Frenchtown Charter Township is a

charter township A charter township is a form of local government in the U.S. state of Michigan. Townships in Michigan are organized governments. A charter township has been granted a charter, which allows it certain rights and responsibilities of home rule that ...

within

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The population was 20,428 at the 2010 census. The township is bordered on the south by the city of Monroe.

Sterling State Park William C. Sterling State Park is a public recreation area located in Frenchtown Charter Township with a small portion lying within the city limits of Monroe, Michigan. It is the only Michigan state park located on Lake Erie. The park encomp ...

and the

Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station The Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Erie near Monroe, in Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan on approximately . All units of the plant are operated by the DTE Energy Electric Company and ow ...

are located within Frenchtown, and the township was the site of the

Battle of Frenchtown The Battles of Frenchtown, also known as the Battle of the River Raisin and the River Raisin Massacre, were a series of conflicts in Michigan Territory that took place from January 18–23, 1813, during the War of 1812. It was fought between the ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

Communities

*Brest is a former settlement located along the shores of Lake Erie. It was settled as a port by the French as early as 1810 and named after

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French mi ...

. In 1836, the Gibralter & Flat Rock Company developed the area of Brest and Gibralter to the north. The community of Brest had its own post office from July 15, 1836 until July 8, 1863 and again from February 28, 1890 until August 15, 1903. Gibralter succeeded and later became the city of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, but the Brest port failed. Brest can be seen on
1911 map
of Monroe County in what is now the community of Stony Point. * Detroit Beach 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 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 counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

located at . *Golfcrest is an unincorporated community at . *Loranger is a former settlement within the township. Settled in 1832, it centered around the Loranger

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

along Stony Creek. The community never really developed but did have its own post office briefly from January 16, 1865 until April 26, 1869. The gristmill was saved and relocated to

The Henry Ford The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The museum ...

in 1928. The Edward Loranger House, which was built in 1825, remains in its original location along Stony Creek. * Newport is an unincorporated community centered at mostly in Berlin Township. The Newport 48166 ZIP Code serves the northern portion of Frenchtown Township. *Pointe aux Peaux is an unincorporated community located near Stony Point along the shores of Lake Erie at . * Steiner is an unincorporated community at . Steiner contained its own post office from September 7, 1886 until July 31, 1925. *Stony Creek is a historic community located along a railway line at . Stony Creek contained its own post office very briefly from July 6, 1840 until January 18, 1841. * Stony Point is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located at . * Woodland Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located at .

History

Frenchtown_Township_Michigan_Historical_Marker

This area was long occupied by Native Americans, including the historic

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

. They had trading relations with French-Canadians in the area. Frenchtown area reflected the ethnicity of its first European settlers:

French Canadians French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

took land along the banks of the

River Raisin The River Raisin is a river in southeastern Michigan, United States, that flows through Ice age, glacial sediments into Lake Erie. The area today is an agriculture, agricultural and Industrial sector, industrial center of Michigan. The river flo ...

as early as 1784. There had been other French colonial settlements closer to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and on both sides of the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...

. Their descendants are known as

Muskrat French The Muskrat French (french: Francophonie au Michigan; also known as the Mushrat French or Detroit River French Canadien) are a cultural group and dialect found in southeastern Michigan along the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, the western and ...

. Around the same time, the Sandy Creek Settlement was founded near this by Joseph Porlier Benec. The United States acquired this area, which had been considered part of British Canadian territory after the

Treaty of Paris (1783) The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of George III, King George III of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and representatives of the United States, United States of America on September 3, 1783, officially ended the Ame ...

settling the American Revolutionary War. It was specifically part of state claims (from 1783); the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

(1787);

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a United States Congress, congressional act that President of the United States, President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an Historic regions of the U ...

(1803);

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

(1805); and, finally, the

State of Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

(1837). During the

, the area was the site of the

, in which 397 Americans were killed by the coalition of

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and Native Americans; this was the highest number of American fatalities of any battle during the war. The battlefield site today is within the

River Raisin National Battlefield Park The River Raisin National Battlefield Park preserves the site of the Battle of Frenchtown as the only national battlefield marking a site of the War of 1812. It was established as the 393rd unit of the United States National Park Service under ...

