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.
Michigan · Upper Peninsula · Seney National Wildlife Refuge
Schoolcraft County, Michigan
Seney's restored wilderness and the Manistique siphon bridge — from the Seney National Wildlife Refuge's remarkable wetland ecosystem (where Common Loons, Sandhill Cranes, and Bald Eagles concentrate in restored Great Lakes marshes) to the Manistique siphon bridge that sits below its own river's water level, and one of the most remote inhabited counties in the eastern United States.
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.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Schoolcraft County Emergency Management – Coordinators Daniel P. Hoholik and Troy Bassett; confirm current contact via schoolcraftcounty.net.
Sheriff: Schoolcraft County Sheriff’s Office – 300 Main Street, Manistique, MI 49854 | (906) 341-2122 | Fax (906) 341-6154; Sheriff Charlie Willour, Undersheriff Justin Schlabach; operates the Schoolcraft County Jail at the same address; serving the county since 1846.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-2 and M-94 serve Manistique, the county seat, on Lake Michigan; Schoolcraft County was organized March 23, 1871, and named for Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, the explorer and Indian agent who was well acquainted with Bishop Frederick Baraga and visited the Manistique and Indian Lake area on several occasions. The county spans roughly 1,228 square miles.
Notes: M-94 crosses the Manistique River in downtown Manistique via the famous “Siphon Bridge.”
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Schoolcraft County Courthouse – Manistique, MI 49854.
Notes: Manistique is genuinely home to the “Siphon Bridge,” built in 1918-19 by the Manistique Pulp and Paper Company as part of a raceway flume feeding water power to its mill. The roadway sits below the level of the adjacent Manistique River flume, creating a siphon effect that helps support the bridge structurally – an engineering oddity once featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and still in daily use today, believed to be the only bridge of its kind in the United States. Nearby stands the 200-foot Manistique Water Tower (built 1921-22), also on the National and State Registers of Historic Sites.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Schoolcraft County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via schoolcraftcounty.net.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Manistique School & Public Library – 100 North Cedar Street, Manistique, MI 49854 (operated by Manistique Area Schools).
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Siphon Bridge, Seney National Wildlife Refuge (95,000+ acres of managed wetland habitat within the Great Manistique Swamp, home to over 200 bird species), and the historic Manistique Water Tower/Schoolcraft County Historical Park are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine, one-of-a-kind Siphon Bridge and the vast Seney National Wildlife Refuge are among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Schoolcraft County Equalization Department – confirm current contact via schoolcraftcounty.net.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Humane Society of Schoolcraft County – 6091W US Highway 2, Manistique, MI 49854; confirm current phone via local directory.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Schoolcraft County – confirm current contact via schoolcraftcounty.net.
NOTES: Schoolcraft County is the seventh and final county in the eleventh batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine, one-of-a-kind Siphon Bridge and the vast Seney National Wildlife Refuge are among the most distinctive 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 Schoolcraft County
Schoolcraft County is the central Upper Peninsula’s Indian Lake and Manistique River county – the productive inland lake and the river flowing from the Big Island Lake Wilderness through the Hiawatha National Forest to Lake Michigan define a county where Manistique serves the surrounding UP lake and forest recreational communities on Lake Michigan’s north shore.
Manistique (the county seat, population ~2,900) is Schoolcraft County’s governmental hub on US 2 on Lake Michigan, a central Upper Peninsula community whose Indian Lake access, Manistique River, Hiawatha National Forest, and Lake Michigan shoreline anchor its identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Schoolcraft County Assessor at 300 Walnut Street, Manistique, MI 49854, phone 906-341-3618. MI assessed at 50% of true cash value.
Courts & Legal
Schoolcraft County Probate Court at 300 Walnut Street, Manistique, MI 49854, phone 906-341-3618, handles estates and probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
300 Walnut St., Manistique, MI 49854
(906) 341-3618
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Schoolcraft/Alger Probate Court, 5th Judicial Probate District (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Schoolcraft 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
Schoolcraft/Alger Probate Court (5th Judicial Probate District) Schoolcraft County Courthouse, 300 Walnut Street, Room 129, Manistique, MI 49854 (906) 341-3641
Schoolcraft County was created 1843 (organized 1871), in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, seated in Manistique. Its probate court operates jointly with Alger County as the 5th Judicial Probate District.
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
300 Walnut St., Manistique, MI 49854
(906) 341-2101
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
300 Walnut St., Manistique, MI 49854
(906) 341-3618
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Schoolcraft County Health Department – confirm current phone via schoolcraftcounty.net.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Manistique
Population: 8,000
Area: 1,178 mi²
Established: 1871
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Schoolcraft County residents.
