Benton 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 ...

Cheboygan County Cheboygan County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,579. The county seat is Cheboygan. The county boundaries were set off in 1840, with land partitioned from Michilimackinac 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 3,133.

History

Benton Township was first organized on March 25, 1871. At that time, it was a small area surrounding Duncan Bay, including the village of Cheboygan. In 1887, Benton expanded to a larger portion of the original Duncan Township.

Geography

Benton Township occupies the northeast corner of Cheboygan County, and is bordered to the north by the South Channel of the

Straits of Mackinac The Straits of Mackinac ( ; ) are the short waterways between the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, traversed by the Mackinac Bridge. The main strait is wide with a maximum depth of , and connects the Great Lakes of Lake M ...

opening out into

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 ...

. Presque Isle County is to the east, and

Mackinac County Mackinac County ( , ) is a County (United States), county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 10,834. The county seat is St. Ignace, Michigan, St. Ignace. F ...

is to the north. The city of Cheboygan borders the township on the northwest. The southwest corner of the township is in

Mullett Lake Mullett Lake is a lake in Cheboygan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The lake is named after John Mullett, who, together with William A. Burt, made a federal survey of the area from 1840 to 1843. A neighboring lake was named after Burt. Hi ...

, the outlet of which, the

Cheboygan River The Cheboygan River ( ) is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed November 21, 2011 river flows from Mullett Lake to Lake Huron, with ...

, forms the western border of the township up to the city of Cheboygan. The Black River enters the township from the south and flows northwest to the Cheboygan River at the township's western border. U.S. Highway 23 follows the northern edge of the township at varying distances from Lake Huron, leading west into Cheboygan and southeast to Rogers City. M-33 runs north–south across the southwest portion of the township, near Mullett Lake. Unincorporated communities in the township include Cordwood Point along the Lake Huron shoreline, Mullett Lake Woods and Orchard Beach along Mullett Lake, and Alverno near the southern border of the township. Cheboygan State Park is in the northwest corner of the township along the South Channel and Duncan Bay. 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 5.97%, 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 3,080 people, 1,248 households, and 894 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,627 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 94.12%

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 ...

, 0.03%

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 ...

, 3.60% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.06%

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 ...

, 0.06% from other races, and 1.88% 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 0.58% of the population. There were 1,248 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% 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, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.89. In the township the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males. The median income for a household in the township was $37,818, and the median income for a family was $43,900. Males had a median income of $30,662 versus $21,714 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 $21,130. About 6.0% of families and 8.8% 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 12.2% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Benton Township official website
{{Authority control Townships in Cheboygan County, Michigan Townships in Michigan Populated places on Lake Huron in the United States Populated places established in 1871 1871 establishments in Michigan