Alpena County (pop. 29,598) is along the shore of Lake Huron, south of Presque Isle County. “Alpena” is a pseudo-Native American word invented by Henry Schoolcraft, Indian agent at Sault Ste. Marie.
The city of Alpena (pop. 29,598), the county seat, is at the mouth of the Thunder Bay River on Thunder Bay. It is the largest city in the northeastern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
Alpena Community College, with about 2,000 students, is the home of a statue of Paul Bunyan made of automobile parts.
The Alpena County Courthouse was built in 1934 in the Art Deco style.
The Alpena Light is at the entrance to the Thunder Bay River.
The unincorporated community of Ossineke (pop. 938) is the home of the Dinosaur Gardens Prehistoric Zoo.
The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve, in Lake Huron, protects the sites of about 116 shipwrecks in the area.
The Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena has displays about Lake Huron shipwrecks.
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Wow, lots going on in this county. That’s kind of a creepy dinosaur.