Alpena County is named for the Native American word meaning “a good partridge country”.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
E – Lake Huron and Ontario, Canada
S – Alcona County
Created: April 1, 1840
County Seat:
Alpena 1857 – present
County Courthouse – Alpena
Location: 720 West Chisholm Street / South 8th Avenue
Built: 1934 – 1935
Style: Art Deco
Architect: William H Kuni of Detroit
Contractor: Henry C Weber Construction Company of Bay City
Description: The building faces northeast and is a two story poured Portland cement made of locally quarried limestone and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Alpena. The sides of the building have square vertical pillars with recessed windows between. The northeast front has a center section which rises above the east and west sections. At the top is a clock. The roof line is flat. The interior has an Art Deco design. The floor of the entrance lobby is terrazzo with brass liners separating the various colors. The courtroom is located on the second story and has American walnut and birch trim. The walls are lined with cork. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 26th Judicial District.
See: The architect, William H Kuni of Detroit, designed the courthouse in Tuscola County.
County Annex Building – Alpena
Location: 719 West Chisholm Street / North 8th Avenue
Built: 1974 – 1975
Style: Modern
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces southwest and is a one story concrete and stucco structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Alpena across from the courthouse. The southwest front has a central recessed entrance. The exterior walls are gray colored stucco with vertical brown colored brick dividers. The roof line is flat. The building houses the County District Court and County Probate Court of the 26th Judicial District. The building was formerly a youth club and was renovated by the county in 1996 to 1997. The architect was R S Scott Associates, Inc. and the contractor was Lumsden Builders.
See: The 26th Judicial District includes Montmorency County.
History: The county was created in 1840 and Alpena was selected as the county seat in 1857 when the county was organized after being attached to Mackinac County and Cheboygan County. The first courthouse in 1858 to 1863 was the upper story of a grocery store and garage in Alpena and known as the P M Miller. Myers and Johnson Blocks. From 1863 to 1870, the Hitchcock Courthouse was the second courthouse and was a stockade structure. The building burned on December 12, 1870. The court used space in the Union School and rooms in the Potters Brothers’ hardware store. The third courthouse was a brick and stone two story structure designed by Samuel Boggs & W H Phelps and constructed in 1881. The building burned on December 22, 1932. The court used the upper story of the City Hall (1908) and the county offices were relocated to the Fletcher Building across the street. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1934 to 1935 at a cost of $130,000.
See: Michigan’s County Courthouses by John Fedynsky
County Courthouse – Alpena
County Annex Building – Alpena
Alpena City Hall (1908) – Alpena
Photos taken 2008
Images 15