Park 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, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England, New York, and Wisconsin to ref ...

of Ottawa 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 18,625.

History

Park Township was originally part of Holland Township. It was part of Holland Township in 1912. Park Township was established in 1915.

Communities

*Macatawa is a small unincorporated community near

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

Lake Macatawa Lake Macatawa is a lake in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Geography The lake is about long with a maximum width of and a surface area of . The average depth of the lake is variable but generally less than , excluding a naviga ...

that once was home to resorts catering to visitors from

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

. Nearly all of these resorts were destroyed in several fires. It is now home to cottages only. The community is on the boundary between Laketown township in

Allegan County Allegan County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 120,502. The county seat is Allegan. The name was coined by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to sound like a Native American word. Alle ...

and Park Township in Ottawa County, however it is on the south side of Lake Macatawa separated from most of Park Township at . * Waukazoo Woods is a neighborhood on the north shore of Lake Macatawa. Present day Waukazoo Woods was formerly an Ottawa Indian village, which was led by Chief Waukazoo. In the early 1900s, Wauakazoo, a popular summer destination for tourists, was home to the Waukazoo Inn, a hotel. The Waukazoo Inn was demolished in 1960, being replaced by private homes.

Geography

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 (9.62%) is water. The southernmost part of the township is completely separated from the rest by

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 17,579 people, 6,113 households, and 4,951 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 6,926 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 93.55%

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 ...

, 0.45%

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 ...

, 0.18% Native American, 2.14%

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%

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 ...

, 2.18% 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 1.48% 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 5.46% of the population. There were 6,113 households, out of which 41.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.2% 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, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.0% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.22. In the township the population was spread out, with 30.9% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.7 males. The median income for a household in the township was $65,328, and the median income for a family was $72,647. Males had a median income of $51,124 versus $31,486 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 $28,777. About 1.4% of families and 2.6% 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 t ...

, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 0.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

* West Ottawa High School North Campus * Lakeshore Elementary School

References

External links

Park Township
{{authority control Townships in Ottawa County, Michigan 1915 establishments in Michigan Townships in Michigan