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Michigan · Central Michigan · Tittabawassee River
Gladwin County, Michigan
Gladwin's Tittabawassee River country — from the county seat's modest charm on the river corridor to Tittabawassee River State Forest's hunting and fishing terrain, Wiggins Lake's modest resort community, and a quiet Central Michigan county where the agricultural lowlands meet the northern forests in a landscape of rivers, lakes, and working rural communities.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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Office: Gladwin County Office of Emergency Management/Homeland Security – 555 W. Cedar Ave, Gladwin, MI 48624 | (989) 426-6871; Director Marianne Hill; publishes DNR fire-danger maps and Everbridge/NIXLE text alerts (text “48624” to 888777).
Sheriff: Gladwin County Sheriff’s Office – 501 W Cedar Ave, Gladwin, MI 48624 | (989) 426-9284 | Jail (989) 426-7121 | Civil process (989) 426-6908; Sheriff Shea (with the department since December 1988, appointed Sheriff October 2002); jail capacity 72 adult offenders. Fingerprinting/pistol permit/sex offender verification hours: Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri 7 AM-5 PM, Tue 7 AM-4 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: M-18 and M-61 (Cedar Avenue) serve Gladwin, the county seat, in central Michigan.
Notes: Gladwin County was named in 1831 for British Major Henry Gladwin, commander of Fort Detroit, who led the only fort in the Midwest to withstand Chief Pontiac’s five-month 1763 siege; the county itself wasn’t organized until 1875, having previously been administered by neighboring Saginaw and Midland Counties. The city of Gladwin was originally platted as “Cedar” in 1875 but renamed after the county when its post office opened, since another Michigan town already used the name Cedar; it incorporated as a village in 1885 and a city in 1893. The area’s first American settler, Marvel Secord, arrived by canoe up the Tittabawassee River in 1861.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Gladwin County Courthouse – 401 W Cedar Avenue, Gladwin, MI 48624; the current courthouse was financed in part by a 1930s oil boom that began near Beaverton, funding its 1939 construction; oil and gas production continues in the county today.
Notes: Gladwin’s economy grew from an 1870s-80s lumber boom through the thick regional white pine forests, followed by farming settlement of the cleared land; several lumber-era villages, now ghost towns, carried names like Oberlin, Wagerville, Hockaday, Highwood, Grout, and Hardluck. Modern industry includes auto parts manufacturing, thermoforming, RV manufacturing, and wood products. The Gladwin County Historical Village (515 East Cedar Ave, open Memorial Day through Labor Day) and the Gladwin County Historical Museum (221 West Cedar Ave, housed in a former Michigan Central Railroad depot) preserve this heritage, with an annual Carriage Festival each August.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Gladwin County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via gladwincounty-mi.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Gladwin-area public library address/phone via gladwincounty-mi.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Gladwin County Historical Village and Museum, the Cedar River Riverwalk, Gladwin City Park, and the Tittabawassee, Sugar, Tobacco, and Cedar River waterways (multiple dams supporting boating and fishing) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine oil-boom-funded courthouse and Henry Gladwin’s Pontiac’s War heritage are distinctive local facts covered here.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Gladwin County Equalization Office – confirm current contact via gladwincounty-mi.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Gladwin County Animal Shelter (Animal Control) – physical location 919 South River Road, Beaverton, MI 48612 | mailing address 401 West Cedar Avenue, Gladwin, MI 48624 | (989) 426-4579; Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 AM-4:30 PM; an active shelter with a community advisory committee meeting monthly at the Gladwin County Courthouse.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Gladwin County – confirm current contact via gladwincounty-mi.gov (Heartland Material Management Plan department).
NOTES: Gladwin County is the seventh and final county in the fourth batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine oil-boom-funded courthouse and Henry Gladwin’s Pontiac’s War 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 Gladwin County
Gladwin County is north-central Michigan’s Tittabawassee reservoir and inland lake county – the hydroelectric reservoir chain and the forested lake country drawing cottage families from the Flint-Saginaw area define a community where Gladwin serves the surrounding lake and forest recreational communities.
Gladwin (the county seat, population ~3,000) is Gladwin County’s governmental hub on MI-61, a north-central Michigan community whose Tittabawassee River reservoirs, lake country setting, and recreational economy anchor its identity.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Gladwin County Assessor at 401 W. Cedar Avenue, Gladwin, MI 48624, phone 989-426-9239. MI assessed at 50% of true cash value.
Courts & Legal
Gladwin County Probate Court at 401 W. Cedar Avenue, Gladwin, MI 48624, phone 989-426-9287, handles estates and probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
401 W. Cedar Ave., Gladwin, MI 48624
(989) 426-9231
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Gladwin/Clare Probate Court, District 17 (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Gladwin 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
Gladwin/Clare Probate Court (District 17) 401 W. Cedar Avenue, Gladwin, MI 48624
Gladwin County is in central Michigan, seated in Gladwin. Its probate court operates jointly with Clare 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
515 E. Cedar Ave., Gladwin, MI 48624
(989) 426-9235
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
401 W. Cedar Ave., Gladwin, MI 48624
(989) 426-9231
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MI DHHS — Central Region
(989) 426-7741
MidMichigan Medical Center — Gladwin
midmichigan.org (Gladwin — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Gladwin County Health Department – confirm current phone via gladwincounty-mi.gov.
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Gladwin
Population: 25,000
Area: 507 mi²
Established: 1875
Tier: 3
Public Records
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