Originally named Ka-notin after an Indian chief, but in 1843 was renamed Iosco. A name that means "Water of Light" and was taken from published works of Henry Schoolcraft. Iosco county was originally inhabited by Chippewa Indians and Tawas City , the county seat is said to be named after Chief O-Ta-Was who was known to fish the waters of Lake Huron . The first white men to the area were French Trappers and Traders who set up shop along the Au Sable River in the Early to Mid 1800's. The AuSable is Michigan 's longest river and the word AuSable was named by the French and means All Sand. The Lumber boom in the Late 1800's brought tremendous growth to the area, today the Lumberman's Monument which is located in the Huron National Forest stands as tribute to the "River Rats" that moved the timber down the river. The AuSable has great Trout fishing and also hosts the Annual AuSable River Canoe Marathon which this July (2005) celebrates its 58 th year. This race is said to be The Longest Non-Stop Canoe Race in North America , its 120 miles, starts at 9 pm and winning times have been between 14 to 21 hours. The city of Oscoda is located in eastern Iosco County on Lake Huron at the mouth of the Au Sable River making it a key distribution point for shipping lumber on the great lakes. It was named by Henry Schoolcraft from the two Indian words "ossin" and "muscoda," meaning "pebbly prairie. With over a third of the county occupied by the Huron National Forest , Miles of Lake Huron Shoreline and numerous dam ponds along the AuSable River Iosco county is an Outdoor Michigan Sportsman's Paradise .

Iosco County Websites and Locations of Interest

Huron National Forest - http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hmnf/

Yankee Air Force, Wurtsmith Division -
http://wurtsmith-yaf-museum.org/

Lumbermans Monument - http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hmnf/pages/lumbermans.htm

AuSable canoe marathon - http://www.ausablecanoemarathon.org/