the 65 to 80 mph range which is consistent with the reports from the Lyon Twp supervisor using a calibrated anemometer. Near catastrophic damage was done by unusually intense microbursts in three areas, where wind gusts were estimated in the 85 to 100 mph range: the Flag Point area (worst localized damage) on the east shore of Higgins Lake, Comfort and Detroit Points, on the west shore of Higgins Lake, and the communities of Artesia Beach and St. Helen, along the south and southeast shores of Lake St.Helen. An 11-year old female, accompanied by four other family members, was killed when the pontoon boat she was in flipped while returning to its dock; she became trapped under the craft and rescue efforts were delayed by blocked roads in the area. (F11O) A man and wife, riding ORV trails east of the community of St. Helen, were stranded by trees brought down by thunderstorm winds. Subsequently, the man suffered a heart attack. Because of the blocked trails, the wife was forced to walk several miles to a local cottage to obtain assistance. Rescue efforts were hampered by hundreds of downed trees blocking trails, and local residents assisted with chain saws to get the EMT vehicle back to the husband, who was dead when they arrived. (M46O)
July 2010Thunderstorm Wind(Htl)Houghton Lake A1 hurt, $20,000Several trees were downed, and many others were damaged, along the northeast shore of Houghton Lake, and extending inland a bit from Prudenville. One home east of Prudenville was struck by a falling tree. A man on the porch of the home suffered minor injuries from broken glass.
July 1995Thunderstorm Windnot stated$500,000Hundreds of trees were snapped off or uprooted across the county by thunderstorm winds. Most damage occurred along two lines, one extending from the St. Helen area (in Roscommon County) southeast to near the intersection of M-30 and Greenwood Road, with the second extending from Clear Lake southeast across the county fairgrounds and Lake Ogemaw, nine miles east-southeast of West Branch, to near Skidway Lake. Damage to property was not nearly as extensive nor pronounced. There were a few reports of roof damage due to falling trees. Trees also fell on and damaged a few vehicles, including a sport utility vehicle and tractor seven miles northwest of West Branch. Numerous wheat fields along the primary storm tracks were partially flattened by the strong downburst winds.
June 1995Tornado (F1)HTL to$500,000A funnel developed beneath a strong thunderstorm over the north portion of Houghton Lake, touching down several hundred feet offshore and moving onshore as a waterspout at 1747 EDT. Three pontoon boats were flipped and badly damaged and several docks were damaged or destroyed. Now a tornado, it continued onshore doing widespread tree damage in a 150-foot wide swath, with approximately 20 large pines and hardwoods uprooted or snapped off. Minor structural damage occurred to four or five cottages and homes, mainly from trees and flying debris. Continuing a northwest path, the tornado skipped and caused more tree damage as it moved across the north end of Long Point. As the tornado again approached the water, it touched down strongly at 1750 EDT, again doing widespread tree and minor structural damage to approximately 40 trees and six to eight homes and cottages. Six more pontoon boats and several docks were damaged or destroyed as the feature moved offshore as a waterspout, which continued northwest across Houghton Lake's North Bay for nearly two miles before dissipating near the lake outflow into the Muskegon River.
June 1992Tornado (F1)not stated$250,000no account filed
May 2020FloodSt Helen$240,000Areal flooding developed in central and southeast Roscommon County on the 18th. Some creeks and rivers rose out of their banks. Many roads across the county were impacted by high water, and that included a few closures. There was some property damage due to flooding, especially in parts of Houghton Lake.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindHoughton Lake$70,000Many trees and power lines were downed. Some vehicles, homes, cottages, and other buildings were damaged by falling trees.
April 2014Flash FloodLoxley$60,000no account filed
June 1999LightningHoughton Lake$50,000no account filed
August 2006Thunderstorm WindHoughton Lake$45,000Many trees and power lines downed. More than 45 trees were downed at South Higgins Lake State Park, crushing several vehicles.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindMaple Vly$40,000Dozens of trees were downed, and some homes and cabins were damaged by falling trees.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindLyon Manor$40,000About 35 large trees were downed.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindSummit Hgts$20,000A large tree was downed onto a home.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindHiggins Lake$20,000Trees downed. Home heavily damaged when a large oak tree fell and punctured the roof.
October 2007Thunderstorm WindLyon Manor$18,000Several trees were downed by thunderstorm winds south of Higgins Lake. An oak tree fell on top of a mobile home along County Road 104, just west of Reserve Road. The mobile home was moderately damaged.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindLoxley$15,000Around a hundred trees were knocked down near US-127 and Old 27 at the Roscommon and Clare County line.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindSummit Hgts$13,000Roofing was torn off of a self-storage building. Three maple trees were downed near Prudenville. A large oak tree was snapped off further east along M-55.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindMaple Vly$12,000Numerous trees and power poles were downed in the Twin Lakes area.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindHoughton Lake Lake$11,000Several trees were knocked over along the 7600 block of Houghton Lake Road. One home was damaged by a falling tree.
May 2016Thunderstorm Wind(Htl)Houghton Lake A$10,000A few trees and several large tree limbs were downed. A carport was thrown into a stand of trees. Wind gusted to 59 mph at the Roscommon County Airport.
October 2006Thunderstorm WindHiggins Lake$10,000Numerous trees and power lines downed around Higgins Lake.
