Charlotte ( ) is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in the
U.S. state of
Michigan. As of the
2010 census, the city population was 9,074. It is the
county seat of
Eaton County.
Charlotte is in the central portion of the county, on the boundary between
Eaton Township and
Carmel Township, though politically independent of both.
Interstate 69 serves the city, and connects it to the state capital of
Lansing. It is located 21.5 miles (34.6 kilometers) from downtown Lansing.
History
In 1832, George Barnes purchased the land that would become Charlotte from the U.S. Government. Barnes in turn sold the land to Edmond B. Bostwick, a land speculator from New York City three years later in 1835. Bostwick then sold portions of the land to H.I. Lawrence, Townsend Harris, and Francis Cochran. These four created the village which they named after Edmond Bostwick's wife Charlotte. Jonathan Searles became the first postmaster on March 17, 1838.
Charlotte was incorporated as a village on October 10, 1863, and as a city on March 29, 1871. At various times, Charlotte had the unofficial names of Eaton Centre, and Carmel. It was designated as the county seat when Eaton County was organized in 1837; however, due to a lack of population and buildings, county functions were conducted at
Bellevue until 1840.
The
Dolson automobile was manufactured in Charlotte from 1904 to 1907.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Charlotte is situated on gently rolling prairie. The
Battle Creek River has its northern bend in the south part of the city, entering from the southeast and exiting to the southwest. The northern part of the city is part of the
Thornapple River watershed.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census of 2010, there were 9,074 people, 3,661 households, and 2,291 families residing in the city. The
population density was . There were 3,997 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.1%
White.
There were 3,661 households, of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.4% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.97.
The median age in the city was 35.8 years. 26% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.5% were from 25 to 44; 23.6% were from 45 to 64; and 14% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.
2000 census
As of the
census of 2000, there were 8,389 people, 3,249 households, and 2,124 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,417 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.79%
White, 0.94%
African American, 0.55%
Native American, 0.35%
Asian, 1.07% from
other races, and 1.30% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 3.46% of the population.
There were 3,249 households, out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,473, and the median income for a family was $45,759. Males had a median income of $31,573 versus $27,019 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $18,066. About 7.8% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 11.3% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Charlotte Public Schools operates Galewood Early Elementary for developmental kindergarten and kindergarten students, operates
Parkview Elementary School Parkview may refer to:
Geography
* Parkview, Indiana, an unincorporated community in Vigo County
* Parkview, St. Louis, Missouri, a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, United States
* Parkview (Edmonton), a neighborhood in Canada
* Parkview, Gau ...
and
Washington Elementary School for first through third grade, and operates Charlotte Upper Elementary for fourth grade and fifth grade students.
Charlotte Middle School serves seventh and eighth grade students while
Charlotte High School serves ninth through twelfth grade students. The district also operates the Weymouth Child Development Center as a childcare facility.
There are two parochial schools in the city. Charlotte Adventist Christian School serves grades 1 through 8 and is owned and operated by the
Charlotte Seventh-day Adventist Church and is a part of the
Seventh-day Adventist education system. St. Mary Elementary School is run by
Saint Mary Catholic Church
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ort ...
and serves K-8 students and Preschool.
There is one alternative education school known as the Relevant Academy of Eaton County. In addition, special needs children are served by the
Eaton Intermediate School District.
For post-secondary students,
Olivet College is to the south and
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
is to the northeast. The
University of Michigan is located southeast.
Lansing Community College is located to the northeast, and features cooperative relationships with a number of other universities around the state.
Further education/training can also be obtained at the
Southridge Vocational Center.
Transportation
Highways
*
*
*
*
Air
* In the northeast corner of the city is the
Fitch H. Beach Airport
Fitch H. Beach Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) northeast of the central business district of Charlotte, a city in Eaton County, Michigan, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation A ...
.
* Scheduled passenger carrier flights are available at
Capital Region International Airport, near the northeast corner of Eaton County.
Rail
* Charlotte was once serviced by the
Grand Trunk Western Railroad and the
Michigan Central Railroad
The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in ...
. The original
Michigan Central Railroad depot still stands at 430 N. Cochran Ave. and at various times has operated as a restaurant, ice cream parlor, and coffee shop.
* Currently
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
and the
Charlotte Southern Railroad
Charlotte Southern Rail Road is a short line railroad operating in Michigan. It connects Charlotte, Michigan, with the CN rail system. It is a freight system, but its main customer has not received rail traffic since the early 2000s. It is ope ...
provide rail service to the city.
