Curran, Michigan

File:Curran, MI post office.jpg

Curran is centered along the concurrency of M-65 and M-72, which is referred to locally as North Curran Road. The community is in Northern Michigan within Mitchell Township in western Alcona County, which is about {{convert|45|mi|km}} northwest of the community of Oscoda.{{cite web|last=Michigan Economic Development Corporation|url=https://www.michigan.org/city/curran#?c=44.4299:-85.1166:6&tid=494&page=0&pagesize=20&pagetitle=Curran|title=Oscoda Area Convention and Visitors Bureau|date=2020|access-date=December 8, 2020}} Curran sits at an elevation of {{convert|922|ft|m}} above sea level.

Little Wolf Creek and Yoder Creek run through the center of the community.{{GNIS|1620597|Little Wolf Creek}}{{GNIS|1622225|Yoder Creek}} Curran is also surrounded by the Huron National Forest.

Curran is served by Fairview Area School District, which is mostly to the west in Oscoda County. The eastern portion of the community may be served by Alcona Community Schools.{{cite web|last=Michigan Geographic Framework|url=http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/mgdl/pdfmaps/CountySchools/SD_BYCO_esize_ALCONA%20COUNTY.pdf|title=Alcona County School Districts|date=15 November 2013|access-date=December 8, 2020}} The township hall is located within Curran at 6849 West Tower Road.{{cite web|last=Mitchell Township, MI|url=http://www.mitchelltownship.org/|title=Welcome to Mitchell Township|date=2019|access-date=December 8, 2020}} The current post office building is located at 2071 North Curran Road.{{cite web|last=United States Postal Service|url=https://tools.usps.com/find-location.htm?location=1360054|title=Curran – Post Office|date=2023|accessdate=March 11, 2023}}

Curran uses its own post office with the 48728 ZIP Code, which covers most of the sparsely-populated areas of western Alcona County. It serves most of Mitchell Township, as well as small portions of Alcona Township, Caledonia Township, and Millen Township to the east. The Curran post office also serves small portions of Comins Township and Clinton Township to the west in Oscoda County, as well as a very small portion of Ossineke Township to the north in Alpena County.{{google maps |url = https://www.google.com/maps/place/Curran,+MI+48728/@44.7322722,-83.9210291,11z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x8820a592cb8203e1:0x20018c882a17e4e5!8m2!3d44.7400133!4d-83.8260884 |title = 48728 ZIP Code map |access-date = December 7, 2020 }}

Other nearby communities include Fairview and Mio to the west, McKinley to the southwest, Comins to the northwest, and Barton City and Hubbard Lake to the east.

File:Curran, MI 1910.jpg

Curran was first settled by Phillip Curran, who built a lumber camp in the area in 1875. More settlers arrived around 1886. In 1890, the Loud & Sons Lumber Company, managed by George Loud, built a narrow-gauge railway through the area. The community received its first post office on April 28, 1890 with Edward Cunning as the first postmaster. In the same year, it was discontinued on September 30 but quickly reestablished on October 10 with John Fullerton assuming postmaster duties.{{cite book |first1=Walter |last1=Romig |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |type=Paperback |orig-date= 1973 |date=October 1, 1986 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn = 978-0-8143-1838-6 |location=Detroit, Michigan| page=143}} Mitchell Township, where Curran is located, was also formally organized in 1890.

By 1919, the community had grown to a population of around 150. Curran maintained his logging business until all of the white pines were depleted by the 1920s.{{cite book | last = Dodge| first = Ray| year = 1990 | title = Michigan Ghost Towns: Of the Lower Peninsula (formerly Michigan Ghost Towns I & II) | orig-year= 1970, 1971 | publisher = Thunder Bay Press Michigan | location = Alpena, Michigan | isbn = 0-932-21264-6| pages = Vol. I, 18 }}

Curran is unofficially referred to as the "Black Bear Capital of Michigan" due to the abundance of American black bears in the area, and the title is also extended to Mitchell Township as a whole. The title is also used by the unincorporated community of Strongs in Chippewa Township in the state's Upper Peninsula.{{cite news |publisher = Booth Newspapers |work = The Mining Journal |url = https://www.miningjournal.net/life/tuesday-health/2020/07/upper-peninsula-fun-facts-for-2020/ |title = Talk with the Doc: Upper Peninsula fun facts for 2020 |date = 7 July 2020 |access-date = December 7, 2020 }} Curran hosts the annual Black Bear Festival every September.{{cite web|last=Alcona County Quilt Trail Project|url=http://www.discovernortheastmichigan.org/downloads/alcona_co_quilt_trail_brochure.pdf|title=Alcona County Quilt Trail|date=June 2015|access-date=December 3, 2020}} The event was founded in 2005 and features a car show, craft show, music, and vendors. The 2020 Black Bear Festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan, and the event was also canceled in 2021. The Black Bear Festival resumed in 2022 and continues annually.{{cite web|last=Curran Black Bear Festival |url= https://www.facebook.com/curranblackbearfestival/ |title=Curran MI Black Bear Festival (Facebook page)|website= Facebook |date=2023|access-date=March 14, 2023}}{{cite news |publisher = The Oscoda County Herald |url = https://www.oscodaherald.com/articles/its-back-the-black-bear-festival-returns/

|title = It's back! The Black Bear Festival returns |date = 15 September 2022 |access-date = March 13, 2023 }}

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{{Alcona County, Michigan}}

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Category:Unincorporated communities in Alcona County, Michigan

Category:Unincorporated communities in Michigan

Category:Populated places established in 1875

Category:1875 establishments in Michigan