November 2013Thunderstorm WindHiggins Lake Lake$8,000Multiple trees were downed from east Higgins Lake to Roscommon.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindSt Helen$7,000Trees and power lines were downed.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindPrudenville$6,000Trees were downed just east of Prudenville, across Roscommon Road and Misty Pine Trail.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindHiggins Lake$6,000Several trees and large limbs were downed on the southwest side of Higgins Lake, extending up to near Roscommon.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindHoughton Lake Lake$6,000Numerous large tree limbs were downed, a pontoon boat was flipped over, and an inflatable raft was blown up into some utility lines.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindHoughton Pt$6,000Numerous trees downed in the Long Point area, along the north shore of Houghton Lake.
June 2021Tornado (EF0)Roscommon Cnsrvtn Ar$5,000Numerous trees and large limbs were snapped. Eyewitness reported seeing a counter clockwise circulation and debris.
September 2016Thunderstorm WindSt Helen$5,000Several trees and power lines were downed.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindPrudenville$5,000Several trees were downed.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindHoughton Lake$5,000Several trees were downed.
July 2005LightningPrudenville$5,000Lightning struck a radio tower, damaging equipment in a nearby building.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindHoughton Lake$5,000A pontoon boat was ripped off a hoist and flipped over.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindCadillac$5,000Strong winds blew an 8-inch diameter hardwood off 7 feet above the ground at 119 Terrace Drive in the Village of Prudenville. Strong winds caused extensive tree damage at the Pineview Golf Course on M-55 at the east edge of Rudenville snapping one 12- to 14-inch diameter pine tree off 3 feet above the ground and tearing large live 12- to 15-inch diameter limbs off of another. Just to the east at the Roscommon minibus facility the top 25 feet of a large pine was snapped off 25 feet above the ground and damaged three cars.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindLoxley$4,000Central dispatch reports trees down on top of powerlines near Old US-27 and W Emery Rd. Time estimated via radar.
July 2016Thunderstorm Wind(Htl)Houghton Lake A$4,000A 58 mph gust was measured at the Roscommon County Airport. Large tree limbs were also downed in the area.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindPrudenville$4,000Two pontoon boats on the Houghton Lake shoreline were ripped off their hoists and flipped upside-down into the lake.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindLyon Manor$4,000Trees were knocked over and power lines downed at Townline Road and West Higgins Lake Drive.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindSt Helen$4,000Downed trees and power lines.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindLyon Manor$3,000County dispatch reports multiple trees down across Roscommon county.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindLyon Manor$3,000Several trees were downed along US-127, near the northwest shore of Higgins Lake.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindMaple Vly$3,000An isolated severe thunderstorm downed trees and power lines in the Twin Lakes area.
September 2016Thunderstorm WindPrudenville$2,500A tree and multiple power lines were downed near Lake James.
June 1975Tornado (F0)not stated$2,500no account filed
June 1974Tornado (F2)not stated$2,500no account filed
August 1968Tornado (F1)not stated$2,500no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindPrudenville$2,000A tree and a power line were downed by strong thunderstorm winds.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindLoxley$2,000Several trees were downed along US-127 at mile marker 184.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindMaple Vly$2,000Multiple trees were downed across F-97, just south of the Twin Lakes area.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindHoughton Lake$2,000Two large trees downed.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindHoughton Lake$2,000Trees downed at Old 27 and Deadstream Road.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindPrudenville$2,000Trees downed at M-18 and Doyle Trail.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindSt Helen$500Two trees were blown down as a result of strong thunderstorm winds. The trees also brought down power lines on the way to the ground.
July 1994Thunderstorm Windnot stated$500Two large trees, 10 to 12 inches in diameter, blown down by thunderstorm winds near the intersection of Tower Hill Road and County Route 400, 1.8 miles south of the community of Houghton Lake.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindSW Portion$500Numerous large trees reported blown down or snapped off by thunderstorm winds through the Houghton Lake State Forest.
August 1993Thunderstorm Windnot stated$500An estimated 100 to 125, 3- to 7-inch diameter pines were torn down in an apparent small microburst event just east of the east shore of Houghton Lake and 0.75 mile north of the Roscommon County Airport.
August 1993Thunderstorm WindCadillac$500Strong winds blew down numerous large poplar tree of 8 to 14 inches in diameter on Calkins Road 0.5 mile west of Loxley Road in the southwest portion of the Village of Houghton Lake. Lesser damage extended one mile to the southeast.
May 1973Tornado (F2)not stated$250no account filed
March 2026HailHoughton Lake-Accumulating quarter size hail, with hailstones up to the size of half-dollars.
October 2022Thunderstorm Wind(Htl)Houghton Lake A-ASOS station khtl Houghton Lake - Roscommon County Airport.

Mines and quarries

12 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 12 workings inside this county. 7 still produce and 5 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction10
Fire Clay (Refractory)2

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

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
N.Houghton Lake Clay SampleFire Clay (Refractory)Prospect
N.Roscommon Clay SampleFire Clay (Refractory)Prospect
Halliday Sand and Gravel IncSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Halliday Sand and Gravel MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Jess Stanley Gravel Co. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Roscommon County Road Comm. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Roscommon County Road Comm. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Roscommon County Road Comm. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Roscommon County Road Comm. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
State of Michigan PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
State of Michigan PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Steele Brothers Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

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.