Luna Pier is a city in Monroe 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 1,382 at the 2020 census. Previously known as Lakewood, it was established in the early 1900s and incorporated as a city in 1963. Its most prominent feature is a large crescent-shaped pier made of concrete, approximately long and reaching around out into

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) 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 also has the shortest avera ...

. The pier is flanked by sandy beaches and man-made rock and concrete embankments. On most days, the

Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station is an 894 megawatt (megawatt, MW) nuclear power plant, located northeast of Oak Harbor, Ohio, United States. It has a single pressurized water reactor. Davis–Besse is operated by Vistra Corp. Throughout it ...

in Oak Harbor, Ohio, and the Toledo Harbor Light can be seen from the pier. The city is served by Mason Consolidated Schools.

Geography

The city is in southeastern Monroe County, north of the

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

state border along the shore of Lake Erie.

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

forms part of the western border of the city.

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

is to the northeast, and

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, is to the southwest.

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, is to the north. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the city of Luna Pier has a total area of , of which are land and (11.83%) are water.

Transportation

The city of Luna Pier is served by

(I-75), with connections north to Detroit and Flint (via I-275), and connections south to

. Access to the city is from Exit 6, Luna Pier Road. Two roads go in and out of Luna Pier, one being Luna Pier Road, which runs west to US Highway 23 (US 23), US 24, and US 223. The other is Gaynier Road, which leads northwest out of town. Luna Pier was formerly served by

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

via

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

-contracted coal trains that served the

Consumers Energy Consumers Energy is an investor owned utility that provides natural gas and electricity to 6.7 million of Michigan's 10 million residents. It serves customers in all 68 of the state's Lower Peninsula counties. It is the primary subsidiary of C ...

J.R. Whiting Generating Plant, located on Erie Road south of Luna Pier. Trains to the plant ceased in late April 2016 following its closing.http://www.monroenews.com/news/20160410/closing-whiting

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

also has railroad tracks through the area, but does not serve any industries.

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 1,436 people, 608 households, and 373 families living in the city. 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 702 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.2%

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 ...

, 0.8%

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 ...

, 0.8% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 3.5% 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 residents of any race were 3.0% of the population. There were 608 households, of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.1% 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, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.7% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the city was 41.7 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22% were from 25 to 44; 35.8% were from 45 to 64; and 10.5% 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

of 2000, there were 1,483 people, 592 households, and 406 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 661 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.48%

, 1.01% Native American, 0.94% from other races, 0.20%

, and 2.36% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 3.03% of the population. There were 592 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were

living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.05. In the city, 29.2% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.3% was from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,909, and the median income for a family was $50,000. Males had a median income of $40,850 versus $25,750 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 city was $19,325. About 10.9% of families and 14.0% 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 ...

, including 21.9% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.

Annual events

*Freedom Festival (Live Music, Food Trucks, City-Wide Garage Sales & Fireworks), 1st Saturday in July *Sparkler 5K Run, 1st Sunday in July *Luna Pier Farmer's Market, May through October, Wednesdays from 3-7pm at First Street Park *Luna Pier Indoor Farmer's Market, November through March, 2nd and 4th Saturdays from 9am-12pm at Andrew's Place on Luna Pier Road *Veteran's Day Parade, second Saturday in November

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Monroe County, Michigan Piers in Michigan Michigan populated places on Lake Erie Populated places established in 1963 1963 establishments in Michigan