Arenac County, Michigan: History
Arenac County was created by the Michigan Territory on 2 March 1831, then attached on 2 March 1836 to Saginaw County for administration. The creation and organization of Bay County overlaid Arenac and annexed portions of Saginaw and Midland Counties, causing the legal elimination of Arenac County on 20 April 1857. On 21 April 1883 Arenac County was re-created from the then existing northern townships of Bay County, with somewhat different boundaries than its previous creation. The name Arenac, coined by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, a US Indian Agent and ethnologist, is a derivation of the Latin arena and the Native American ac. The combined words mean “A sandy place for a good footing.”
The county includes some off-reservation trust lands held by the federal government for the federally recognized Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation, which is based in Isabella County. In early 2007, plans were confirmed for a casino to be constructed outside of the city of Standish with a scheduled opening by the end of the year. It is owned and operated by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe. The Saganing Eagles Landing Casino grand opening was held on January 24, 2008.