Bertrand Charter Township is a

charter township A charter township is a form of Local government in the United States, local government in the U.S. state of Michigan. While all townships in Michigan are organized governments, a charter township has been granted a charter, which allows it cert ...

of Berrien 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 2,611. Bertrand Charter Township was established in 1836, and named for Joseph Bertrand, a pioneer citizen.

Communities

Dayton 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 ...

in the western part of township at . It is on Dayton Lake off U.S. Highway 12 about midway between Niles and Three Oaks, just a few miles north of the

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

state border. The settlement was founded in 1830 by Benjamin Redding, and a post office named "Redding's Mills" opened on June 17, 1850. It was designated on an 1839 map of Michigan as "Terré Coupe", and when the

Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in th ...

was built through the area in 1848, the depot was named Terre Coupe (and also spelled Terra Coupée). The name of the depot was changed to Dayton after the post office was renamed "Dayton" on April 11, 1851, after

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, where many early settlers had come from. The post office was discontinued on September 22, 1967.

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 1.71%, is water. The township is in the southeast portion of the county, with Galien Township to the west, Weesaw Township to the northwest, and Buchanan Township with the village of Buchanan to the north on the west side of the township. The city of Niles lies on the northeast corner of the township, while irregularly-shaped Niles Township is to the north on the east side of the township and also to the east of the township. St. Joseph County,

, lies to the south, with Olive Township to the southwest, Warren Township due south, and German Township with the city of

South Bend South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

to the south on the east side of the township.

U.S. Route 31 U.S. Route 31 or U.S. Highway 31 (US 31) is a major north–south U.S. highway connecting southern Alabama to northern Michigan. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with US 90/ US 98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. I ...

crosses the township north and south, while US 12 crosses it east and west. Along with a corner of Galien Township, the southern part of the township is the only part of the

Lower Peninsula of Michigan The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the Geography of Michigan, two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula of Mic ...

that is part of the drainage of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, and with the Michigan shore of

Lac Vieux Desert Lac Vieux Desert is a lake in the United States divided between Gogebic County, Michigan, and Vilas County, Wisconsin. Fed primarily by springs in the surrounding swamps, it is the source of the Wisconsin River, which flows out of its southwest co ...

in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula b ...

, is one of two such areas in the state.

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 2,380 people, 903 households, and 700 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 963 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.23%

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 ...

, 0.50%

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 ...

, 0.59% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.13% from other races, and 1.09% 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 0.76% of the population. There were 903 households, out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.3% 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 22.4% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.00. In the township the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $55,183, and the median income for a family was $59,118. Males had a median income of $35,682 versus $24,800 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 $22,130. About 3.7% of families and 3.9% 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 2.0% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Bertrand Township official website
{{Berrien County, Michigan Townships in Berrien County, Michigan Townships in Michigan