Cheboygan County was organized in 1853 with the first Courthouse being located at Duncan City, comprised of two townships.  In 1860, the Board of Supervisors, then eight members, moved the County seat to Inverness Township. In 1868, the new Courthouse was constructed;  the building still stands and is known as the Fifth Ward Hose House. In 1894, a new Courthouse was built at a cost of $30,000 located at the corner of Main and Court Streets.  This building was razed in 1970.  The present County Building was erected in 1968 at a cost of $985,000.  In January 1980, the north-end addition to the County Building with 17,300 square feet was ready for occupancy.  This addition housed the Cheboygan County Family Independance Agency until the fall of 1997.  During 1998 this space was converted into a Phase I expansion for the County Jail, creating a 34-bed dormitory style lockup; four holding cells and administrative offices for all departments under the County Sheriff.  During early 1999, the former County Jail was converted into additional jail cells for female inmates which was Phase II in the process. 

In 1983, Cheboygan County was apportioned into eleven Commissioner Districts, having been reduced from fifteen in the 1980 reapportionment process.  Cheboygan County currently consists of seven Commissioner Districts, having been reduced from eleven to nine in the 1990 reapportionment process and from nine in the 2000 reapportionment process.  The County has nineteen Townships, two Villages, Mackinaw and Wolverine, and the City of Cheboygan.