Blue Lake 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 Muskegon County 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 ...

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 ...

. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 1,990. One of the largest landowners in the township is the

Chicago Area Council Pathway to Adventure Council is a Boy Scouts of America local council headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Created from the merger of four councils, it now spans over a large portion of Chicago metropolitan area and part of Northwest Indiana. The ...

of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

, which owns

Owasippe Scout Reservation Owasippe Scout Reservation (OSR), located in Twin Lake, Michigan is the resident camp operated by the Pathway to Adventure Council (formerly Chicago Area Council) of Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the ...

. The township is also home to the

Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp is a Michigan nonprofit organization located in the Manistee National Forest that provides summer fine arts camp and international exchange programs in music, art, dance, and drama. The Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp was found ...

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 township has a total area of 35.7 square miles (92.5 km²), of which 34.4 square miles (89.1 km²) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.3 km²) (3.61%) is water.

History

Blue Lake Township was organized in 1865.

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 2010, there were 2,399 people, 822 households, and 665 families residing in the township. 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 66.634 per square mile. There were 975 housing units at an average density of 27.08 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 90.2%

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 ...

, 3.0%

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 ...

, 2.4% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.3% 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 2.71% 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 of any race were 2.6% of the population. There were 822 households, out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.5% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.1% were non-families. 13.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.18. In the township the population was spread out, with 31.8% under the age of 20, 21.3% from 20 to 39, 31.2% from 40 to 59, 10.9% from 60 to 69, and 4.8% who were 70 years of age or older. The median age was 37.8 years. Based on the 2000 census: The median income for a household in the township was $50,000, and the median income for a family was $55,121. Males had a median income of $38,466 versus $27,760 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 $18,866. About 8.1% of families and 11.5% 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 18.9% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Blue Lake Township is managed by a township board and is headed by the office of supervisor. The current sitting supervisor is Melonie Arbogast.

References

Notes

Sources

* {{authority control Townships in Muskegon County, Michigan 1865 establishments in Michigan Townships in Michigan