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Michigan · Upper Peninsula · Tahquamenon Falls · Two Hearted River
Luce County, Michigan
Tahquamenon Falls and the Two Hearted River — from the amber-colored waterfall wider than Niagara by volume (tannins from cedar swamps give it a distinctive root beer color) to the Fox and Two Hearted rivers that Ernest Hemingway immortalized in his Nick Adams stories, and a remote eastern UP county where loons, black bears, brook trout, and moose outnumber residents.
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Office: Luce County Emergency Services/LEPC – 5523 County Road 399, Newberry, MI 49868 | (906) 293-9980 | Director David Hopper | Email: [email protected].
Chippewa Central Dispatch handles Luce County’s 911 and non-emergency calls, staffed 24/7/365.
Sheriff: Luce County Sheriff’s Office – 411 W Harrie Street, Newberry, MI 49868 | (906) 293-8431 | Fax (906) 293-3581; Sheriff Eric Gravelle (21st Sheriff of Luce County, sworn in January 2023; prior 25-year career with Michigan State Police before joining as a Luce County deputy in 2017); a small department of four officers serving roughly 7,000 residents. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: M-28 and M-123 serve Newberry, the county seat, in the eastern Upper Peninsula; Luce County was separated from Chippewa County in 1887.
Notes: Luce County spans roughly 908 square miles, with over 300,000 acres of public-access land and, remarkably, about 53% of the county’s area is water across 15,000 rivers and streams.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Luce County Sheriff’s House and Jail – 411 W. Harrie St, Newberry, MI 49868; built 1894 by the Marquette firm Lovejoy & Demar in Romanesque style as a counterpart to the county’s original 1890 Victorian courthouse (since demolished); a Michigan State Historic Site since 1975 and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982, now housing the Luce County Historical Museum.
Notes: Newberry is genuinely the official “Moose Capital of Michigan,” a designation granted by the state legislature in 2002 owing to more frequent moose sightings here than anywhere else in the state – commemorated by a moose statue, the town’s water tower, and numerous local business names. Nearby Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Michigan’s second-largest state park at over 46,000 acres, is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River. The Newberry Correctional Facility, a Michigan Department of Corrections medium-security prison opened in 1996 with a capacity of 1,108, sits just south of the village and is directly relevant to families of incarcerated individuals researching Michigan facilities.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Luce County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via lucecountymi.com.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Newberry-area public library address/phone via lucecountymi.com.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Tahquamenon Falls State Park, the Tahquamenon Logging Museum, and the Swamp Lakes Moose Refuge are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine “Moose Capital of Michigan” designation is one of the most distinctive and beloved local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Luce County Equalization Office – confirm current contact via lucecountymi.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Luce County Animal Shelter (LCAS) – 7351 County Road 391, Newberry, MI 49868 | (906) 293-6622; a no-kill shelter; all animals spayed/neutered before adoption; partners with the Newberry Correctional Facility’s “Paws for Adoption” inmate training program; Hours: Mon-Fri (confirm current hours by phone).
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Luce County – confirm current contact via lucecountymi.com.
NOTES: Luce County is the first county in the eighth batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine “Moose Capital of Michigan” designation is one of the most distinctive and beloved local 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 Luce County
Luce County is the eastern Upper Peninsula’s Two Hearted River and Tahquamenon Falls county – Michigan’s finest wild brook trout stream that inspired Hemingway’s most famous fishing story and the amber waterfall where rowboats take visitors to the Lower Falls define a remote UP county where Newberry serves the surrounding forest and recreation communities.
Newberry (the county seat, population ~1,500) is Luce County’s governmental hub on MI-28, an eastern Upper Peninsula community whose Two Hearted River access, Tahquamenon Falls gateway, and Hiawatha National Forest setting anchor its identity.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Luce County Assessor at 407 W. Harrie Street, Newberry, MI 49868, phone 906-293-5521. MI assessed at 50% of true cash value.
Courts & Legal
Luce County Probate Court at 407 W. Harrie Street, Newberry, MI 49868, phone 906-293-5521, handles estates and probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
407 W. Harrie St., Newberry, MI 49868
(906) 293-5521
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Luce County Probate Court (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Luce 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
Luce County Probate Court Luce County Government Building, 407 W. Harrie Street, Newberry, MI 49868 (906) 293-5601 Luce County is in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula, seated in Newberry.
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
407 W. Harrie St., Newberry, MI 49868
(906) 293-8421
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
407 W. Harrie St., Newberry, MI 49868
(906) 293-5521
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Luce County Health Department – confirm current phone via lucecountymi.com. Helen Newberry Joy Hospital & Healthcare Center serves the county.
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