Swingtown, USA: Standish, MI

Welcome:

Standish is the county seat of Arenac County, and is located six miles from Saginaw Bay in Northeast Michigan. The town is named after founding father John D. Standish, who, in the latter half of the 19th century, owned the land that became the town. Arenac means "of or pertaining to a sandy place." (The suffix "-ac" is derived from Ancient Greek and means "pertaining to" and "arena" is Latin for "place strewn with sand.")












By the Numbers:

The town's population in 2000 was 1,581; the county's population was 17,269. Standish is 97% white, less than 1% African-American, and 2% Hispanic or Latino. Arenac County is 95% white, 2% African-American, and 1% Hispanic or Latino. In 2000, the per capita income for the town was $13,608.

Kerry won Arenac County by five votes in 2004: 4,076 to Bush's 4,071. Kerry did well in Deep River Twp. and Omer (the smallest "city" in the state with a pop. of 337), while Bush won Standish, Au Gres, and Sims Township. In Arenac County's Republican Primary, Romney, buoyed by the home state bump, won 35% of the vote, McCain won 34%, Huckabee won 16%, and Paul won 5%. In the disputed Democratic Primary Clinton won 69% to Uncommitted's 28%.

Fun Facts!

Evidence from artifacts found in the area indicate that Arenac County has been inhabited for over 5000 years.

The area was settled by Europeans when two settlers started a sawmill in 1856. The county was founded in 1883 during the lumber boom when it was separated from Bay and Saginaw Counties.

Standish is considered a sportsmen's supply headquarters for those provisioning themselves before going hunting further north, but you don't need to leave Arenac to find outdoor fun. There's plenty of good canoeing on the Rifle and Au Gres Rivers, or you can take aim at small game in the Tittabawassee River State Forest.

Did somebody say "Slots!"? The Saganing Eagles Landing Casino, operated by the Saganing Chippewa tribe, opened in Standish in January of 2008.

The Arenac County fair, in Standish, runs from July 15-19th.

Check out the city's myspace page.

Your local news source: The Bay City Times


The following chart shows the five smallest vote margins among Arenac County precincts in the 2004 General Election.

Precincts	Vote Margin (in # of votes)
Standish City Ward 3-1	Tie
Mason Township	Bush +1
Moffatt Township	Kerry +4
Standish City Ward 1-1	Kerry +12
Au Gres Township	Bush +19

Swingtown, USA is a regular feature on the Protocol where we introduce readers to a city or town from a swing county in a swing state.