[2] Since 2008, the county seat has been located within Suttons Bay Township, one mile east of the unincorporated village of Lake Leelanau.

He created many faux Indian place names in Michigan, using syllables of Ojibwe, Latin and Arabic,[5] neglecting the fact that the Ojibwa language lacks any of the phonemes associated with the letter 'L' in English.

[6] More recently, however, scholars have established that Leelinau was first used as a pen name by Henry's wife, Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, in writings for The Literary Voyager, a family magazine which they co-wrote in the 1820s.

[1][9] In 1851, it was attached the Grand Traverse County for governmental purposes, and was temporarily given the name "Leelanau Township".

[10] Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was established in 1970, protecting much of the natural scenery of the area at the federal level.

[11] In 2008, the county seat moved from Leland to a site in Suttons Bay Township, near the town of Lake Leelanau.

By land By water As of the 2000 United States census,[16] there were 21,119 people, 8,436 households, and 6,217 families residing in the county.

Leelanau County operates the county jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services.

The county board of commissioners controls the budget and has limited authority to make laws or ordinances.

In Michigan, most local government functions – police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance etc.

Leelanau County is home to a number of local airstrips, including Woolsey Memorial Airport.