Iosco County, MI
| Iosco County, Michigan | ||
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 Location in the U.S. state of Michigan |
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 Michigan's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1840, organized in 1857 | |
| Seat | Tawas City | |
| Largest city | East Tawas | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 1,890 sq mi (4,895 km2) | |
| • Land | 549 sq mi (1,422 km2) | |
| • Water | 1,341 sq mi (3,473 km2), 71% | |
| Population | ||
| • (2010) | 25,887 | |
| • Density | 47/sq mi (18/km2) | |
| Congressional district | 5th | |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC−5/−4 | |
| Website | iosco |
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Iosco County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan; its eastern border is formed by Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,887. The county seat is Tawas City.
Iosco is traditionally said to be a Native American word meaning "water of light." But it was coined as a pseudo-Native American name by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, an American geographer and ethnologist who served as the US Indian agent in Michigan for several years in the late 19th century. He named several counties and towns during the state's formative years.
The county was created by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 as Kanotin County, and renamed Iosco County in 1843. It was administered by a succession of other Michigan counties prior to the organization of county government in 1857.
The 400-acre Alabaster Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is associated with an operating gypsum open-pit mine south of Tawas City. The large company town included internal rail lines for transportation, as well as a tramway extending over Lake Huron on long piers for loading gypsum onto ships. Started in 1862, the mine supplied gypsum for temporary buildings constructed in Chicago at the World Columbian Exposition of 1893. Two gypsum mining companies continue to operate in the county.
In 2009 the Alabaster Township formed the non-profit Alabaster Wind Power Development Corp. to conduct the necessary 2-year studies of wind data at this site as a potential location for the development of wind turbines. It proposed using 10 large tramway platforms which extend more than 6,000 feet into the lake to gauge winds. The turbines could be built on the tramways. At the time, the federal government was offering subsidies for such studies and development of alternative energy projects.
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