Benzie County, Michigan
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 10 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1972; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near Frankfort, Beulah, Manistee.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Michigan is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Benzie titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP4 of 10 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
10 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Benzie County Courthouse | Beulah | 1996 |
| CITY OF MILWAUKEE NHL | Manistee | 1990 |
| Frankfort Land Company House | Frankfort | 1995 |
| Frankfort North Breakwater Light | Frankfort | 2005 |
| Frostic, Gwen, Studio | Benzonia Township | 2021 |
| Mills Community House | Benzonia | 1972 |
| Navigation Structures at Frankfort Harbor | Frankfort | 1997 |
| Platte River Campground | Empire-Sleeping Bear Dunes NLS | 1990 |
| Point Betsie Light Station | Frankfort | 1984 |
| Watervale Historic District | Blaine Township | 2003 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBBenzie was formed in 1863 (1863-02-27) from Leelanau.
BENZIE created from LEELANAU.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusBenzie County population from 1870 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1870 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,184 | 3,433 | 9,685 | 6,947 | 7,800 | 8,306 | 7,834 | 11,205 | 15,998 | 17,970 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| SLBE | Park unit | 30.4 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS21 cemeteries and 3 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 21 of 21 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Almira Cemetery |
| Benzonia Township Cemetery |
| Blaine Cemetery |
| Bland Cemetery |
| Brundage Cemetery |
| Champion Hill Cemetery |
| Colfax Township Cemetery |
| Crystal Lake Township Cemetery North |
| Gilmore Township Cemetery |
| Greenbrier Cemetery |
| Holy Family Cemetery |
| Homestead Cemetery |
| Joyfield Township Cemetery |
| Lake Ann Cemetery |
| Lutheran Cemetery |
| Memorial Park |
| New Inland Cemetery |
| Platte Cemetery |
| Stagecoach Memorial Cemetery |
| Thompsonville Cemetery |
| Weldon Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 3 of 3
| Name |
|---|
| Aral |
| Averytown |
| Oberlin |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Benzie County, Michigan
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.