Ash 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 Monroe 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, ...

. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 7,860.

History

Ash Township was organized in 1837 from a northern portion of Frenchtown Township. The township was named after local resident Arba Ash, who proposed the name during an early township meeting. Potter Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in eastern Ash Township.

Communities

*Althone is a former settlement within the township. It was founded by

German Catholic The Catholic Church in Germany () or Roman Catholic Church in Germany () is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the German bishops. The current "Speaker" (i.e., Chairman) of th ...

s and had its own post office briefly from March 28, 1856, until January 30, 1858. The post office was restored and operated for a much longer time from December 29, 1863, until July 18, 1894. *Briar Hill is a former settlement founded in 1897 along a train station on the Detroit & Lima Northern Railroad. It was located halfway between Carleton and Flat Rock. Briar Hill can be seen within the township on
1911 map
of Monroe County. * Carleton is a village in the west-central portion of the township. *Clark City is a former settlement that was built around a stave mill along Swan Creek. The community had its own post office from January 25, 1855, until December 19, 1866. *Grafton 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 within the township at . It is located along the railway line and contained its own post office from March 14, 1850 to April 30, 1903.

Geography

The township is in northeastern Monroe County, with its northern border forming the Wayne County line. 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 are land and , or 0.68%, are water. Most of the township is drained by Swan Creek and its tributaries. The northeast corner of the township is drained by Port Creek, a tributary of the

Huron River The Huron River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed November 7, 2011 river in southeast Michigan, southeastern Michigan, rising out of the Huron Swamp in Springfie ...

, while the southwest corner is drained by Stony Creek. Swan Creek, Stony Creek, and the Huron River are all southeast-flowing direct tributaries of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

Transportation

Airport

Buzzwick Airport is a public-use airport in the southern part of the township.

Major highways

* runs south–north through the center of the township and has three access points: exit 2 (Telegraph Road), exit 5 (Carleton Rockwood Road), and exit 8 (Will Carleton Road) at the county line. * runs diagonally north through the southeastern portion of the township.

Education

Ash Township is served by three separate school districts. The vast majority of the township is served by Airport Community Schools. A few very small northern portions of the township along Will Carleton Road are served by Huron School District in Huron Township in Wayne County. Another very small northeastern portion of the township along Telegraph Road is served by Flat Rock Community Schools in Flat Rock in Wayne County.

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 7,610 people, 2,801 households, and 2,125 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 2,942 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.08%

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 ...

, 0.32%

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 ...

, 0.32% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.33% from other races, and 1.72% 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 1.75% of the population. There were 2,801 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.4% 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, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% 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 3.13. In the township the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $54,439, and the median income for a family was $61,020. Males had a median income of $47,892 versus $25,699 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 $24,271. About 4.6% of families and 6.3% 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 9.0% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* James DeSana, politician serving in the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

, lives in Ash Township

References

Sources

External links

* {{Authority control Townships in Monroe County, Michigan Townships in Michigan Populated places established in 1837 1837 establishments in Michigan