Allouez 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 ...

Keweenaw County Keweenaw County (, ) is a county in the western Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the state's largest county by total ...

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 1,428 at the 2020 census.

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 ...

, Allouez Township has a total area of , of which is land and (0.13%) is water. The township is in western Keweenaw County, on the northwest side of the

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the greater landmass of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula projects about northeasterly into Lake Superior, forming Keweena ...

. It is bordered to the south by Calumet Charter Township in Houghton County, to the southeast by Sherman Township and to the east by Houghton Township in Keweenaw County, and to the northwest by

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

. The

Black Creek Nature Sanctuary Black Creek Nature Sanctuary, commonly referred to as Black Creek, is a nature sanctuary located in Keweenaw County, Michigan. It is maintained and preserved by the non-profit organization Michigan Nature Association, and is only one of many pa ...

is also located within the township.

Major highways

* runs diagonally southwest–northeast through the township. * runs concurrently with US 41 at this point of its route through the township.

Communities

* Ahmeek is a village within the township at . It is the only incorporated municipality in Keweenaw County. *Allouez 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

US 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part i ...

/ M-26 just north of the county line with Houghton County at . The community was founded in 1859 by the Allouez Mining Company to exploit the area's copper resources. A post office in Allouez began operating on October 16, 1873. The Allouez post office uses the 49805 ZIP Code, which serves the majority of Allouez Township and a small portion Calumet Township to the south. *Bumbletown is an unincorporated community located at . The community is the site of a conglomerate dump from the former mining operations in the area. * Eagle River 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 ...

(CDP) located in the northern portion of the township. According to the

, the Eagle River CDP only occupies a minuscule of Allouez Township and has no residents in this portion; almost all of the community is within Houghton Township. *Fulton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located at . The community was the site of the Forsyth Mine, which operated until 1847. The mine was operated on occasion by several other mining companies and also had a railway station along the Hancock & Calumet Railroad. * Mohawk is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located at about east of Ahmeek. The Mohawk 49950 ZIP Code serves a very large portion of the

extending to Copper Harbor. The ZIP Code also uses the Eagle Harbor and Eagle River destination. *Ojibway is an unincorporated community located within the township at . The community began as a station along the K. C. Railroad near the Gratiot River. The Ojibway Mining Company began operating in the area, and a post office operated briefly from February 15, 1908 until July 31, 1913. The community was named after the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

, 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 ...

Native American group that is indigenous to the area. *Seneca is an unincorporated community located within the township at .

Demographics

In 2000, there were 1,584 people, 710 households, and 430 families residing in the township. By 2020, its population declined to 1,428. With a racial makeup of 98.93%

non-Hispanic whites Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

at the 2000 census, the 2020 census reported that its population has remained predominantly

White American White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person having ...

; in 2000, the remainder of its racial and ethnic makeup was 0.06% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic and Latinos of any race were 0.19% of the population. Culturally, 44.6% were of Finnish, 8.7%

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 ...

, 7.4%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, 6.9% English and 5.7% French ancestry at the 2000 census. According to the 2021

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, 17.3% shared English ancestry, and the second largest group were German Americans (15.5%). In 2000, there were 710 households, out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% 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, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families; 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.92. The 2021 census estimates determined there were 674 households, for contrast. At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the township was $26,500, and the median income for a family was $34,904. Males had a median income of $26,034 versus $21,250 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 $14,974. About 9.4% of families and 14.7% 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 15.6% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over. At the 2021 estimates, the median household income increased to $48,594.

Education

The entire township is served by the Public Schools of Calumet located to the south in the village of Calumet in Houghton County.

References

Sources

External links

Official website
{{authority control Townships in Michigan Townships in Keweenaw County, Michigan Houghton micropolitan area, Michigan Michigan populated places on Lake Superior