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Michigan County
Cass County, Michigan
Underground Railroad heritage and Dowagiac lake country - from Cass County's extraordinary Underground Railroad history (Cass County was one of the most significant havens for freedom seekers in the entire antebellum North - the county's large Quaker and free Black community provided shelter, food, and safe passage for hundreds of enslaved people fleeing north, and pro-slavery forces from Missouri conducted the notorious 1847 Crosswhite Affair raid in Marshall, drawing national attention to the county's abolitionist character) to Dowagiac's resort lake country (the county's dozens of glacial lakes around Dowagiac have drawn summer visitors for over a century, with Magician Lake, Indian Lake, and other resort lakes providing the recreational economy that defines southwestern Michigan's lake country character).
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Office: Cass County Office of Emergency Management/Homeland Security – 130 N Broadway St, Cassopolis, MI 49031 | (269) 445-1249 | Fax: (269) 445-1469; Coordinator Manny DeLaRosa.
Sheriff: Cass County Sheriff’s Office – 321 M-62, Cassopolis, MI 49031 | Non-emergency (269) 445-1560 | Jail complex (269) 445-8644; Sheriff Clinton D. Roach (with the department since 1993, took office January 2025; a lifelong Cass County resident).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: M-60 and M-62 serve Cassopolis, the county seat, in southwest Michigan near the Indiana border.
Notes: Cass County is genuinely one of the most historically significant Underground Railroad sites in the entire United States, covered further below.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Cass County Courthouse – Cassopolis, MI 49031; features the “Crossroads to Freedom” monument commemorating the county’s Underground Railroad history and the 1847 Kentucky slave raid.
Notes: Cass County’s Penn, Calvin, and Porter townships (historically known as “Young’s Prairie”) were settled beginning around 1829 by Quakers from Ohio and Indiana alongside free Black settlers, forming a major junction of two Underground Railroad routes – the “Quaker Line” from the Ohio River and the “Illinois Line” from the Mississippi. Quaker stationmasters including Stephen Bogue, Zachariah Shugart, Josiah Osborn, Ishmael Lee, and James E. Bonine sheltered freedom seekers; the Bonine House and Carriage House (built circa 1845-1850) still stand and are being restored by the Underground Railroad Society of Cass County. A community of formerly enslaved people known as “Ramptown” grew on Quaker-owned land, where residents cleared land in exchange for the right to farm, garden, and eventually purchase their own property. In 1847, Kentucky slaveholders staged an armed raid into Cass County to recapture escaped people; the ensuing legal battle – one of the first U.S. court cases to allow a formerly enslaved person to testify against a former enslaver – went against the Kentuckians and heightened North-South tensions ahead of the Civil War, later helping spur Michigan’s 1855 Personal Liberty Act. It is estimated that over 1,500 freedom seekers passed through Cass County toward Canada.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Cass County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via casscountymi.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Cassopolis-area public library address/phone via casscountymi.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Underground Railroad Society of Cass County’s 14-site self-guided driving tour (including the Bonine House, Stephen Bogue House, and Birch Lake Cemetery and Meeting House) is the county’s most historically significant attraction.
Notes: The genuine, profound Underground Railroad heritage of Cass County – treated here factually and with the seriousness it warrants – is one of the most historically important facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Cass County Equalization Office – confirm current contact via casscountymi.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Cass County Animal Control – 323 M-62 North, Cassopolis, MI 49031 | (269) 445-3701, ext. 1 | Email: [email protected].
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Cass County – confirm current contact via casscountymi.org.
NOTES: Cass County is the second county in the third batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine, profound Underground Railroad heritage of Cass County – treated here factually and with the seriousness it warrants – is one of the most historically important facts covered anywhere in this project. 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 Cass County
Cass County is southwest Michigan’s Underground Railroad heritage and lake country county – the remarkable abolitionist community that sheltered freedom seekers on their journey to freedom and the county’s scenic resort lakes define a community whose historical courage and natural beauty make it one of Michigan’s most distinctive southwest counties.
Cassopolis (the county seat, population ~1,700) is Cass County’s governmental hub while Dowagiac serves as the county’s largest city and commercial center in the lake country between Kalamazoo and South Bend.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Cass County Assessor at 120 N. Broadway, Cassopolis, MI 49031, phone 269-445-4464. MI assessed at 50% of true cash value.
Courts & Legal
Cass County Probate Court at 120 N. Broadway, Cassopolis, MI 49031, phone 269-445-4464, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
120 N. Broadway St., Cassopolis, MI 49031
(269) 445-4464
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Cass County Probate Court (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Cass 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
Cass County Probate Court Law and Courts Building, 60296 M-62, Cassopolis, MI 49031 (269) 445-4454 Cass County is in southwestern Michigan, seated in Cassopolis.
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 $50,000-$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
321 M-62, Cassopolis, MI 49031
(269) 445-2481
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
120 N. Broadway St., Cassopolis, MI 49031
(269) 445-4464
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MI DHHS — Southwest Region
(269) 445-4410
Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital
borgess.com (Dowagiac — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Cass County Health Department – confirm current phone via casscountymi.org.
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