, which was designated in 2009 and falls within the present-day city limits of Monroe. In 1817 that portion of Frenchtown was renamed and incorporated as the village of Monroe, named in honor of President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

's planned visit to the Michigan Territory later that year, and burying the history of the original French-Canadian settlers. In the same year, the village of Monroe was named as the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of the newly created

. Monroe was incorporated as a city in 1837. At that time, the remaining area known as Frenchtown was reorganized as a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

, encompassing much of the northern portion of the county: the area from the River Raisin to the Huron River at Wayne County's southern border. Shortly after, the northern portion of the township was broken off to form Ash Township. Later, by 1867, Berlin Charter Township was formed from other territory of the township. In addition the city of Monroe has annexed pieces of the southern portion of Frenchtown several times. As a result, the boundary between the current Frenchtown Charter Township and the city limits of Monroe is jagged.

Geography

Sterling_State_Park_Michigan_picnic_area

According to the

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 (3.01%) is water. The township is bordered on the east by

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

, and many of the township's communities are located near the lake.

is located along the southern edge of the township and is the only of

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

located on Lake Erie. Small pieces of the township are also organized into the

Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge is the only international wildlife refuge in North America. Established in 2001 and managed jointly by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife Service, it is located in ...

. Frenchtown Township is bordered on the south by the city of Monroe, but a small portion of the southern border touches Monroe Charter Township. Raisinville Township is to the west, and

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

and Berlin Township border on the north. A very small portion of the northwest corner of Frenchtown Township touches Exeter Township. The

serves as the boundary between Frenchtown and the city of Monroe for a short length near Lake Erie and then again further upstream for a small portion near the

Custer Airport Custer Airport , sometimes referred to as Monroe Custer Airport, is a city-owned public airport located in the city of Monroe, Michigan, Monroe in Monroe County, Michigan, Monroe County, Michigan. The airport opened in November 1946 and was named f ...

. Sandy Creek also runs through the township. Frenchtown Township, as well as the rest of the county's Lake Erie shoreline, is at the lowest elevation in the state of Michigan at above sea level.

Major highways

* runs north through the center of the township with two exits at North Dixie Highway (exit 15) and Nadeau Road (exit 18). * has its southern terminus within the township at the boundary with Berlin Township. * runs parallel just west of Interstate 75. * US 25 Michigan 1948

US 25 U.S. Route 25 (US 25) is a north–south United States Highway that runs for in the southern and midwestern US. Its southern terminus is in Brunswick, Georgia, from where it proceeds mostly due north, passing through the cities of Augusta, Georg ...

is a former highway that ran through the township but was replaced with the present-day U.S. Route 24 and M-125 in the early-1970s. * runs through the township before its northern terminus at Telegraph Road. * M-130 1948

M-130 (North Custer Road) is a former highway that runs briefly through the southwestern portion of the township. It was state highway from 1929–1955.

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 incl ...

of 2010, there were 20,428 people, 7,733 households, and 5,598 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 8,244 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 95.51%

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 on ...

, 1.59%

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 ...

, 0.41% Native American, 0.53%

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 ...

, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.45% 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 1.49% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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 2.45% of the population. There were 7,733 households, out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% 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, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.10. In the township the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males. The median income for a household in the township was $47,699, and the median income for a family was $54,032. Males had a median income of $44,338 versus $25,787 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 $21,335. About 4.9% of families and 7.0% 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 6.4% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Frenchtown Township is served by three separate public school districts. The majority of the township is served by

Jefferson Schools Jefferson Schools is a public school district in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an ar ...

, which has its middle school and high school within the township, as well as one of its two elementary schools. The northernmost portion of the township is served by

Airport Community Schools Airport Community Schools is a public school district in Carleton, Michigan. It is the largest district in Monroe County in terms of area. The districts includes the village of Carleton and the surrounding Ash Township, as well as portions ...

, while the western portion of the township is served by Monroe Public Schools. Triumph Academy is a

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...

located within the township.

Images

File:Vivian Library and former town hall Frenchtown Township Michigan.JPG, File:Bluebush Road Library & Fire Station No.3 Frenchtown Township Michigan.JPG, File:LorangerHouse.jpg, File:Fermi_NPP.jpg, File:NATradingPost.jpg, File:Monroe Golf & Country Club Frenchtown Township Michigan.JPG,

References

Sources

External links

Frenchtown Charter Township official website
{{Authority control French-Canadian culture in Michigan French-American culture in Michigan Townships in Monroe County, Michigan Charter townships in Michigan Michigan in the War of 1812 Populated places established in 1784 1784 establishments in the United States Michigan populated places on Lake Erie