Dimondale is a village in Eaton County in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. The population was 1,134 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Windsor Charter Township. Dimondale is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of Lansing, which is northeast of the village in Ingham County.

History

The Potawatomi originally had a permanent camp along the Grand River in the Dimondale area before white settlement began in the 1830s. Relations between white settlers (most of whom were from New York and New England) and the Potowatomie were generally cordial with local residents permanently deeding of land near the river to the local Indians. The local band held the deed to the leased land until the Potowatomie were forced west by the Indian Removal Act. 1827 Sec 15 Windsor Twp MI

Isaac M. Dimond came to the area in 1848 and, as one of his enterprises, in 1850 began to construct a dam, just east of Silver Creek on the Grand River near the center of section 15 of Windsor Township. By 1852, the dam was completed and a saw mill was in operation. He built a grist mill in 1856. On August 6, 1856, Hosey Harvey surveyed the village in order for Dimond to have it

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 Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted with the name "Dimondale". An unusual feature of the village plat was that its streets ran Northeast to Southwest (e.g., Bridge St.) and Northwest to Southeast, while most roads in the surrounding area in Michigan ran north–south and east–west. Its borders make a rough diamond shape on a map. A post office named "East Windsor" had been established in the eastern part of Windsor Township in about 1860. This office was transferred to Dimondale and renamed in 1872. In 1878 the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway came through and the area was given a station referring to it as Dimondale. By 1880 the settlement had seven shops: a sawmill, a grist mill, two millinery shops, a planing mill, and several machine shops. In 1906, Dimondale incorporated as a village. From 1929 to 1963, Dimondale had its own

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, until it merged with the Holt School District. This occurred after the school district ran into tax issues due to the sparse business landscape in the village. The final Superintendent for Dimondale was Harvey E. Wood, a school administrator who later moved to Holt's system as the Transportation Manager, then eventually to Ingham Intermediate School District (IISD) as Vice Superintendent. Dimondale almost merged with the Eaton Rapids School district, however due to Mr. Wood's prior mentor/student relationship with Holt's Superintendent (Maurice Pernert), the merge with Holt's school system took place. In 1962,

Interstate 96 Interstate 96 (I-96) is an east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway that runs for approximately entirely within the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The western terminus is at an i ...

was built through Windsor Township, bringing many new businesses to the area. In the 1960s–70s, Dimondale served as a regionally and nationally recognized hotspot for championship horseshoe pitching, earning it the nickname "Horseshoe Capital of the World." The Dimondale Horseshoe Club was founded in 1964 and the village played host to the 1965 Michigan state tournament. In 1970, DHC merged with the Chief Okemos Sportsman's Club, which is still in existence. Dimondale natives and accomplished horseshoe pitchers James Compton, Gilbert Kimball, Pat Smith, Victor Benson, Fred Smith Sr., and Fred Smith Jr. have been inducted into the Wolverine State Horseshoe Pitcher's Association (WSHPA) Hall of Fame. The greatest horseshoe pitching legend emanating from the clay courts of Dimondale tells how Fred Smith Jr. would have his brother Norman place his chin atop an opposing stake while Fred would proceed to pitch ringers that would clang just inches below Norman's smiling face.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 1,234 people, 504 households, and 351 families living in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 530 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 92.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.7%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.9% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.1% of the population. There were 504 households, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.4% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age in the village was 47 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.3% were from 25 to 44; 36.7% were from 45 to 64, and 16.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 47.2% male and 52.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,342 people, 473 households, and 376 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 485 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.4%

, 0.8%

, 0.8% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.9% of the population. There were 473 households, out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.4% were

living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. 15.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.19. In the village, the population was spread out, with 29.4% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males. The median income for a household in the village was $57,917, and the median income for a family was $64,444. Males had a median income of $49,318 versus $30,380 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $23,611. About 2.5% of families and 3.7% 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 ...

, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Holt Public Schools operates Dimondale Elementary School. Holt High School is the Holt district's high school.

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 The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Dimondale has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Dimondale, Michigan
/ref>

References

External links

Official Website for the Village of DimondaleHolt Community News
{{authority control Villages in Eaton County, Michigan Villages in Michigan Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area Populated places established in 1856