Onekama ( ) is a village in
Manistee County in the
U.S. state of
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. The population was 399 at the
2020 census.
The village is located on the northeast shore of
Portage Lake and is surrounded by
Onekama Township. The town's name is derived from ''Ona-ga-maa'', an
Anishinaabe
The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...
word which means "singing water".
History
The predecessor of the village of Onekama was the settlement of Portage at
Portage Point, first established in 1845, at the western end of Portage Lake, at the outlet of Portage Creek. In 1871, when landowners around the land-locked lake became exasperated with the practices of the Portage Sawmill, they took the solution into their own hands and dug a channel through the narrow isthmus, opening a waterway that lowered the lake by and brought it to the same level as
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 depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
. When this action dried out Portage Creek on May 14, 1871, the settlement, which had only the week before been designated as "Onekama" with a post office under that name, moved to the previously submerged land at the northeastern shore of the lake near an earlier settlement called "Brookfield".
In 1880, the first public buildings were built in the new village. These included the Pierce gristmill and the Gibert brothers' sawmill. In 1882, the first school was built next to the present-day
Congregational church. In 1883, a large summer hotel, the Glen House, was built near the Glen, with its three
mineral springs that were believed to have medicinal value.
The village was incorporated in 1891 and included the earlier settlement known as Brookfield, creating a long narrow village about long, with the business section on the flat, former lake bottom and residences on the higher land.
In 1889, a branch of the
Manistee and North-Eastern Railroad was extended to the village.
On April 27, 2024, a massive hail storm passed directly through the town causing severe damage to homes, businesses, vehicles and landscape. Most of the buildings within the town were severely damaged, having sustained broken windows, busted vinyl siding, dented steel roofs and siding, and roofs being damaged beyond repair. Much of the damage can still be seen today on many buildings. The hail ranged in size from pebbles, to some larger than golf balls.
[ https://www.manisteenews.com/news/article/onekama-hit-hail-storms-rolled-lake-michigan-19428320.php ]
Geography
Onekama is in western Manistee County, northeast of
Manistee, the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
, and south of
Arcadia.
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 depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
is to the west beyond the outlet of Portage Lake.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the village of Onekama has a total area of , all land.
The
M-22 highway runs through downtown Onekama.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 411 people, 205 households, and 114 families residing in the village. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...
was . There were 338 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.6%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.2%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.2%
Native American, 0.2%
Asian, and 1.7% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population.
There were 205 households, of which 17.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.4% were non-families. 41.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.98 and the average family size was 2.65.
The median age in the village was 54.4 years. 15.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 12.9% were from 25 to 44; 36.6% were from 45 to 64; and 28.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 45.3% male and 54.7% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 647 people, 239 households, and 152 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 315 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 85.16%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.15%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.46%
Native American, 13.14% from
other races, and 1.08% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 21.79% of the population.
There were 239 households, out of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.66.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $29,091, and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $23,125 versus $15,455 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the village was $16,718. About 9.3% of families and 16.0% 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 ...
, including 24.5% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
* Rev. Dr.
Francis J. Hall, founder of the
Chapel of St John-by-the-Lake in 1912
*
Paul P. Harris, founder of Rotary International
References
External links
Onekama community website
{{authority control
Villages in Manistee County, Michigan
Villages in Michigan
Populated places established in 1845