The county's number of small farms has dwindled over the years, and lumbering is only a tiny part of the local scene now. But Wexford County has adapted and prospered.
It is now a tourist haven where dozens of resorts cater to weekend fishermen, hunters and hikers. It is a place where road signs advise drivers to beware of bears and where taverns adorn their walls with moose heads, snowshoes and trophy northern pike.
Wexford also has become a leader in Christmas tree production, with thousands of acres planted to Scotch pines, Fraser firs and blue spruce. And the adaptive people of Wexford have found other economic niches. For instance, the county is home to the largest trout farm in the state, Harrietta Hills Trout Farm, which hatches more than a half-million rainbows a year.
The trout farm's co-owner, Dan Vogler, moved his family here six years ago from one of the ritzy areas on Michigan's west coast. Wexford County, he says, is a down-to-earth place where keeping up with the Joneses is not a priority and where hard work pays, in part, because you get to do it in one of the prettiest places in the state. "People come here from all over to vacation," Vogler says. "We get to live here."
Hard work and beautiful scenery...Wexford is a land of trade offs. On one hand, you must have a measure of grit to endure northwestern Michigan's winters. On the other, some residents live for the skiing, snowmobiling and other winter sports the climate makes possible.
Another trade off: Roughly one-quarter of the county is part of the Huron Manistee National Forest, which comprises 97,000 acres. While that limits the county's property tax base, it also provides great natural beauty and tourist income.
|
|
|
|
A third trade off: Like most of Michigan, Wexford County has long loved the auto industry and long profited through local manufacturing firms that supplied parts to the Detroit factories.
But over the last few years, those firms and the county suffered as Detroit's V-8 economy has been hitting on only three cylinders.
Fortunately, Wexford's economic driver—county seat Cadillac—has managed to partially insulate itself from the Detroit wreck with a diversified small manufacturing base. In part because of efforts by local officials, Cadillac now boasts more than 4,000 manufacturing jobs at companies which build boats, make military shelters and produce gas masks.
Cadillac itself is a pretty town of 10,000, which sits beside a brilliant lake and buzzes with commerce and society. It's a forward-looking place that tries to balance economic progress and sustainability. The city and county's master plan calls for "an economy built on renewable natural resources."
In the northwest part of the county near the village of Mesick, Ron Cochrane long ago took that plan to heart. For more than 30 years, he has grown Christmas trees for shipment all over the country. (Michigan is among the leading states, and Wexford County is one of the top counties in Michigan for Christmas tree production.)
Through its ups and downs the Christmas tree industry has been good to Ron and his wife, Ella. It has allowed them to raise their children and to build a beautiful house overlooking the Manistee River valley.
Today they own about 700 acres, but face the challenge of changing consumer preferences. Scotch pine used to be the hot ticket. Now it's Fraser fir. When it takes six to seven years for a crop to mature, you have to be able to see far down the road, Ron says, and "you have to be able to adapt."
 |
FEATURED PROPERTIES IN THIS COUNTY FROM THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER REAL ESTATE DATABASE>> |
More info on the web:
Cooperative Extension, Wexford County
www.msue.msu.edu/portal
Cadillac Visitors Bureau
www.cadillacmichigan.com
General County Information
www.wexfordcounty.org/
Statistics provided by 
