Oceana County, named for the great freshwater ocean of Lake Michigan, was formed in 1831 and organized on February 13, 1855. The great forest seemed to be an ocean itself, a never-ending sea of green gold for the lumber barons to exploit. The harvest of these mammoth stands of pines brought men and their families to the area to work and build their fortunes. As with many of its immediate neighbors, Oceana County was forged from the exploits of trappers and lumbermen—it was sustained and nurtured by the farmers and businessmen who remained. They built communities on the pine-stumped fields that were left after the great stands of White Pine were shipped out to build the ever-expanding cities of a growing nation.