Best Web Design in Au Sable Charter Township, MI (2026)

Web Design for Au Sable Charter Township, Michigan

Au Sable Charter Township sits at the mouth of the Au Sable River on Lake Huron in Iosco County, sharing the Oscoda-Au Sable shoreline in northeastern Michigan. It was once home to the booming lumber-port city of Au Sable, which peaked near the turn of the 20th century before a catastrophic 1911 fire wiped it out; the city surrendered its charter in 1931 and reverted to township control. Today a quiet lakeshore community of about 2,016 people, it anchors the finish of the AuSable River Canoe Marathon and the eastern end of the River Road Scenic Byway.

AppWT serves Au Sable Charter Township and the surrounding Michigan area from Livonia, Michigan.

About Au Sable Charter Township

Also known as. "River of Sand" (the English meaning of the French name Au Sable / Riviere aux Sables).

History. The area was inhabited by the Chippewa (Ojibwe), who ceded it to the federal government under the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw; French-Canadian fur trader Louis Chevalier was the first European settler, running a trading post on the Au Sable River, whose name is French for "river of sand." The township was established in 1848 and the community platted in 1849 at the river mouth on Lake Huron; it was organized as "Sable" in 1857 when Iosco County was organized and renamed AuSable in 1877. Local histories credit Curtis Emerson and James Eldridge with founding Au Sable, which incorporated as a city in 1889 and became the largest city in Iosco County. At its lumber-era peak the city had six sawmills, a bank, hotels, and a Main Street roughly a mile long; the 1890 census recorded 4,828 residents, and local accounts cite peak figures near 10,000. The Au Sable Pierhead Lighthouse was commissioned in 1873 to guide lumber ships; a skeletal tower replaced it in 1912, was automated in 1940, and deactivated in 1957. In July 1911 a fire raged through Au Sable and neighboring Oscoda for days - 300 women and children were placed on a barge on Lake Huron for safety, and only about 12 houses and two schools survived; the population fell to 200 by 1917 and 61 by 1930. The city of Au Sable never recovered, surrendered its city charter in 1931, and returned to township government.

Local economy. The earliest economic base was commercial fishing, harvesting the river and lake's trout and grayling. White-pine lumber dominated from the Civil War era onward - six sawmills and Great Lakes shipping made Au Sable a major logging port until the timber gave out. After the fire and the end of the lumber boom, tourism and outdoor recreation became the mainstay: canoeing, fishing, the Lake Huron and Au Sable River shoreline, and the surrounding Huron-Manistee National Forests. The township is served by Oscoda Area Schools (majority) and Tawas Area Schools (southwest corner).

Culture and community. The AuSable River Canoe Marathon, a 120-mile nonstop race from Grayling to the Oscoda/Au Sable river mouth, was conceived in 1947 by Harold Brubaker and Frank Davis; billed as "The World's Toughest Spectator Race," it is the longest nonstop canoe-only race in North America, with fans following racers overnight to the Lake Huron finish. The River Road Scenic Byway, a 22-mile National Scenic Byway, parallels the Au Sable River from Lake Huron inland through the national forest. The lumberjack heritage is celebrated at the nearby Lumberman's Monument, where visitors can climb through a log jam and cut a wooden "cookie" with a cross-cut saw.

What makes Au Sable Charter Township distinct. Au Sable is one of the rare Michigan cities that gave up its charter - it went from the largest city in Iosco County (4,828 in 1890) to a near-ghost town of 61 people by 1930 and reverted to township status. During the 1911 fire, 300 women and children were loaded onto a barge and pushed out onto Lake Huron to escape the flames. The name literally means "river of sand," from the French Riviere aux Sables.

Au Sable Charter Township Landmarks and Local Life

• Au Sable Pierhead Lighthouse near the river mouth on Lake Huron.
• The Au Sable River mouth and Lake Huron shoreline.
• Lumberman's Monument - a 14-foot bronze statue of three lumbermen in the Huron-Manistee National Forests along River Road, west of Oscoda
• Iargo Springs interpretive site - an outdoor education area about 18 miles west of Oscoda along River Road
• The River Road Scenic Byway and the Highbanks Trail overlooking the Au Sable valley.