[1] Sanilac County is considered to be part of the Thumb of Michigan, a subregion of the Flint/Tri-Cities.

It was named for a lone shanty made of bark, which was used to make shingles from pine.

This decrease of -1,433 people from the 2000 United States Census represents a 3.2% population loss in the decade.

Sanilac County has voted for the Republican nominee in every presidential election since the GOP's inaugural election in 1856 – except in 1912, when the county supported Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party campaign.

However, they had voted for the Republican nominee in 1912, William Howard Taft in the previous election (1908).

The county government operates the 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.