Norvell Township is a

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a County (United States), county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England town, Ne ...

of Jackson County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 2,800 at the 2020 census. The township is named after

John Norvell John Norvell (December 21, 1789April 24, 1850) was a newspaper editor and one of the first U.S. Senators from Michigan. He is known as one of two co-founders of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the third-longest continually operating daily newspaper in ...

, one of Michigan's first

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Communities

* Norvell is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the township at . It is situated at the outlet of Norvell Lake on the

River Raisin The River Raisin (, 'River of Sturgeon') is a river in southeast Michigan, United States, that flows in a generally easterly direction through Ice age, glacial sediments before emptying into Lake Erie. The River Raisin drainage basin covers app ...

. William Hunt, the first white settler in the area, arrived in 1831. A post office was established on March 17, 1838, with Harvey Austin as the first postmaster. It was a station on the

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, established in 1833, and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, Illinoi ...

in 1878. The community was named for

, one of the first U.S. senators from Michigan. * Vineyard Lake is an unincorporated community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) in the southwest corner of the township. The CDP also extends into Columbia Township to the west.

Schools

* Columbia School District * Grass Lake School District

Recreation

* Watkins Lake State Park and County Preserve * Camp O' the Hills Girl Scouts Camp * Camp Liberty - Camp Liberty provides inclusive outdoor recreation programs that aid in the reintegration of U.S. military service members, veterans, and their families, with an emphasis on assisting those with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries * Hollerfest - A family friendly celebration of local music, food, and community held at Frog Holler Farm

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 township has a total area of , of which is land and (8.18%) is water. Norvell Township occupies the southeast corner of Jackson County. It is bordered to the east by

Washtenaw County Washtenaw County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 372,258. The county seat and largest city is Ann Arbor. The county was authorized by legislation in 1822 and organized as a county ...

and to the south by Lenawee County. It is southeast of

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, 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 ...

. The township contains of Watkins Lake State Park and County Preserve, owned by the

Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan founded in 1921, charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appoint ...

Demographics

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 2000, there were 2,922 people, 1,135 households, and 831 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,568 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.26%

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 ...

, 0.62%

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 ...

, 0.51% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 1.37% 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 0.68% of the population. There were 1,135 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% 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, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.00. In the township the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $49,167, and the median income for a family was $55,221. Males had a median income of $45,756 versus $29,625 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 township was $20,488. About 6.9% of families and 6.6% 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 3.3% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.

Gallery

Image:norvell_township_general_store.JPG, Norvell General Store Image:norvell_township_norvell_lake.JPG, Norvell Lake Image:norvell_township_post_office.JPG, US Post Office Image:norvell_township_community_baptist_church.JPG, Community Baptist Church

References

External links

Norvell Township official website
{{authority control Townships in Jackson County, Michigan Townships in Michigan Populated places established in 1894 1894 establishments in Michigan