Pickford 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 Chippewa 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 2010 census, the township population was 1,595.

Communities

*Kelden (also spelled Keldon) 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 township at . A post office was established in May 1896. *Pickford is an unincorporated community on M-129 about south of M-48 at . It is at the junction of two

survey township A survey township, sometimes called a Congressional township or just township, as used by the United States Public Land Survey System, is a nominally-square area of land that is nominally six U.S. survey miles (about 9.66 km) on a side. E ...

s, and a portion is within Marquette Township in adjacent

Mackinac County Mackinac County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, the population was 10,834. The county seat is St. Ignace, Michigan, St. Ignace. Forme ...

. Charles W. Pickford from

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

first settled here on the

Munuscong River The Munuscong River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 21, 2011 river on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. It is a tributary of Munuscong La ...

in 1877. A post office was established in February 1880. The Pickford ZIP code, 49774, serves most of Pickford Township as well as portions of southern Bruce Township, eastern Raber Township, and northeast Marquette Township. *Stirlingville is an unincorporated community in the township at This was at first called "Jolly's Landing" and was renamed for William P. Stirling, a local storekeeper and steamboat operator. A post office was established in February 1888. * Barbeau is to the northeast in Bruce Township, but the Barbeau ZIP code 49710 serves the northeast portion of the township. *

Goetzville Raber Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 647 at the 2010 census. Communities * Goetzville is an unincorporated community in the township on M-48 approximately north of M-134 at ...

and Stalwart are to the southeast, and the ZIP code 49736 serves the southeast corner of the township. *

Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are connect ...

is to the northwest, and the Kinross ZIP code 49752 serves an area in the northwest part of the township. * Kincheloe is to the northwest, and the Kincheloe ZIP code 49788 serves a small area in the northwest part of the township.

Geography

Pickford Township is located in southeastern Chippewa County on the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

. It is bordered to the south by

. The northeastern part of the township extends into Munuscong Lake, a large bay on the St. Marys River. The

flows through the center of the township into Munuscong Lake, passing the communities of Pickford, Stirlingville, and Kelden. 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 9.42%, 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 1,584 people, 607 households, and 475 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 14.6 per square mile (5.6/km). There were 776 housing units at an average density of 7.2 per square mile (2.8/km). The racial makeup of the township was 92.11%

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 ...

, 0.06%

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 ...

, 5.81% Native American, 0.06%

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 ...

, and 1.96% 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 0.38% of the population. There were 607 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.8% 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, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.7% were non-families. 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.97. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males. The median income for a household in the township was $40,850, and the median income for a family was $43,882. Males had a median income of $34,444 versus $22,007 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 $16,320. About 4.1% 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 t ...

, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Media

* 105.5 FM -

WMKD WMKD (105.5 FM, "Country 105," formerly known as "Big Country 105.5") is a country music formatted radio station serving Pickford, Michigan and the Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan & Ontario markets. WMKD's 55,000-watt signal covers most of the easte ...

(

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

)

Climate

This

climatic Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Pickford has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Pickford Township, Michigan
/ref>

References

{{authority control Townships in Chippewa County, Michigan Townships in Michigan