Middleville is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Thornapple Township, Barry 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, ...

. Middleville is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. The population was 4,295 at the 2020 census.

History

The first white settler to own land in the village was Calvin G. Hill, a native of New York, who bought in 1834 on both sides of the Thornapple River. The village was likely surveyed and subdivided before 1850, but the

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 ...

was not officially recorded until 1859. Prior to 1843, the settlement was often called "Thornapple". The name Middleville was at first given to a post office on the stage coach line between

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

and Kalamazoo. The post office was located at the house of Benjamin S. Dibble in section 2 in northeast Yankee Springs Township. Dibble had agreed to accept the post office at the request of U.S. Representative Lucius Lyon, of Kent County. Lyon suggested the name "Dibbleville", but Dibble disliked that name. "Middleville" was suggested because of the proximity of an Indian village known as "Middle Village" on Scales Prairie near the boundary line between Thornapple and Yankee Springs townships. Dibble was appointed postmaster in July 1839 and continued until 1842. The next postmaster, John W. Bradley, continued to maintain the post office at Dibble's house until 1843, when it was moved to the present village of Middleville, with Calvin G. Hill as the postmaster. The village afterwards became known by the name of the post office.Johnso
p. 491
/ref> The location of the original Indian village is NNE a few hundred yards of the present day intersection where Norris Rd. ends at Adams Rd. http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/spatialdatalibrary/pdf_maps/glo_plats/barry/04n10w.pdf

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. Several West Michigan television stations have their transmitting towers in the Middleville area, including: WOOD-TV and WXMI.

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 3,319 people, 1,268 households, and 872 families residing 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 1,449 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.3%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.7% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 2.0% 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 4.4% of the population. There were 1,268 households, of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.2% were non-families. Of all households 27.1% were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.16. The median age in the village was 32.4 years. 30.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.2% were from 25 to 44; 21.8% were from 45 to 64; and 12.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,721 people, 998 households, and 711 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,050 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.74%

, 0.18%

, 0.44% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 1.18% from other races, and 1.73% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.17% of the population. There were 998 households, out of which 42.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. Of all households 24.5% were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.28. In the village, the population was spread out, with 32.2% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $41,947, and the median income for a family was $46,357. Males had a median income of $34,750 versus $21,883 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 $17,005. About 3.4% of families and 4.5% 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 ...

, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

There are five schools in Middleville, divided by grade level. They are: * McFall Elementary: young fives, kindergarten and 1st grade * Lee Elementary: 2nd and 3rd grades * Page Elementary: 4th and 5th grades * Thornapple-Kellogg Middle School: 6th through 8th grades * Thornapple-Kellogg High School: 9th through 12th grades

Recreation

Middleville is from one end of the developed part of the Paul Henry-Thornapple Trail. A parking area for the trail is behind the Village Hall. Public restrooms are in the hall and the Village is further developing the Trail, adding a pavilion, repairing bridges, and paving more of the trail. A three-mile (5 km) section is already blacktopped, and is popular with roller-bladers, bikers, runners and walkers. The Middleville section runs along the Thornapple River and has three bridges. It has been called one of Michigan's most beautiful rail trails. The village has a nine-hole disc golf course and a skate park in Village parks. Both are free. Middleville is between the Middleville State Game Area and the Yankee Springs State Game, and Recreation, Areas. The Barry County SGAs are known for the number and size of the deer, so they are popular with deer hunters. The SGAs also offer turkey, grouse, squirrel, goose, duck, rabbit and raccoon hunting opportunities. The Thornapple-Kellogg Middle School hosts th
National 24-Hour Challenge
bicycling event, held annually on Father's Day weekend.

Camp Manitou-Lin

Camp Manitou-Lin is located in Middleville, Michigan, United States, approximately 30 miles south of

. Operated by the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, it was founded in 1913 as a

summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...

on the shores of Old Lake Barlow. The camp is at least . From 2011 onwards the camp has run a free program for the children of wounded, disabled or killed military personnel.

Notable people

* Chad Curtis, former professional baseball player * Allie Dragoo, Professional Cyclist – USA Cycling, Sho-Air Twenty20 (attended Middleville schools through Middle School before moving to East Grand Rapids) * F. A. Harper, academic, economist, and writer.

Citations

General references

* *

External links

Village of Middleville Homepage

TK Schools Homepage

National 24-Hour Challenge
{{authority control × × 1834 establishments in Michigan Territory Grand Rapids metropolitan area Populated places established in 1834 Villages in Barry County, Michigan Villages in Michigan