About The Thumb Area

The Thumb is a region of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten; thus the Thumb is the area that looks like the thumb of the mitten.

The Thumb of Michigan refers to Huron, Tuscola, and Sanilac counties, comprising the extended peninsula that stretches into Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay. This region is very flat and fertile, making its primary economy of an agricultural nature. Ethnicity is predominantly, and nearly exclusively, Caucasian. The land was settled mostly by Polish and German immigrants, with much of the lifestyle and customs of residents reflecting that fact. Culture here consists mostly of the small-town lifestyle, although towns such as Caseville and Port Austin enjoy seasonal tourism, due to their locations on the lake. Unique features include the town of Kinde, which was once the bean capital of the world; Sebewaing, the sugar beet capital of the world; and Bad Axe, a city named after a broken axe found lodged in the knot of a tree at the clearing of the (then just developing) city's main crossroads.

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