Byron Township is a

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England, New York, and Wisconsin to re ...

of Kent County in the U.S. state 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 20,317 at the 2010 census, an increase from 17,553 at the 2000 census. Byron Township is part of the

Grand Rapids metropolitan area The Grand Rapids metropolitan area is a triangular shaped Metro Triplex, in West Michigan, which fans out westward from the primary hub city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to the other two metro hubs of Muskegon and Holland. The metropolitan area ...

and is located just southwest of the city of Grand Rapids.

Communities

* Byron Center is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

at the center of the township. The Byron Center 49315 ZIP Code serves most of the township. * Carlisle (or West Carlisle) is mostly historical community in the township at . Carlisle was a station on the

Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad at its height provided passenger and freight railroad services between Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, USA. The company was formed on January 18, 1854. Beginnings After grappl ...

. A post office named "West Carlisle" operated here from March 1884 until September 1910. *

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...

is an unincorporated community in the southeast part of the township on the boundary with Gaines Township. * Cutlerville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in the northeast of the township, with part of the CDP extending east into Gaines Township. * North Byron is an unincorporated community near the northern boundary of the township at . It began as a settlement named "Scudderville" on Rush Creek with a station on the

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, established in 1833 and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, Illinois, primarily along the ...

. It was named for Henry W. Scudder, a local landowner. A post office named "North Byron" operated from October 1862 to December 1879 and from March 1894 to September 1903. * North Dorr is a small community at the boundary between Byron Township and Dorr Township in Allegan County to the south. * Ross is a mostly historical community in the southeast part of the township at . Ross began as a depot on the

and was first named "Ross Station". It was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ted by William Thornton for William Ross in 1871. A post office was established in June 1871 with Daniel Ross as the first postmaster.

History

Byron Township was established in 1836.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 the ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (0.19%) is water.

Major highways

* runs south–north near the eastern edge of the township. * runs west–east near the northern edge of the township and has an interchange with U.S. Route 131.

Demographics

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 17,553 people, 6,454 households, and 4,711 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 6,712 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 94.79%

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 ...

, 1.21%

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 ...

, 0.32% Native American, 1.06% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.17% 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 1.42% 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 ...

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 2.77% of the population. There were 6,454 households, out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.2% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.18. In the township the population was spread out, with 29.0% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males. The median income for a household in the township was $49,672, and the median income for a family was $56,701. Males had a median income of $42,664 versus $26,449 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 township was $24,206. About 2.5% of families and 4.1% 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 4.4% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Michigan grocery distributor and retail operator

SpartanNash SpartanNash (formerly Spartan Stores, Nash Finch) is an American food distributor and grocery store retailer headquartered in Byron Center, Michigan. The company's core businesses include distributing food to independent grocers, military co ...

(formerly known as Spartan Stores) is headquartered in the township.

Education

Byron Township is served by four different public school districts. The majority of the township is served by Byron Center Public Schools, while a small portion of the northeast corner in Cutlerville is served by Kentwood Public Schools. A very small portion of the northern edge of the township is served by Grandville Public Schools, and another very small portion on the southern edge of the township is served by

Wayland Union Schools Wayland may refer to: Computers * Wayland (display server protocol), a graphical display system for Unix-like computers Fiction * Jace Wayland, a character in the ''Mortal Instruments'' book series * Wayland (''Star Wars''), a planet in the ''S ...

References

External links

Byron Township official website
{{authority control Townships in Michigan Townships in Kent County, Michigan Grand Rapids metropolitan area Populated places established in 1836 1836 establishments in Michigan Territory