01-03-2025
Where is the exact center of Michigan? Well, that depends
The small Michigan city of St. Louis claims the geographic center of the state, but there's a Wexford County location that has a similar designation.
St. Louis, located just off U.S. 27 in Gratiot County, can claim the rights to the geographic center of the Lower Peninsula. A site about 5 miles north-northwest of Cadillac, in Wexford County, however, is the center when you include the Upper Peninsula, according to Netstate.
St. Louis' slogan — "Middle of the Mitten" — makes its position clear. The city has a stone monument marking the exact coordinates of the Lower Peninsula's center, the Historical Marker Database said.
Here's more on Michigan's center points.
The location's coordinates are 43 degrees, 24.493 minutes North, 84 degrees, 36.318 minutes West.
A marker stands in Clapp Memorial Park, at 232 E. Saginaw St.
In 2009, longtime residents Walter and Beulah Case donated a 5-by-8-inch bronze plaque that was placed on a historic stone marker in Clapp Park, according to the city's website.
The plaque reads, "Sidney S. Hastings placed this stone here in 1876 to mark the geographical center of lower Michigan."
A blue sign also hangs in Clapp Park, near M-46, reminding visitors that they are visiting the middle of the Lower Peninsula.
The coordinates are 45 degrees, 3.7 minutes North, 84 degrees, 56.3 minutes West, not far from Cadillac.
No official source appears to list a geographical center for Michigan's UP.
The best method to calculate an precise location is called the center-of-gravity method, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration said.
"Determining the geographic center of an irregular area on the Earth's surface is a precarious business at best," NOAA said. "There is no unique solution, and none of any scientific significance."
NOAA's method imagines an area of uniform thickness balancing on a point. The center is the point where the area would balance.
For the 48 states in the continental U.S., its exact center is located in Lebanon, Kansas. The coordinates are, 39 degrees, 50 minutes North, 98 degrees, 35 minutes West, the Center for Land Use Interpretation said.
When Alaska and Hawaii are included in the measurement, the center shifts to 17 miles west of Castle Rock, South Dakota, Kansas Sampler Foundation said.
The coordinates in South Dakota's center are 44 degrees, 59 minutes North, 103 degrees, 38 minutes West, NOAA said.
Contact Sarah Moore @ smoore@
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan's middle has 2 options, depending on how you measure
