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Houghton County, Michigan Public Records

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Find the right office in Houghton County. Court cases, deeds and parcels, sheriff and jail records, vital records and county filings, each linked to the office that keeps them.

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Most requested Houghton County records

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Local record guide

About public records in Houghton County

County profile

Houghton County at a glance

State
Michigan
County seat
Houghton
Population
37,361
Area
1,501 sq mi
Founded
1845
Cities and towns
16

Houghton County offices and records

Sheriff & Law Enforcement. Houghton County Sheriff's Office is responsible for maintaining law and order in Houghton County, particularly in the unincorporated areas.

Police Departments. Houghton County is served by several law enforcement agencies, including Houghton County Sheriff's Office and municipal police departments such as the Houghton City Police Department and the Hancock Police Department. Each agency has jurisdiction over its respective area, with the Sheriff's Office covering unincorporated regions and the city departments focusing on urban areas.

Law Enforcement & Arrests. Houghton County Sheriff's Office, located at 401 East Houghton Avenue, Houghton, MI 49931, provides primary law enforcement services throughout the unincorporated areas of Houghton County. Houghton County Jail, operated by the Sheriff's Office, houses inmates for Houghton County and provides detention services.

Arrest Records. Arrest records in Houghton County are maintained by Houghton County Sheriff's Office. Residents and attorneys can request arrest records by contacting the Sheriff's Office directly, following the procedures outlined under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.

Jail & Inmate Records. Inmate lookup services are available through the Sheriff's Office, allowing the public to find information about current inmates.

Mugshots & Booking Photos. Mugshots in Houghton County are taken and retained by Houghton County Sheriff's Office during the booking process. These booking photos are part of the arrest record and can be accessed through the Sheriff's Office or online databases, depending on availability. The public can search for mugshots through the Sheriff's website or third-party services.

Birth and death certificates for events occurring in Houghton County are available from both Houghton County Clerk's Office at 401 East Houghton Avenue, Houghton, MI 49931 (906-482-1150) and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics in Lansing. Property tax records can be accessed through Houghton County Treasurer's Office (906-482-1151), which collects summer and winter property taxes and maintains records of delinquencies and foreclosures. Houghton County Register of Deeds, located at 401 East Houghton Avenue, Houghton, MI 49931 (phone: 906-482-1152), maintains all land records for Houghton County including warranty deeds, quit claim deeds, mortgages, mortgage satisfactions, land contracts, liens, easements, rights-of-way, plat maps, survey records, and other instruments affecting real property.

Abandoned mine records

Old mine workings in Houghton County

Where the workings are, and the office that holds the mine maps.

From the old mine records

What is on record in Houghton County

Old mine sites
122
Sites with no status in the records
1
Past producers, now closed
87
Prospects and occurrences, never worked
35
Producing when recorded
12
Processing plants, not workings
1
Worked underground, in the mine records
82
Main minerals
Copper; crushed stone; Fire Clay (Refractory)
Holes drawn on the old survey maps
108
Shafts and tunnels
66
What they are
mine shaft, gravel pit, sand pit, adit
Maps surveyed
1946 to 1999
Records behind them
264 records for 244 sites, the rest are the same working written down more than once
Sources
USGS mineral file and USGS topographic mine features

Is an old working under a property here?

The mine records hold 136 mine sites inside the county: 87 past producers, now closed, 35 prospects or occurrences that were never worked, 12 sites producing when the record was made, 1 processing plant, which is not a working, 1 site with no status in the record; the old survey maps add 108 holes drawn inside the county, 66 of them shafts or tunnels. The minerals the records name are Copper; crushed stone; Fire Clay (Refractory).

A point in either file is a location, not a property line: the sheet shows the opening on the surface, not the rooms under it. The record that shows what runs under a parcel is the mine map. The OSMRE National Mine Map Repository holds scanned underground mine maps and answers requests for a named mine or an area. GeoWebFace shows historic mining sites as points; no agency page with underground workings outlines was found, and the OSMRE National Mine Map Repository holds Michigan maps.

Baraga County Keweenaw County Ontonagon County Marquette County Houghton Chassell Hubbell Laurium N 20 miles
Houghton County: the boundary from the Census Bureau, and one dot for each old mine or hole on record inside it. The purple dots come off the old survey maps and the darkest of those are shafts and tunnels; the red, green and orange ones are mine records. The small open circles with a name are the towns and the pale shapes around the edge are the neighbouring counties, both from the Census Bureau. Hover a dot for its name.
Michigan mine map and abandoned mine records
Named workings recorded in Houghton County (140 shown, 104 unnamed on the map)

Rows taken off the old survey maps open the USGS record of what sits at that spot, because no single feature on those maps has a page of its own. Rows from the mine records open their own USGS page.

