General Info

Washtenaw County located in southeastern Michigan, is approximately 30 miles west of Detroit. The county is made up of five cities: Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Chelsea and Milan; and three incorporated villages that include Manchester, Dexter and Barton Hills. The County spans a distance of 30-miles east-to-west and 24-miles north-to-south. The county has more than 350,000 residents, and is one of the few Michigan counties that continue to grow at a moderate rate. In 1822, the Legislative Council established the Washtenaw County boundary lines. In 1827, Washtenaw County, Territory of Michigan, was legally established. Emerson Greenman, a former curator of the museum of anthropology at the University of Michigan, wrote that the name Washtenaw was derived from the Algonquin and meant 'Far Country' with Detroit as the Point of reference. County officials that are elected, include Commissioners, Clerk/Register of Deeds, Drain Commissioner, Prosecutor, Sheriff, Treasurer and Judges.