[4] Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, an Indian agent for the territory, was credited with formally naming the county, and was said to use Leelinau as a character in his writing.

Scholars have established that "Leelinau" was first one of the pen names used by his wife Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, in writings for the Literary Voyager, a family magazine which she and her husband wrote together and circulated among friends in the 1820s.

[6] As French settlers began arriving from Canada in the middle of the nineteenth century, the settlement became known as "Le Naro", owing to its location near the narrows.

The Schaub family came in 1855 and took up farming; they planted the first vineyard in Leelanau County, and wine was sold locally and shipped to other markets such as Detroit and Ohio.

[12] As summer comes to the Leelanau Peninsula, vacationers come to the area to enjoy its scenery, boating, fishing, restaurants, and shops along the narrows.

[14][15] In the surrounding area, sightseers can make short trips to Leland, Suttons Bay, Glen Arbor, Northport and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

[16] The community has been part to substantial efforts to protect the area from growth, and to foster a nature conservancy.