Barry 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 Barry County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 3,417.

History

Barry Township was the original township, with boundaries co-extensive with Barry County, from which all the townships of the county were partitioned. On 23 March 1836, a legislative act provided for the organization of the township of Barry. The first township meeting was held at the house of Nicholas Campbell in Barry Township (in what is now Prairieville Township) on 4 April 1836.History of Barry County
(Michigan) by Hon. W. W. Potter. With biographical sketches of prominent men by Ford Hicks and Edward Butler. Potter, William W., 1869–1940., Hicks, Ford., Butler, Edward. Page 17. Accessed 17 September 2022.

Communities

* Delton 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 ...

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 ...

in the northwest part of the township centered around the junction of M-43 and E Orchard Street at . The Delton ZIP code, 49046, serves most of the northern part of the township as well as portions of Johnstown Township to the east, Hope Township to the north, Orangeville Township to the northwest, Prairieville Township to the west. A small portion of southeastern Yankee Springs Township to the north of Orangeville Township is also served by the Delton ZIP code. A post office was first requested under the name "Dellstown", but was established as Delton in May 1877. * Hickory Corners is an unincorporated community and census-designated place approximately northwest of

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

and about northeast of

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

at . The

Gilmore Car Museum The Gilmore Car Museum is an automobile museum located in Hickory Corners, Michigan, United States. The museum exhibits over 400 vintage and collector vehicles and motorcycles from all eras in several vintage buildings located on a 90-acre camp ...

is located in Hickory Corners. The Hickory Corners ZIP code, 49060, serves most of the southern portion of the township as well as portions of Prairieville Township to the west and Ross Township to the south in Kalamazoo County. The first settler, the Rev. Moses Lawrence, built his home in 1834 on the shore of Lawrence Lake about a half mile from the present town. In 1837, surveyors found a large

hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

tree in the center of

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

28, from which the settlement took its name. Solomon C. Hall built the first house in the town and became the first postmaster in July 1844. *The city of

is to the southeast, and the Battle Creek ZIP code, 49017, serves the southeast corner of Barry Township. 49017 5-Digit ZCTA, 490 3-Digit ZCTA – Reference Map – American FactFinder
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 census

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 , or 5.69%, is water. It is located southeast of

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

.Some western Michigan community residents say aggressive police don't fit their small town
" ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

'' at '' The Tribune'' (Indiana). August 4, 2014. Retrieved on August 5, 2014.

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 3,489 people, 1,265 households, and 986 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,460 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.56%

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 ...

, 0.37%

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 ...

, 0.63% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.89% 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 1.12% of the population. There were 1,265 households, out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.7% 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, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.08. In the township the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $45,339, and the median income for a family was $50,116. Males had a median income of $37,929 versus $21,451 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 $22,370. About 3.0% of families and 5.5% 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 5.8% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{authority control Townships in Barry County, Michigan Grand Rapids metropolitan area Townships in Michigan