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Michigan · Central Michigan · Northern Michigan Gateway
Clare County, Michigan
The gateway to Northern Michigan — from Clare city's position at the intersection of US-10 and US-27 (two primary routes into the north) to Harrison's Budd Lake resort community, the Muskegon River's trout water passing through the county's forests, and a Central Michigan county that marks the psychological and geographic transition where Michigan's agricultural south gives way to the lakes and forest of the north.
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Office: Clare County Emergency Services/Homeland Security Division – 225 West Main Street, Harrison, MI 48625; Director Jerry Becker.
Clare County Central Dispatch (911) – PO Box 407, Harrison, MI 48625 | (989) 539-7166, ext. 4226; operating since December 10, 1991; Text-to-911 available.
Sheriff: Clare County Sheriff’s Office – 255 West Main Street, Harrison, MI 48625; Sheriff Wilson (a lifelong Clare County resident whose family arrived in the 1930s; began in law enforcement through the Explorers program in middle school).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-27 and M-61 serve Harrison, the county seat, with Clare as the county’s largest city, in the heart of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
Notes: Clare County was established in 1840 from part of Michilimackinac County, originally named Kaykakee County after a Sauk chief, then renamed in 1843 for County Clare, Ireland by an Irish surveyor. County government organized in 1871; Farwell was the first county seat before it moved to Harrison in 1877. Roughly 30,860-31,540 residents across 564 square miles of land.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Clare County Courthouse – Harrison, MI 48625.
Notes: Clare, Michigan, self-styled “Where the North Begins,” genuinely embraces its namesake Irish heritage – the city has hosted the Clare Irish Festival every March since 1976 (its 50th-51st annual editions fall in 2026), drawing thousands for a week of parades, Leprechaun contests, and celebrations centered on the historic Doherty Hotel. The county’s logging-era history is preserved at the Clare Union Depot, a restored former Flint & Pere Marquette Railway station now serving as a museum. Clare has notable, if colorful, local lore tying it to the Purple Gang and a 1930s murder at the Doherty Hotel, alongside Depression-era murals created under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Federal Art Project, some still on display at Clare Middle School, the local post office, and the Doherty Hotel itself.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Clare County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via clareco.net.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Harrison/Clare-area public library address/phone via clareco.net.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Clare Union Depot Museum, the Doherty Hotel, Pettit Park (on the Tobacco River), and the Pere Marquette Rail Trail are the county’s premier attractions. Clare Parks & Recreation hosts an annual Irish Pet Photo Contest each festival season, raising funds for the local Spay-Neuter Animal Project (S-NAP).
Notes: The genuine, wholehearted embrace of Irish heritage in Clare is a distinctive and beloved local fact covered here.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Clare County Equalization Office – confirm current contact via clareco.net.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Clare County Animal Shelter (Animal Control) – 4038 Hazel Road, Harrison, MI 48625 | (989) 539-3221; a county-run shelter accepting strays and owner surrenders, also offering spay/neuter assistance vouchers and TNR support.
S.A.F.E. (Save Animals From Euthanasia) – a volunteer nonprofit based in Harrison that rescues adoptable animals from the county shelter for placement.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Clare County – confirm current contact via clareco.net.
NOTES: Clare County is the sixth county in the third batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine, wholehearted embrace of Irish heritage in Clare is a distinctive and beloved local fact 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 Clare County
Clare County is north-central Michigan’s Muskegon River headwaters and inland lake country – the river’s source region and the hundreds of glacial lakes that define the county’s resort and recreation economy define a community where Harrison serves the surrounding lake cottage and farming communities at the gateway to northern Michigan.
Harrison (the county seat, population ~2,000) is Clare County’s governmental hub on US 27, a north-central Michigan community whose lake country setting, Muskegon River headwaters, and resort economy anchor its identity as the gateway to Michigan’s northern lake district.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Clare County Assessor at 225 W. Main Street, Harrison, MI 48625, phone 989-539-7131. MI assessed at 50% of true cash value.
Courts & Legal
Clare County Probate Court at 225 W. Main Street, Harrison, MI 48625, phone 989-539-6711, handles estates and probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
225 W. Main St., Harrison, MI 48625
(989) 539-7131
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Clare County Probate Court, shared with Gladwin County as Probate District 17 (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Clare 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
Clare County Probate Court Clare County Courthouse, 225 W. Main Street, Harrison, MI 48625
Clare County is in central Michigan, seated in Harrison. Clare County’s probate court operates jointly with Gladwin County as Probate District 17.
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
255 W. Main St., Harrison, MI 48625
(989) 539-7166
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
225 W. Main St., Harrison, MI 48625
(989) 539-7131
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MI DHHS — Central Region
(989) 539-7400
MyMichigan Medical Center Clare
mymichigan.org (Clare — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Clare County Health Department – confirm current phone via clareco.net.
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