Michigan abandoned mine maps ranks every county and town in the state by the workings recorded inside it, names the office that holds the mine maps, and says what to do if the ground moves.

Disclaimer: The mine information here is for general information only. Old mine records can be incomplete, outdated or wrong, and finding nothing here does not mean there is nothing there. Check with the mine map office named here before you rely on it, and have a qualified engineer look at any ground you are worried about. PublicRecordCenter.com assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or consequences arising from the use of this information.

Labor Department file

Wage and hour cases in Houghton County

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division closed 12 investigations in Houghton County since fiscal 2005 and recorded $34,671 in back wages agreed for 145 workers. The county is the one the Census Bureau puts each employer's ZIP code in. Snapshot of April 22, 2026; a case here is a finding by the Division, not a court judgment.

Investigations closed
12
Back wages agreed
$34,671
Workers due back wages
145
Civil money penalties
$4,768
Employers on the record
12
EmployerCityCasesBack wagesWorkers
Bacchus, Inc.Houghton1$15,35031
Cortright, Inc.Houghton1$10,35312
Higher Health, LLCHoughton1$3,89016
Vocational Strategies, IncCalumet1$2,16928
Ontonagon IndustriesHoughton1$1,66350
Calumet Housing CommissionCalumet1$6911
Pilgrim TLC, IncHoughton1$5323
Goodwill Industries of N. WI and Upper MICalumet1$244
D & S Development, Inc.Houghton1$00
Michigan Technological UniversityHoughton1$00
North Country Cleaning and PaintingCalumet1$00
T@C Markets-Houghton Inc.Houghton1$00

Every employer on the Houghton County record, by back wages agreed; 4 employers have a page of their own and open from the table, the rest show their whole record in this row. The Michigan wage theft records page ranks the whole state.

Straight answers

Houghton County public-records FAQs

Open only the answer you need.

Where can I find mugshots or booking photos in Houghton County, Michigan?

Booking photos are kept by the agency that made the arrest, such as the Houghton County Sheriff or a city police department in Houghton County. Ask that agency for its record.

How do I get a criminal background check in Houghton County, Michigan?

The Michigan criminal history record comes from the Michigan State Police, Criminal Justice Information Center. Name search online through the Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT); fingerprint searches only where a state or federal law, executive order or rule requires one. Fee: $10.00 for a name based criminal record check (MCL 28.273).

How can I look up sex offenders in Houghton County, Michigan?

Search the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry (Michigan State Police), or every state at once on the National Sex Offender Public Website run by the U.S. Department of Justice.

How do I register to vote in Houghton County, Michigan?

Register with the city or township clerk or through the Michigan Department of State, Bureau of Elections. You can also register online with the state online registration. Same day registration: yes. With 15 or more days before an election you can register online, by mail or in person; within 14 days and on Election Day, only in person at your local clerk's office with proof of residency.

How do I look up property records in Houghton County, Michigan?

Deeds and other recorded land documents in Houghton County are kept by the Houghton County Register of Deeds. Property values are set by the city or township assessor, and tax bills come from the city or township treasurer; taxes unpaid on March 1 go to the county treasurer as delinquent. Source: official state page.

How do I get a birth or death certificate in Houghton County, Michigan?

Certified birth and death certificates for Michigan come from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics. Copies of records may also be obtained from the County Clerk in the county where the event occurred. By mail with the signed application and a copy of ID, at the drop box in the lobby of 333 S. Grand Ave., Lansing, online or by phone through VitalChek, the only authorized online service provider, or in person by appointment on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fee: $34 search fee for a standard record ($14 online processing fee); $14.00 for one copy of your own birth record if you are 65 or older.

How do I find business license records in Houghton County, Michigan?

Business entity filings are searched with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Corporations Division. Assumed names of sole proprietorships and co-partnership names are filed with the county clerk in each county where business is conducted.

Same county

Cities, towns and neighboring counties

Use the city page when a record was created by a municipal police department or city office; use the county page for courts, deeds, vital records and jail custody.

HancockDollar BayLake LindenChassellHubbellCalumetAtlantic MineSouth RangeDodgevillePainesdaleCopper CityKearsargeNisulaSidnawToivolaBaraga CountyOntonagon CountyIron CountyKeweenaw CountyMarquette County