Niles Charter Township is a charter township of Berrien County in the

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. The population was 14,164 at the 2010 census. On June 5, 2006, the township board voted unanimously to approve a resolution for Niles Township to become Niles Charter Township.

Communities

The city of Niles lies mostly within the boundaries of township, but is administratively autonomous. There are no other incorporated municipalities in the township. Much of the township is considered to be part of either the Niles urban area or the

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

, urban area. Bertrand 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 ...

in the southern part of the township at on the St. Joseph River approximately south of Niles. Joseph Bertrand, a French Canadian, had a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

here by 1812. He had married the daughter of a Potawatomi chief and through her had acquired land. After the Potowatomi ceded their lands to the federal government with the

1833 Treaty of Chicago The 1833 Treaty of Chicago struck an agreement between the United States government that required the Chippewa Odawa, and Potawatomi tribes cede to the United States government their of land (including reservations) in Illinois, the Wiscon ...

, Daniel G. Garnsey obtained the permission of U.S. President

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and the consent of Mrs. Bertrand to locate a village on her land. Alonzo Bennett

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 Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ted the village of Bertrand in 1833 and became its first postmaster on June 9, 1834. The town was a stop on the

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Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

road. In 1844, the

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founded their first

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in the United States here. The town gradually declined after it was by-passed by railroads. The post office closed on April 15, 1901. Bertrand
Michigan Historical Markers

Geography

The township is irregularly-shaped, with a southern appendage consisting of a small portion of land lying between the St. Joseph River on the west and Cass County on the east and the

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state line to the south. Bertrand Township lies to the west and south, Buchanan Township to the west, and Berrien Township to the north. Neighboring townships in Cass County are Pokagon Township to the northeast, Howard Township to the east, and Milton Township to the southeast. To the south in St. Joseph County, Indiana, is Clay Township, and German Township is to the southwest. According to the

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, Niles Charter Township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.79%, is water.

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 13,325 people, 5,252 households, and 3,744 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 5,522 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 93.30%

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, 3.03%

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 ...

, 0.56% Native American, 0.50%

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 ...

, 0.02%

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, 0.83% 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 1.76% from two or more races.

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of any race were 1.92% of the population. There were 5,252 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.95. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $37,794, and the median income for a family was $44,446. Males had a median income of $35,037 versus $22,901 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 $18,249. About 7.1% of families and 9.0% 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 9.0% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Niles Charter Township official website

Profile of Niles Charter Township from Berrien County
{{Berrien County, Michigan Townships in Berrien County, Michigan Charter townships in Michigan