Oronoko 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 ...

of Berrien 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 sover ...

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 9,193 at the 2010 census. The village of

Berrien Springs Berrien Springs is a village in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,800 at the time of the 2010 census. The village is located within Oronoko Charter Township. History Berrien Springs, like Berrien County, is na ...

is the only incorporated municipality within the township. Much of the eastern portion of the township is considered to be part of the Berrien Springs urban area. The western portion is primarily agricultural. The township was organized on March 11, 1837, from a portion of Berrien Township. Part of the area was known as Feather Settlement starting in the 1830s.Walter Romig, ''Michigan Place Names'', p. 193 Oronoko initially included what is now Lake Township, which was organized in 1846. Originally, portions of both Oronoko and Berrien townships were on either side of the St. Joseph River, and at the time a large portion of the village of Berrien Springs was in Berrien Township, even though it was on the other side of the river from most of the township. In 1847, the river was made the dividing line between the townships. There are several accounts given for the name of the township. One is that it was named by Governor Stevens T. Mason after the Indian chief named "Oronoko". However, apart from this story, there is no record that there ever was such a chief. Another is that it is a variant spelling of

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

, the name of a South American river that was adopted with various spellings in other states besides Michigan:

Oronoco, Minnesota Oronoco ( ) is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, along the Middle Fork of the Zumbro River. The population was 1,802 at the 2020 census. History The city was named by early settler Dr. Hector Galloway after the Orinoco, a l ...

, and

Oronoque, Kansas Oronoque is an unincorporated community in Norton County, Kansas, United States. History Virgil Vogel, in ''Indian Names in Michigan'' refers to Oronoque as a variant spelling of Orinoco, the name of a South American river that was adopted with ...

. Others believe the township was named after the literary character

Oroonoko ''Oroonoko: or, the Royal Slave'' is a work of prose fiction by Aphra Behn (1640–1689), published in 1688 by William Canning and reissued with two other fictions later that year. It was also adapted into a play. The eponymous hero is an Afri ...

, which was also derived from the South American river. A final possibility suggested by Vogel is that the name was taken from a variety of tobacco known as ''oronoco'', ''orinoko'', or ''oronooka''. Vogel also mentions

Oronogo, Missouri Oronogo is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,558 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Oronogo was platted in 1856. The name, according to local tradit ...

, but popular accounts indicate that that name does not derive from the South American river.

Andrews University Andrews University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship universit ...

(

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

) is located in the township.

Geography

The St. Joseph River forms the eastern boundary of the township. Berrien Township lies across the river directly to the east, and Sodus Township is to the north and northeast. Buchanan Township is to the south, Weesaw Township to the southwest, Baroda Township to the west, and Royalton Township to the north. US 31 passes through the eastern corner of the township. According to the

United States 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 , or 2.77%, 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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 9,843 people, 3,295 households, and 2,303 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 3,545 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 66.54%

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 ...

, 17.48%

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 ...

, 0.40% Native American, 7.03%

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 ...

, 0.27%

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 ...

, 4.38% 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 3.89% 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 8.53% of the population. There were 3,295 households, out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.11. In the township the population was spread out, with 22.0% under the age of 18, 18.9% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males. The median income for a household in the township was $35,980, and the median income for a family was $45,998. Males had a median income of $36,341 versus $26,330 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 $16,904. About 9.9% of families and 18.3% 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 20.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Oronoko Charter Township official website
{{Berrien County, Michigan Townships in Berrien County, Michigan Charter townships in Michigan 1837 establishments in Michigan