Onekama ( ) is a village in
Manistee County
Manistee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 25,032. The county seat is Manistee. The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county. Th ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
. The population was 411 at the
2010 census. The village is located on the shores of
Portage Lake and is surrounded by
Onekama Township. The town's name is derived from "Ona-ga-maa," an Anishinaabe word which means "singing water."
[ ]
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the village has a total area of , all land.
The M-22 highway runs through downtown Onekama.
History
The predecessor of the village of Onekama was the settlement of Portage at
Portage Point
Portage Point is an unincorporated summer resort area of Onekama Township, Manistee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It includes the site of the first town on Portage Lake at It is located on the narrow strip of land between Portage Lake an ...
, first established in 1845, at the western end of
Portage, at the outlet of Portage Creek. In 1871, when landowners around the land-locked lake became exasperated with the practices of the Portage Sawmill, they took the solution into their own hands and dug a channel through the narrow isthmus, opening a waterway that lowered the lake by 12 to 14 feet and brought it to the same level as
Lake Michigan. When this action dried out Portage Creek on 14 May 1871, the settlement, which had only the week before been designated as ''Onekama'' with a Post Office under that name, moved to the previously submerged land at the northwestern shore of the lake near an earlier settlement called "Brookfield".
In 1880, the first public buildings were built in the new village. These included the Pierce Grist Mill and The Gibert Brothers' Saw Mill. In 1882, the first school was built next to the present-day Congregational Church. In 1883, a large summer hotel, The Glen House, was built near the Glen, with its three mineral springs that were believed to have medicinal value.
The village was incorporated in 1891 and included the earlier settlement known as Brookfield, creating a long narrow village about 1.5 miles long with the business section on the flat, former lake bottom and residences on the higher land.
In 1889, a branch of the
Manistee and North-Eastern Railroad
The Manistee and North-Eastern Railroad Railway Equipment and Publication CompanyThe Official Railway Equipment Register June 1917, p. 579 was a short, standard-gauge line in the U.S. state of Michigan. Organized in 1887, it served several counti ...
was extended to the village.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were 411 people, 205 households, and 114 families residing in the village. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was . There were 338 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.6%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.2%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 1.2%
Native American, 0.2%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, and 1.7% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.9% of the population.
There were 205 households, of which 17.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were
married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.4% were non-families. 41.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.98 and the average family size was 2.65.
The median age in the village was 54.4 years. 15.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 12.9% were from 25 to 44; 36.6% were from 45 to 64; and 28.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 45.3% male and 54.7% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 647 people, 239 households, and 152 families residing in the village. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 1,083.9 per square mile (416.3/km). There were 315 housing units at an average density of 527.7 per square mile (202.7/km). The racial makeup of the village was 85.16%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.15%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.46%
Native American, 13.14% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.08% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 21.79% of the population.
There were 239 households, out of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were
married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.66.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $29,091, and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $23,125 versus $15,455 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the village was $16,718. About 9.3% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 24.5% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
* Rev. Dr.
Francis J. Hall, founder of the
Chapel of St John-by-the-Lake in 1912.
*
Paul P. Harris, founder of Rotary.
References
External links
Onekama Community Website
{{authority control
Villages in Manistee County, Michigan
Villages in Michigan
Populated places established in 1845