Entertainment
A popular attraction is the Murder Mystery Dinner Train operated by the Old Road Railroad. While enjoying a leisurely trip through the countryside, a five course meal is served as theatrical entertainers perform a comical, and interactive murder mystery.
The Eaton Theatre, located downtown, also shows movies nightly and features an arcade as well as virtual reality gaming. The Eaton Theatre opened as a single screen in 1930 and is located downtown (235 S. Cochran). It was closed for a short time in 1994 and was later twinned by DeDolph Family. Built during the Art Deco era it was totally modernized when it was twinned. It still has the large square marquee and the vertical sign, however the balcony area was transformed into a separate upstairs room to house a second screen. The theater is now owned and operated by Leann Owen. The Charlotte Performing Arts Center is home to music, vocal, and theatre performances by Charlotte Public Schools students. It is also home to performances by other groups based in and out of Charlotte. Char Lanes is a 24-lane bowling center featuring scoring by
QubicaAMF Worldwide
QubicaAMF Worldwide is a bowling equipment provider. The company has U.S. headquarters in Richmond, Virginia and European headquarters in Bologna, Italy.
History
Qubica S.p.A. was founded in Italy in 1993 by Roberto Vaioli, Luca Drusiani, and Em ...
and automatic bumpers on all lanes.
City Parks
The city of Charlotte has many wonderful parks. City Parks are open May 1 thru October 31. These include:
Bennett Park (1225 S. Cochran), Dean Park (526 W. Stoddard), Gateway Park (N. Cochran and Packard), Lincoln Park (Lincoln St. and W. Shepherd), Oak Park (230 St. Clinton/Seminary St.), Snell Park (Upland and E. Shepherd), Southridge Park (312 W. Third), and U.S. Veterans Memorial Park (1501 S. Cochran).
Lincoln Park contains a Skate Park and Disc Golf Course. By the water tower nearby (at 619 W. Shepherd) there is a sled hill and ice skating rink, as well as a small outdoor dirt track for RC racing (aka Lincoln Park Raceway; added late 2013).
Tennis Courts and Gobel Football field are located at 1149 S. Cochran.
A popular sled hill known locally as Kane's Hill (named after the Kane family who lived nearby and operated Kane's Heating Services) is located on Gale St. between Church St. and E. Lovett St.
Economy
Spartan Motors, an automobile design company that designs, engineers and manufactures specialty chassis, specialty vehicles, truck bodies and aftermarket parts for the recreational vehicle (RV), emergency response, government services, defense, and delivery and service markets, is based in Charlotte.
Notable people
*
Emerson R. Boyles
Emerson R. Boyles (June 29, 1881 – November 30, 1960) was an American lawyer and judge. He served as a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1940 until 1956. , chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court (1940–1956)
*
A. Whitney Brown
Alan Whitney Brown (born July 8, 1952) is an American writer and comedian best known for work on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1980s. In addition to writing for the program, he appeared opposite Dennis Miller in a biting satirical Weekend Update ...
, comedian and writer known for ''
Saturday Night Live''
*
Paul H. Bruske, journalist, advertising executive, and sportsman
*
Luren Dickinson, 37th
governor of Michigan
The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...
*
Brock Gutierrez,
National Football League player
*
Frank A. Hooker
Frank A. Hooker (January 16, 1844 – July 10, 1911) was an American jurist.
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Hooker was trained to be a stone mason. He then studied at University of Michigan Law School and graduated in 1865. He practiced law i ...
, justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
*
Eric Menk, professional basketball player in Denmark and the Philippines
*
Rocco Moore
Rocco Ray Moore (March 31, 1955 - December 21, 2007) was an American football Guard (gridiron football), guard in the National Football League (NFL).
Moore was born March 31, 1955, in Charlotte, Michigan. He was an outstanding basketball and foot ...
,
National Football League player
*
Harry T. Morey, stage and film actor
*
Cooper Rush, National Football League
quarterback with the
Dallas Cowboys
*
Richard Taylor, metaphysical philosopher, author, and beekeeper
*
Wayne Terwilliger
Willard Wayne Terwilliger (June 27, 1925 – February 3, 2021), nicknamed "Twig", was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1949 and 1960 for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn ...
,
Major League Baseball player and coach
*
Francis C. Flaherty, WWII Medal of Honor recipient
Climate
This
climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification system, Charlotte has a
humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.
References
External links
City of Charlotte
{{Coord, 42, 33, 49, N, 84, 50, 09, W, type:city_region:US-MI, display=title
Cities in Eaton County, Michigan
County seats in Michigan
Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area
Populated places established in 1863
1863 establishments in Michigan