Alpena

History

The Alpena area is home to the Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Potawatomi people. These people groups inhabit the area surrounding the Great Lakes, including Michigan. The Thunder Bay Band of Chippewa and Ottawa merged with the Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians in the mid-1800s under Chief Way-ge-maw-waw-be. Alpena County was originally set off from Michilimackinac County as Anamickee County founded in 1840, which in 1843 was changed to Alpena, a pseudo-Native American word — a neologism coined by Henry Schoolcraft, meaning something like "a good partridge country." This was part of a much larger effort to rename a great many of the Michigan counties at the time. The first European settler at modern-day Alpena was W.F. Cullings, a fisherman in 1835. In 1856, George W. Fletcher and three others from Detroit platted a village by the name of Fremont, after John C. Frémont. The community was briefly renamed Thunder Bay in 1857 before being renamed again to Alpena in 1871. The city of Alpena was officially incorporated by Michigan State Legislature on March 29, 1871. Most of the city was lost in the Great Michigan Fire of 1871. Less than one year later, on July 12, 1872, Alpena was hit by another fire, the largest in its history, which destroyed of homes and businesses for a total amount of 65 buildings. The blaze started in a barn and lasted for two hours, killing at least four people and causing at least in damages. Alpena was again hit by a disastrous fire on July 11, 1888. The city has a number of notable buildings, including the Art deco Alpena County Courthouse, the I.O.O.F. Centennial Building, and Temple Beth El, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States. There are seven recognized historical markers in the city: * Alpena City Hall * Alpena County…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and (7.48%) is water. The city is on the shore of Lake Huron's Thunder Bay, with Alpena Township surrounding it on land. Alpena has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with warm summers along with cool nights, moderated by nearby Lake Huron and cold, snowy winters with annual snowfall averaging 84 inches (210 cm).

Most-observed species

• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  869
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  804
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  778
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  772
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  711
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  708
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  640
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  635

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2015-02-16
  5 km WNW of Alpena, Michigan