Oscoda 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 ...

Iosco County Iosco County ( , ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan; its eastern border is formed by Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,237. The county seat is Tawas City. Etymology of Iosco ''Iosco'' has traditionally been s ...

in the U.S. state of

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 6,788 at the 2020 census. The

Wurtsmith Air Force Base Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in Iosco County, Michigan. It operated from 1923 until decommissioned in 1993. On January 18, 1994 it was listed as a Superfund due to extensive groundwater contaminatio ...

is located within the township.

Communities

*Foote Site Village 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 ...

located within the township at . It is near the Foote Dam Pond along the south side of the Au Sable River * Oscoda is an unincorporated community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) that is mostly located within the township at . Only a very small portion of the CDP extends into Au Sable Township to the south.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 (7.08%) is water. It is the largest municipality by area in Iosco County. The Au Sable River flows east through most of the township and contains numerous dams and reservoirs. The Loud Dam Pond, Cooke Dam Pond, and Foote Dam Pond are along the river. The Pine River also flows south into the township into

Van Etten Lake Van Etten Lake is a lake in Iosco County, Michigan. The lake is largely developed with houses surrounded by dense forest. The bottom is mainly clay and it has a maximum depth of . The lake flows through the Pine River into the Au Sable River a ...

before joining the Au Sable River slightly before

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

. Portions of the

Manistee National Forest The Manistee National Forest is a national forest located in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It has a total area of . It was established in 1938, and combined with the Huron National Forest in 1945 for administrative purposes, creating the Huro ...

are within the township.

Transportation

Airport

Oscoda–Wurtsmith Airport Oscoda–Wurtsmith Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) northwest of the central business district of Oscoda, an unincorporated community in Iosco County, Michigan, United States. It is owned by the Oscoda– ...

is a public use airport that was created in 1993 from part of the disestablished

Bus

Indian Trails Indian Trails, Inc. is an inter-city bus company based in Owosso, Michigan, with offices in Romulus (in Metro Detroit) and Kalamazoo. History Indian Trails was founded in 1910 in Owosso as the Phillips-Taylor Livery Service, whose main busi ...

has a station in Oscoda that is along the

Owosso Owosso may refer to a location in the United States: * Owosso, Michigan, a city in Shiawassee County * Owosso Township, Michigan, adjacent to the city {{Geodis ...

–

St. Ignace St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,452 at the 2010 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but the two are administered auto ...

route that follows U.S. Highway 23 at this point.

Major highways

* runs south–north along the eastern edge of the township near Lake Huron. * runs through the western portion of the township. * has its southern terminus at US 23 within the township.

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 7,248 people, 3,170 households, and 2,066 families residing in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 59.5 per square mile (23.0/km²). There were 6,071 housing units at an average density of 49.9 per square mile (19.3/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 95.28%

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 ...

, 0.80%

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 ...

, 1.02% Native American, 0.70%

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 ...

, 0.14%

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 ...

, 0.41% 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 1.64% 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 1.30% of the population. There were 3,170 households, out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.79. In the township the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $31,250, and the median income for a family was $38,457. Males had a median income of $30,439 versus $20,601 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 $16,312. About 9.2% of families and 13.4% 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 19.8% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Oscoda Township is served entirely by

Oscoda Area Schools Oscoda Area Schools is a public school district in the U.S. state of Michigan serving pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, and draws its approximately 1,956 students from Oscoda and Au Sable townships in Iosco County, Michigan as well as par ...

, which also serves portions of several surrounding townships. A satellite campus of

Alpena Community College Alpena Community College (ACC) is a public community college in Alpena, Michigan. It was founded in 1952. The college has a main campus in Alpena and another campus, Huron Shores, located in Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Michigan. The co ...

is also located within the township.

References

External links

Oscoda Township official websiteAu Sable and Oscoda Historical Society
{{Iosco County, Michigan Townships in Iosco County, Michigan Charter townships in Michigan Populated places established in 1857 1857 establishments in Michigan Populated places on Lake Huron in the United States