Macomb County, Michigan: History
The Ojibwe lived in the area for centuries before European contact and were preceded by other cultures of ancient indigenous peoples.
The first European colonists were French, and they arrived in the area during the 17th century. Other early settlers were French fur trappers, who sometimes married Ojibwe women and Jesuit missionaries. A Moravian colony was established in the county in the late 18th century. In addition to the original French and English settlers, later immigrants included Germans, Belgians, and others from Europe. In the 19th century, the county received many European-American migrants from New York and New England, who were attracted to the area for land and booming jobs in the lumber and other resource industries.
Macomb County was formally organized on January 15, 1818, as the third county in the Michigan Territory. The county was named in honor of Detroit-born Alexander Macomb, Jr., a highly decorated veteran of the War of 1812 and hero of the Battle of Plattsburg. He was made Commanding General of the U.S. Army in 1828.
As was typical in development, the county at first encompassed a much larger area than at present. As population increased in the area, the state legislature removed territory in 1819 and 1820 to form the counties of Oakland, Lapeer, Genesee, and St. Clair.
After World War II, Macomb and neighboring Oakland County grew rapidly due to suburbanization - between 1950 and 1960 the county population more than doubled. However, as opposed to the more white-collar Oakland County, Macomb County residents were generally auto workers and other middle-class blue-collar workers.
In May 2008, Macomb County voters approved the inclusion of a County Executive in a new charter to be submitted to the voters by 2010. A charter commission was elected in November 2008 to draft a charter for submission to Governor Granholm, which was submitted and approved and placed on the November 2009 ballot. The Charter passed with a 60.4% to 39.6% margin.