Demographics

• Au Sable is an unincorporated community, meaning it does not belong to any municipality. It is however a census designated place for statistical purposes and as of 2000 there were 1,533 people residing in Au Sable.
  
  

Early History

• In 1800, Louis Chevalier was the first to settle on Iosco County where he traded with local Indian settlements. By 1848, the population of the area had expanded and the Au Sable Township was founded, supported by the commercial fishing industry fed by the Au Sable River.
  
  

The Fire

• Au Sable continued to expand over the following decades, with the lumber industry drawing thousands of new residents. However, when the lumbermen eventually moved on westward and the fishing industry also began to wane, Au Sable began to die. In July 1911, the final blow came for the settlement when a bush fire was fanned by a strong wind across the logged areas to the settlements on the river. Au Sable and its sister city of Oscoda were all but destroyed, leaving just three buildings standing.
  
  

Ghostly Tales

• The ruins of Au Sable are considered to be a haunted spot. Local witchcraft practitioners are said to use the area for their ceremonies. The ruins claim one resident ghost, a young woman called Leona, whose family once had a farm in the woods. Back in 1929, Leona is said to have been shot and killed by a hunter who mistook her for a deer. Since then, her spirit has been seen many times at Au Sable, usually leading lost people out of the forest.