Michigan County Atlas
Hundreds upon hundreds of sources of information have been utilized and consulted in the creation and maintenance of this website in the decades it has been online. One of the most useful and most often consulted has been the Michigan County Atlas complied by David M. Brown. First published in 1989 and "reintroduced" in a completely overhauled and redrawn form in 2009, the sixth edition became available in the summer of 2025.
In this era of GPS, online mapping applications and Internet-connected devices in everyone's pockets or purses, does it make sense to consult an actual paper map? While you may be able to find online much of the information contained in this atlas, you would need to consult hundreds of websites, books and other maps and it would take you years just to get to a point where the Michigan County Atlas is now. And it's all right there at your fingertips! It's a comprehensive statewide atlas, historical guide, recreational gazetteer, and so much more.
As the author and creator of this website, I have no vested interest in this particular publication or its author, other than as a very happy and satisfied user of the atlas for over 35 years. I get no kickback or commission from any sales. I just personally understand the value of the Michigan County Atlas and very much wish to see its continued publication. (The map publisher which formerly distributed the atlas shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic, so Mr. Brown is now self-publishing it... a huge relief to those of us who did not want to see the atlas fade into history.) And as a trained cartographer myself who has had several maps published over the years, I can be quite critical of maps and map products, but this is one atlas I hope keeps getting updated and published for many years to come.
In a time where many of the remaining cartographic products on the market are of lower quality or are haphazardly made, I encourage anyone who enjoys traveling the State of Michigan, has any kind of historical or genealogical interests, needs a good geographic reference tool, or just enjoys some armchair travel within the Great Lakes State to order a copy of this atlas. Those of us who have been around longer than others may be inclined to think it's a bit pricy, but just remember you're getting thousands of dollars of information all in one publication for less than the price of a couple trips through the Arby's drive-through or one tank of gas!
- Michigan County Atlas website
- Michigan County Atlas online order page
- Spiral-bound • 224 pages • 4 Color • Softcover
- Page Size: 11 x 15.5 inches
- Weight: 2 pounds, 3 ounces
- ISBN-13: 979-8-218-99314-6
- Author and Publisher: David M. Brown michigancountyatlas@gmail.com
And just look at this sample of the Keweenaw County map that Mr. Brown provides on his website, below! You can't get this kind of information from Google Maps or any other single online source. Or offline source. Trust me.
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