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Onaway, Michigan
City
Presque Isle County Courthouse
Presque Isle County Courthouse
Location within Presque Isle County
Location within Presque Isle County
Onaway, Michigan is located in Michigan
Onaway, Michigan
Onaway, Michigan
Location in Michigan
Country United States
State Michigan
County Presque Isle
Incorporated 1899 (village)
1903 (city)
Government
 • Type City council
Area
 • Total 1.63 sq mi (4.22 km2)
 • Land 1.63 sq mi (4.22 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
850 ft (259 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 890
 • Density 546.35/sq mi (210.95/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)
49765
Area code(s) 989
FIPS code 26-60680
GNIS feature ID 0634060

Onaway (pronounced ON-uh-way) is a small city in Presque Isle County, Michigan, in the United States. It's located just east of the border with Cheboygan County. In 2020, about 890 people lived there. Onaway is known as the "Sturgeon Capital of Michigan." This is because there's a special facility nearby on the Black River that helps raise young lake sturgeon. These fish then travel to the Cheboygan River and eventually to Lake Huron.

History of Onaway

Onaway started as a farming community. It first got a post office on October 23, 1882. This office was named "Shaw" after Thomas E. Shaw, who was a civil engineer and the first postmaster.

In 1886, a man named Merritt Chandler planned out the community and called it Onaway. He later became the postmaster, and the post office officially changed its name to Onaway on March 29, 1890. For a short time, the post office name changed back to "Adalaska" in 1893, but it was renamed Onaway again on November 15, 1897.

Onaway became an official village in 1899. Just a few years later, in 1903, it grew and became a city. At the start of the 1900s, Onaway was a very important place for making wooden automobile steering wheels. It produced about 65% of all the wooden steering wheels in the world!

Geography and Location

Onaway covers an area of about 1.57 square miles (4.22 square kilometers), and all of it is land. The border between Cheboygan and Presque Isle counties is just to the west of the city.

Main Roads

Several state highways pass through or near Onaway:

  • M-33
  • M-68
  • M-211

Population Changes

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1900 1,204 —
1910 2,702 124.4%
1920 2,789 3.2%
1930 1,492 −46.5%
1940 1,449 −2.9%
1950 1,421 −1.9%
1960 1,388 −2.3%
1970 1,262 −9.1%
1980 1,084 −14.1%
1990 1,039 −4.2%
2000 993 −4.4%
2010 880 −11.4%
2020 890 1.1%
U.S. Decennial Census

According to the 2010 census, there were 880 people living in Onaway. The city had 394 households. The average age of people in Onaway was about 43.6 years old. About 23% of the residents were under 18, and nearly 20% were 65 or older.

Local Media

People in Onaway can access various news and entertainment options.

Newspapers

  • The Alpena News is a daily newspaper that covers much of northeastern Michigan.
  • The Onaway Outlook is a weekly newspaper specifically for the city of Onaway.
  • The Presque Isle County Advance is another weekly newspaper for the wider Presque Isle County area.

Television Channels

Several TV channels are available in Onaway, bringing news and shows from different networks:

  • Channel 4: WTOM-TV ("TV 7&4" - NBC)
  • Channel 6: WCML ("CMU Public Television" - PBS)
  • Channel 8: WGTQ ("ABC 29&8" - ABC)
  • Channel 10: WWUP-TV ("9&10 News" - CBS)
  • Channel 11: WBKB-TV ("Channel 11 News" - CBS)

Radio Stations (FM)

Call Sign Frequency City Broadcast From
WTLI 89.3 Bear Creek Township
WPHN 90.5 Gaylord
WCML 91.7 Alpena
WFDX 92.5 Atlanta
WBCM 93.5 Boyne City
WKJZ 94.9 Hillman
WLXT 96.3 Petoskey
WRGZ 96.7 Rogers City
WAWM 98.9 Petoskey
WHAK 99.9 Rogers City
WMJZ 101.5 Gaylord
WMKC 102.9 Indian River
WGFM 105.1 Cheboygan
WHSB 107.7 Alpena

Radio Stations (AM)

Call Sign Frequency City Broadcast From
WTCM 580 Traverse City
WOUF 750 Petoskey
WHAK 960 Rogers City
WWMN 1110 Petoskey

Transportation

Onaway has access to several ways to get around.

Airports

The Leo E. Goetz County Airport is now closed. For commercial flights, people in Onaway can use nearby airports like:

  • Alpena County Regional Airport
  • Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City
  • Pellston Airport

Roads and Trails

  • Michigan State Trunklines:
    • M-33
    • M-68
    • M-211 (This road starts in Onaway)
  • Michigan Department of Natural Resources trails:
    • North Eastern State Trail
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