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(Photograph by Roger Funk)
On April 4, 1892, the voters of Arenac County elected to move the county seat from Omer to Standish. The town already was a center for the county's lumbering and agricultural industries, but its designation as its new seat of government allowed it to surpass quickly its neighbors in size and importance—and to maintain that lead to the present day. In 1892 the county erected the county's third courthouse, a large, red brick, Richardsonian Romanesque building. The building was demolished to clear the site for construction of the fourth Arenac county courthouse. Gerganoff (1887–1966) of Ypsilanti, an architect noted for his International Style designs for public buildings, was the architect. Born in Bulgaria, Gerganoff studied architecture at the University of Michigan. Bays of glazing and enameled panels strongly delineate the front facade of the two-story, L-shaped International Style courthouse. The Arenac County Building Dedication Program for the event on October 2, 1965, noted that the building held “spacious, efficient offices for all departments”—a dignified court; light roomy county offices with room for expansion; comfortable and convenient waiting, conference, and meetings rooms; a beautifully furnished jury deliberation room; and a spacious lobby.