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Michigan County
Alcona County, Michigan
Harrisville State Park and Huron National Forest - from Harrisville State Park (one of Lake Huron's most accessible and beloved state parks, the park's sandy beach, campground, and lighthouse grounds at Harrisville offer quintessential Lake Huron shoreline recreation) to the Huron National Forest and AuSable River (Huron National Forest covers much of Alcona County's interior, and the upper AuSable River flows through the forest providing trout fishing access in the same legendary watershed that drew anglers to the region for over a century, along with the habitat for the federally endangered Kirtland's warbler in the county's jack pine forests).
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Office: Alcona County Emergency Management Coordination – 2600 M-72, Harrisville, MI 48740 | (989) 724-8185.
Alcona County 911 Central Dispatch – 212 W Main St, Harrisville, MI 48740 | (989) 724-0911 (non-emergency); Dial or text 911 for emergencies.
Sheriff: Alcona County Sheriff’s Office – 214 W Main St, Harrisville, MI 48740 | (989) 724-6271; Sheriff Scott A. Stephenson (confirm current officeholder); no municipal police departments exist in Alcona County – the Sheriff’s Office is the primary law enforcement agency countywide, supplemented by Michigan State Police, Alpena Post.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-23, part of Michigan’s Sunrise Coast/Sunrise Side Byway, serves Harrisville, the county seat, along Lake Huron.
Notes: Alcona County is genuinely Michigan’s first county alphabetically among the state’s 83 counties. It covers roughly 695 square miles with 36 miles of Lake Huron shoreline, and is home to fewer than 10,000 year-round residents, placing it near the bottom of Michigan counties by population. Much of the county lies within the Huron-Manistee National Forest.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Alcona County Building Department – PO Box 292, Harrisville, MI 48740; Office Hours: 9 AM-12 PM only, (989) 724-6666.
Notes: Sturgeon Point Lighthouse, built in 1869-1870 in the Cape Cod style, stands three miles north of Harrisville within Sturgeon Point State Park, marking a reef extending into Lake Huron; the 70-foot brick tower is painted white with red trim and remains an active Coast Guard aid to navigation. The Alcona Historical Society restored and now operates the lighthouse and its keeper’s-house maritime museum seasonally (Memorial Day-mid September). Nearby, the Old Bailey School (1907), built of Norway pine, is one of the last one-room log schoolhouses still standing in Michigan.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Alcona County Veterans Affairs – (989) 724-3242.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Harrisville-area public library address/phone via alconacountymi.com.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Harrisville State Park (107 acres, Lake Huron beach and campground), Sturgeon Point Lighthouse and Museum, Negwegon State Park (a designated Dark Sky destination roughly 20 miles north), and Hubbard Lake, one of Michigan’s largest and clearest inland lakes, are the county’s premier attractions. The Alcona County Quilt Trail (nearly 30 barn quilts) and the Harrisville Heritage Route Trail (2.5 miles) offer additional local touring.
Notes: The genuine “Michigan’s first county alphabetically” distinction and the well-preserved Sturgeon Point Lighthouse are distinctive local facts covered here.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Alcona County Equalization Department – PO Box 322, Harrisville, MI 48740.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Alcona Humane Society – (989) 736-7387.
The Alcona County Sheriff’s Office also handles Animal Control (Corrections division) – (989) 724-6271.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Alcona County – confirm current contact via alconacountymi.com.
NOTES: Alcona County is the first county in the first batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo, beginning alphabetically as Michigan’s first county among 83. The well-preserved Sturgeon Point Lighthouse and the county’s Lake Huron “Sunrise Coast” heritage are distinctive local facts covered here. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Alcona County
Alcona County is northeast Michigan’s Harrisville Lake Huron shoreline and Huron National Forest county – the accessible Lake Huron beach at Harrisville State Park and the trout-filled AuSable River flowing through the national forest define a remote county whose outdoor recreation identity draws anglers and shoreline visitors to one of Michigan’s least-developed northeast Lower Peninsula counties.
Harrisville (the county seat, population ~490) is Alcona County’s governmental hub on Lake Huron, one of Michigan’s smallest county seats serving a largely rural and recreational county population.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Alcona County Assessor at 106 5th Street, Harrisville, MI 48740, phone 989-724-9410.
Courts & Legal
Alcona County Probate Court at 106 5th Street, Harrisville, MI 48740, phone 989-724-9410, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
106 5th St., Harrisville, MI 48740
(989) 724-9420
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Alcona County Probate Court (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Alcona County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Alcona County Probate Court Alcona County Building, 106 5th Street, Harrisville, MI 48740 Alcona County is on Michigan’s northeastern Lake Huron shore, seated in Harrisville.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Michigan probate is governed by the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), MCL 700.1101 et seq.
Transfer by Affidavit (Small Estate Affidavit) – under MCL 700.3982/700.3983, available when the estate’s gross value (after funeral and burial expenses) doesn’t exceed a threshold that’s adjusted annually for inflation (roughly $51,000-$53,000 in recent years). No real estate can be involved. At least 28 days must pass after death before this affidavit can be used. The affidavit isn’t filed with the court; it’s presented directly to whoever holds the asset (a bank, for instance), along with a death certificate.
Petition and Order for Assignment (PC 556) – a small estate process for estates at or below the same statutory threshold, but this one CAN include real property. An heir or the person who paid the funeral bill files this petition with the probate court; the judge reviews and signs the order, and there’s a filing fee plus a statutory inventory fee based on estate value.
Informal Probate – the standard track for most estates above the small-estate threshold. Filed using Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative (PC 558); the court issues Letters of Authority (PC 573) to the personal representative without a hearing when the application is straightforward.
Formal/Supervised Administration – required when the will is contested, there’s a dispute over who should serve as personal representative, or the estate needs ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for probate
Gather the death certificate, the will (if any), and an inventory of the decedent’s assets to determine which path fits.
File the appropriate petition or application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent lived.
For informal probate, the court reviews the application and issues Letters of Authority appointing the personal representative, typically without a hearing.
The personal representative gathers and inventories assets, notifies and pays valid creditors, and – no earlier than 12 months after appointment – files a Sworn Closing Statement (PC 584) for informal probate, or a Petition for Complete Settlement (PC 585) followed by a court Order of Complete Settlement (PC 586) for formal administration.
What it costs
Michigan probate generally runs 7 to 18 months and costs roughly 3% to 7% of the estate’s value in typical cases.
Filing fees vary by petition type; a statutory inventory fee, set by MCL 600.871, is calculated based on the estate’s total value and applies to most probate filings.
Michigan does not require an attorney for probate, though many people use one for anything beyond a very simple estate.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
224 W. Main St., Harrisville, MI 48740
(989) 724-6271
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
106 5th St., Harrisville, MI 48740
(989) 724-9420
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MI DHHS — Northeast Region
(989) 724-9981
Alpena Regional Medical Center
alpenaregionalmedicalcenter.org (Alpena County — accessible regional hospital)
MyMichigan Medical Center Tawas
mymichigan.org (Tawas City, Iosco County — accessible)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: District Health Department (Harrisville) – (989) 724-6757. WIC Program-Harrisville – (989) 724-6757. Northeast Michigan Community Mental Health serves Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, and Presque Isle Counties.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Harrisville
Population: 10,500
Area: 674 sq mi
Established: 1869
Tier: 4
Public Records
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