Michigan Gazetteers

Online Gazetteers and Atlases

 * The Michigan County Histories and Atlases Digitization Project
 * Envision The Past

Published Gazetteers
Several helpful gazetteers of Michigan have been published. Three of the better sources for finding place names are:


 * Blois, John T. Gazetteer of the State of Michigan. Detroit, Mich.: S.L. Rood, 1939.


 * Romig, Walter. Michigan Place Names. Grosse Pointe, Mich.: n.p., 197-.


 * Michigan Gazetteer. Wilmington, De.: American Historical Publications, 1991. . A historical gazetteer which gives detailed information about events that have occurred and the individuals who participated.

For other placename and locality books see:


 * ATLAS OF GREAT LAKES INDIAN HISTORY by H. Tanner.
 * ATLAS OF MICHIGAN, by Tackaberry.
 * ATLAS OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN by H.F. Walling.
 * BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PRINTED MAPS OF MICHIGAN, 1840-1880 by Louis C. Karpinski
 * EARLY MICHIGAN SETTLEMENTS by W.W. Florer.
 * LAKE SUPERIOR PLACE NAMES: FROM BAWATING TO THE MONTREAL, by Bernard C. Peters
 * MANUSCRIPT MAPS OF THE COUNTIES OF MICHIGAN, 1818-1841, 30 volS. by Bela Hubbard.
 * MICHIGAN ATLASES &amp; PLAT BOOKS: A CHECKLIST 1872-1973, comp. by Wm. Miles.
 * MICHIGAN GHOST TOWNS, by Dodge, 3 vols.
 * MICHIGAN INDIAN PLACE NAMES, by Vogel
 * MICHIGAN SHADOW TOWNS: A STUDY OF VANISHING AND VIBRANT VILLAGES, by Gene Scott
 * TOWNSHIP ATLAS OF THE UNITED STATES comp. by John L. Andriot.

Other interesting data is the "The Rural Property Inventory" by LeRoy Barnett, a description of which appears in "Michigan's Habitant Heritage" the journal of the French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan, v.3 #3 p.43 (1982).

Polk's Gazetteers and Directories
Gazetteers and business directories compiled by J.E. Scripps and R.L. Polk in Detriot are available on Google Books for the following years.


 * 1873 Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory


 * 1875 Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory


 * 1877 Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory


 * Gazetteer of the state of Michigan, 1839 - https://archive.org/details/gazetteerofstate01bloi

How did your migrating ancestor find the correct destination out West? Quite possibly they had a copy of Brown's book:


 * Brown, Samuel R. The Western Gazetteer or Emigrant's Directory, Containing a Geographical Description of the Western States and Territories, viz. The States of Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippi: and the Territories of Illinois, Missouri, Alabama, Michigan, and North-Western. Auburn, N.Y.: H.C. Southwick, 1817. Digital versions at NIU Library Digitization Projects and World Vital Records ($).