Spring Lake 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 re ...

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 sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. The population was 13,140 according to the 2000 census and 14,300 according to the 2010 census. The village of Spring Lake is located within the township. The city of Ferrysburg is south of the township bordering Lake Michigan, the Grand River and Spring Lake. On the south side of the Grand River is the city of

Grand Haven Grand Haven is a city within the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2010 census, Grand H ...

and Grand Haven Charter Township. Crockery Township is to the east and Muskegon County is to the north. It was established in 1855.

Geography

Within the Township of Spring Lake, is a lake called Spring Lake. This lake is roughly 4 miles long, not including its various bayous, and ~200 feet wide before it drains into the final stretches of the Grand River. Spring Lake separates the township into two sections: one to the north of Ferrysburg and west of Spring Lake and the other to the east of Spring Lake and north of the Grand River (and area including the village of Spring Lake). There is only one bridge across the lake, M-104, which connects the village of Spring Lake with Ferrysburg. The only other way around the lake requires going north into Muskegon County. There is also a small peninsula in the Grand River, which is part of the Grand Haven State Game Area, where the only road access involves going through Crockery 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 t ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (17.09%) 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 in ...

of 2000, there were 13,140 people, 5,237 households, and 3,650 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 5,748 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.35%

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 o ...

, 0.33%

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 ...

, 0.42% Native American, 0.52%

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 ...

, 0.43% 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 0.95% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 1.57% of the population. There were 5,237 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.97. In the township the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $50,648, and the median income for a family was $62,931. Males had a median income of $45,469 versus $28,253 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 $27,548. About 3.2% of families and 4.1% 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 3.7% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Spring Lake Township
{{authority control Townships in Ottawa County, Michigan 1855 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1855 Townships in Michigan