After timber supplies in the Midwest dwindled, loggers shifted westward to the Pacific Northwest to find new sources of lumber, and many of these fledgling settlements foundered.)

With Ogemaw Springs in decline, the people flocked to West Branch, causing an economic boom, including the construction of its first hotel.

This created even more growth, causing many restaurants, hotels, and businesses to be built, a vast majority of which still stand today.

Ogemaw 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.

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