Solon 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 ...

Leelanau County Leelanau may refer to a number of articles relating to the region of the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan: Geography Settlements * Leelanau County, Michigan * Leelanau Township, Michigan * Lake Leelanau, Michigan Landforms * Lak ...

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 1,562 at the 2020 census.

Communities

Cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

is a small

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 ...

at at the corners of

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sign ...

s five, six, seven and eight. It was founded in approximately 1885 by lumberman Benjamin Boughey. He named it Cedar City because it was in a cedar forest. The depot on the

Manistee and North-Eastern Railroad The Manistee and North-Eastern Railroad Railway Equipment and Publication CompanyThe Official Railway Equipment Register June 1917, p. 579 was a short, standard-gauge line in the U.S. state of Michigan. Organized in 1887, it served several counti ...

continued to be known as Cedar City, long after the post office named simply Cedar was established on August 15, 1893. The Cedar post office, with ZIP code 49621, serves most of Solon Township as well as a large part of Centerville Township to the north, and smaller portions of Cleveland Township to the northwest, Kasson Township to the west, and Elmwood Township to the east. In 1905, the Cedar State Bank was begun, which survived the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in 1933, but was closed later in the decade. The bank building was later used for the offices of the Leelanau Telephone Company. Each year in July, Cedar is host to the annual Cedar Polka Festival, which began in 1975. * Fouch is a small unincorporated community on the south end of

Lake Leelanau Lake Leelanau ( ) lies in the Leelanau Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The entire lake—which includes two bodies of water, usually referred to as ''North Lake Leelanau'' and ''South Lake Leelanau''—covers about and lies within ...

at . It is named after John R. Fouch, who settled there in 1866. In 1893, he built a hotel for fishermen, and when the Manistee and North-Eastern Railroad was built, the station on his land was named for him. He became the first postmaster on March 3, 1893. The office closed on November 13, 1895 and was restored as a summer post office on May 20, 1905 and operated until 1908. After Fouch's death, Daniel Perrin acquired the land in 1927 and developed a summer colony known as Perrin's Landing. Fouch Hill, now the site of ''Timberlee Hills'', is just south of Fouch. * Solon is a small unincorporated community at on the Cedar Run Creek between sections 21 and 22 in the central part of the township. It was first settled in the 1860s and named for

Solon, Ohio Solon ( ) is a city in southeastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. According to the 2020 census, the population of Solon was 24,262. The city has been recognized by ''M ...

, from where many of the settlers had migrated. A post office operated from February 3, 1870 until June 15, 1909. * The city of

Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

is to the east and the Traverse City post office with ZIP code 49684 also serves portions of southern and eastern Solon Township.

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 29.7 square miles (76.9 km), of which 26.6 square miles (68.9 km) is land and 3.1 square miles (8.0 km) (10.40%) is water.

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 has 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, Solon Township 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 Solon Township, Leelanau County, Michigan
/ref>

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 1,542 people, 595 households, and 464 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 57.9 per square mile (22.4/km). There were 738 housing units at an average density of 27.7 per square mile (10.7/km). The racial makeup of the township was 97.21%

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 ...

, 0.13%

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 ...

, 0.84% Native American, 0.71%

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 ...

, 0.32% 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 0.78% 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 0.45% of the population. There were 595 households, out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% 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, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.95. In the township the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $47,448, and the median income for a family was $53,571. Males had a median income of $37,045 versus $25,481 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 $22,987. About 2.2% of families and 3.6% 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 3.4% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links