Alpena, Mich., capital of Alpena County, situated at the head of Thunder Bay, Lake Huron, about halfway between Saginaw Bay and the Straits of Mackinac. It has a commodious harbor, and ships in the season large quantities of shingles, lath, and sawn lumber. It has a number of factories and, a variety of industries, chiefly connected with the timber trade, such as paper from wood-pulp, two large excelsior mills, two stave and heading factories, two veneer mills, etc. The city has admirable public schools, a public library, churches, a water works system, and is lighted at night both by gas and by electricity. The number of inhabitants has not increased much in the past decade. Its present population is 19,945.
