Aviva Directory » Local & Global » North America » United States » States » Michigan » Cities & Towns » Omer

With a population of 259 at the time of the 2020 census, Omer, Michigan is the smallest city, by area and population, in the state, with close competition from Lake Angelus.

Surrounded by Arenac Township, the city is bisected left and right by the Rifle River, and north and south by US-23 (Huron Road), which serves as Center Street within the city. Other routes through the city include Arenac State Road, Main Street Road, and River Road (Michigan Avenue).

Cities and villages within twenty miles of Omer include Standish, Twining, Au Gres, Sterling, Turner, Whittemore, Pinconning, and Prescott, while the unincorporated community of Pine River is six miles south of Omer.

The Rifle River is a sixty-mile waterway that begins in northeast Ogemaw County, flowing through Arenac County, where it enters Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron. Today, it is popular with canoeists. The river also has one of the best White Sucker runs in the state, which brings people from all over the Midwest and Canada in the spring. Until the 1980s, the city sponsored an annual Sucker Festival and fishing tournament, until the insurance costs of the festival became too much for the city to manage. The tournament was revived by local sponsors in 2008.

The city's peak population was 403 in 1980, while its lowest population since first appearing on a census roll in 1910 was 216 in 1930.

Omer was founded by George Carscallen and George L. Gorie, who built a large sawmill on the Rifle River in 1866. The settlement that grew around the mill was first known as Rifle River Mills. When a post office was established on September 19, 1872, Mr. Carscallen, the first postmaster, wanted to name it Homer, but Michigan had another post office named Homer, so he shortened it to Omer.

Omer was in Bay County until Arenac County was organized in 1883.

The Detroit & Mackinac Railroad built a station in Omer to serve its south division main line and a branch line to Au Gres. The first freight train ran from Omer to Monroe on September 22, 1896.

Platted in 1872, Omer was incorporated as a city in 1903.

The focal point of this portion of our guide is on the small city of Omer, Michigan. Appropriate topics include online resources for the municipal government, as well as for local businesses, industries, schools, churches, organizations, attractions, events, and recreational opportunities.

 

 

Recommended Resources


Search for Omer on Google or Bing