Alton Township ( ) is a township in Waseca County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States. The population was 645 at the 2000 census. Alton Township was organized in 1866, and named after

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

Geography

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 township has a total area of , of which is land and (3.78%) is water.

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 645 people, 173 households, and 130 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 178 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 89.77%

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 ...

, 7.75%

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 ...

, 1.55% Native American, 0.47% Asian, and 0.47% 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 1.71% of the population. There were 173 households, out of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.4% 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, 1.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.18. In the township the population was spread out, with 22.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 37.8% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 180.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 233.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $42,500, and the median income for a family was $50,625. Males had a median income of $22,500 versus $22,361 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 $15,413. About 4.8% of families and 5.9% 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 7.0% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person

Rod Searle Rodney Newell Searle Sr. (July 17, 1920 – January 5, 2014) was a Minnesota farmer, insurance agent, and public servant. Born and raised in urban New Jersey, Searle moved to rural Minnesota in 1947 with his wife Jane and their two young children ...

(1920-2014), former Speaker of the Minnesota House, resident of Alton Township from 1947 until his death.Obituary for Rodney "Rod" N. Searle
(January 5, 2014). Parker Kohl & McRaith Funeral Homes.

References

{{authority control Townships in Waseca County, Minnesota Townships in Minnesota