Marlette, MI

Marlette is a Sanilac County city surrounded by Marlette Township, and people have long called it the Heart of the Thumb because of where it sits in Michigan's mitten-shaped peninsula. The city and township grew together, sharing schools, library, dining, and charitable organizations even though Marlette is administratively separate. The railroad arrived in 1881 after residents helped bring the line to town, and Marlette Regional Hospital now gives the city a regional role beyond its own streets. The local map is simple: one independent city inside its namesake township, with the same ZIP code spreading across the rural edges.