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Welcome to Burt Township
Burt Township is located on the western border of Cheboygan County, which is situated in the north central part of northern Michigan's lower peninsula. While technically Burt Township is one standard geographic township in area, slightly more than half of the Township is water (Burt Lake).
Burt Township History
Burt Township takes its name from Burt Lake, which in turn was named after state surveyor William Burt. The lake is part of an important inland water route, stretching from Crooked Lake and Conway (nine miles from Petoskey) in the south to Lake Huron in the north via the mouth of the Cheboygan River. Native Americans used the route prior to European settlement and it was heavily used for commercial transportation of logs in the second half of the 1800s.
In the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the Michigan Central Railroad and the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad laid track through to Cheboygan, leading to the foundation of many villages, including that of Burt Lake. About the time lumbering was slowing down, the resort business began to build in the area, creating the beginnings of the seasonal tourist industry still important today. The water route is still in use and frequented by many small pleasure craft.
NOTICES
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High Speed Internet is coming to the Township's west side
July 2022 Internet Update
The Spectrum broadband project for the Township’s west side is still happening but has been delayed. Supply chain issues, waiting for permits, along with recent changes to the project have pushed things out to later this year. The good news is that the project which was scheduled to be a hybrid cable/fiber line has been changed to 100% fiber. This will make the easement application process much more efficient and will allow for additional residences to receive service. This will also allow for faster speeds in the future since fiber has much higher capacity and lower latency than any other deployable consumer connection. The project looks like it will partially qualify for some federal funding so that makes it especially attractive to Spectrum from a business perspective. The Construction Coordinator indicated that Spectrum would work through the winter when it comes to installation as necessary.
The east side is being studied for a similar project but that is still at least a year away. The Township will continue to monitor progress and provide updates as more information becomes available. Thanks to everyone for their continued patience while Spectrum continues to prepare for this project.