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Arenac County
July 11, 1890 — Arenac County veterans records list Allen Jackson of Co. C, 10th Michigan Cavalry, as having died July 11, 1890, in Sterling. He was buried in Sterling Cemetery.
July 8, 1936 — Arenac County’s all-time record high is listed as 106 degrees on July 8, 1936. The date places Arenac County inside one of the most severe heat periods of the Depression-era Midwest.
July 8, 1977, and July 9, 2007 — Tornado records show an F1 tornado in Arenac County at 11:10 a.m. July 8, 1977, with a 1.5-mile path and 40-yard width. A later EF0 tornado was recorded at 3:15 p.m. July 9, 2007, with a half-mile path and 80-yard width.
Crawford County
July 12, 1879 — A Crawford County Historical Museum account says a special election was held and, on July 12, 1879, Grayling became the county seat by a majority of 152 votes.
July 11, 1936 — Grayling’s all-time record high is listed as 104 degrees on July 11, 1936.
July 8, 1976 — Michigan Act 172 of 1913, dealing with Crawford County land, was amended by Act 192 with immediate effect July 8, 1976. The law connects to public land, leases and payments tied to land use in the Camp Grayling area.
July 10, 2018 — Michigan’s Camp Grayling PFAS response timeline includes July 10, 2018, as a starting point for state environmental investigation activity tied to Grayling Army Airfield.
Iosco County
July 11, 1911 — The July 11, 1911, Au Sable-Oscoda fire is the major Northeast Michigan history event for this week. University of Michigan postcard records preserve images titled “Oscoda & Au Sable After The Big Fire July 11 1911” and “Burned Bridge & Mill Fire Of July 11 1911 Oscoda.” The fires caused more than $3 million in damage, took about 20 lives and helped push later forest-fire control efforts.
July 8, 1936 — Iosco County’s all-time record high is listed as 106 degrees on July 8, 1936.
July 7, 2026 — M-55 work begins in Tawas City.
MDOT scheduled work to begin July 7, 2026, on M-55 from Wilber Road to the Tawas River in Tawas City.
Ogemaw County
July 7, 1843 — Ogemaw County military records list William Button, born July 7, 1843, in England. He later served in Co. E, 16th Michigan Infantry, died May 18, 1906, in Logan Township and was buried in Richland Township Cemetery.
July 8, 1909 —Rose City Review items, including “Railroad / Laying Track to Mio,” a judge of probate item, teacher-exam material and a Civil War reunion reference.
July 6, 2026 — MDOT scheduled work to begin July 6, 2026, on a $678,770 project extending the shared-use path along M-55 in West Branch from east of Green Road to east of Gray Road. Ogemaw Township contributed $35,000 for ornamental pedestrian rails, and the project was expected to improve pedestrian and bicycle access.
Oscoda County
July 9, 1987 — Records show an F1 tornado in Oscoda County at 2:20 p.m. July 9, 1987. The listed path was 4 miles, with a 13-yard width.
Roscommon County
July 8, 1957 — Backus Township hazard-planning material lists Roscommon County’s heaviest one-day rainfall of record as 5.18 inches on July 8, 1957.
July 6, 2017 — Ballotpedia’s Roscommon recall coverage says the Roscommon County Election Commission approved a recall petition for circulation on July 6, 2017, involving village official Dan Fishel.
July 7, 2026 — MDOT announced a $2.8 million project to chip seal more than 13 miles of US-127 from the Muskegon River in Roscommon County to I-75 in Crawford County.
Resources for This Week in Northeast Michigan History include:
Archives of Michigan county guides; Library of Michigan newspaper holdings; Clarke Historical Library county-history collections, Crawford County Historical Museum; Arenac County Historical Society; Ogemaw County Historical Museum references; local cemetery and veterans indexes, UpNorthVoice.com; WNEM; MDOT releases; NOAA Storm Events Database trail; tornado-history records; county hazard planning; PFAS and dam-removal records.
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