Luce County, Michigan
county in Michigan, United States
Luce County ( LOOS) is a county located in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,339, making it the second-least populous county in Michigan (behind Keweenaw County). The county seat is Newberry, Luce County's only incorporated community. The county was set off and organized in 1887 and named after former Michigan Governor Cyrus G. Luce. In 2002, Newberry was designated as the moose capital of Michigan by the state legislature. Luce County is served by The Newberry News, a weekly community newspaper that began in 1886.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,912 sq mi (4,950 km2), of which 899 sq mi (2,330 km2) is land and 1,013 sq mi (2,620 km2) (53%) is water. Luce County is part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It has a northern border with Canada across Lake Superior.
McMillan Township, the largest municipality in Michigan by land area (at 588.78 square miles (1,524.9 km2) of total land area), is part of Luce County.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Luce County, Michigan” as county in Michigan, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as county in Michigan, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q490649. VIAF identifies the subject as 133702687. The Library of Congress control number is n81097142. Authority coordinates are 46.280, -85.330. 5 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1887, 2002 and 1886.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Luce County, Michigan”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Luce County, Michigan primary sources, Luce County, Michigan archive and Luce research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Luce County, Michigan”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Luce County, Michigan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.