Alcona 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 (United States), county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England town, Ne ...

of Alcona 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 966 at the 2020 census.

Communities

*Black River is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located along the shores of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

at . The community was settled as early as 1849 by William Cullings and was named after the Black River. It was a fishing village first inhabited by French trappers and fishermen. It became a lumbering center when the Alger, Smith & Company operated in Black River from 1876 to 1880. Black River became the largest pine timber producer in the world before turning back into a fishing village with the decline of the lumber industry. A post office opened in Black River on February 9, 1877. It was renamed as Blackriver in 1894 and back to Black River in 1955. Black River uses the 48721 ZIP Code, which serves the eastern portion of Alcona Township and smaller areas of Haynes Township to the south. * Hubbard Lake is an unincorporated community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

that surrounds Hubbard Lake at . It should not be confused with another nearby community named Hubbard Lake just to the north in Alpena County. *Larson Beach is an unincorporated community located at within the CDP of Hubbard Lake. * Lost Lake Woods is an unincorporated community and census-designated place within the center of the township at .

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (13.35%) is water. The southern portion of

Negwegon State Park Negwegon State Park is an undeveloped public recreation area on Lake Huron lying southeast of the unincorporated community of Ossineke in Alpena County and Alcona County, Michigan. The state park's occupy the southern tip of Thunder Bay, ...

is located within the township, and it extends north into Alpena County. Portions of the township are also included in the

Huron National Forest The Huron National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It was established in 1909 after the logging era began to decline. In 1945, it was administratively combined with the Manistee Nati ...

. The township has a coastline along

and also includes Black River and part of Hubbard Lake

Major highways

* runs along the eastern portion of the township near Lake Huron. * is a county-designated highway in the township.

Demographics

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 1,089 people, 524 households, and 361 families residing in the township. 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 1,313 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.89%

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 ...

, 0.83% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.18% from other races, and 1.01% 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 or any race were 0.73% of the population. 20.1% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 15.1%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, 10.9%

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, 10.8%

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

, 7.3% Irish and 6.9%

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

ancestry. There were 524 households, out of which 14.9% had children under the age of 18 living with their families, 63.2% had

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, 2.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.50. In the township the population spread out, of which 14.4% were under the age of 18, 3.6% between 18 and 24, 16.5% between 25 and 44, 30.9% between 45 and 64, and 34.5% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 58 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 103.5 males. The median income for a household in the township was $34,125, and the median income for a family was $39,934. Males had a median income of $33,250 against $21,364 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 township was $20,160. About 4.3% of families and 8.7% 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 17.1% of those under 18 and 4.9% of those aged 65 or over.

Education

Alcona Township is served entirely by

Alcona Community Schools Alcona Community Schools is a school district headquartered in Gustin Township, Michigan, United States. The district has about 700 students and its service area has about of land in Alcona County. In 2000 the district was experimenting wit ...

References

External links

Alcona Township official website
{{authority control Townships in Alcona County, Michigan Townships in Michigan Populated places on Lake Huron in the United States