Birchdale Township is a township in Todd 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 814 at the 2000 census and grew to 931 for the 2020 census. Birchdale Township was organized in 1869. The unincorporated village of Ward Springs is in Section 23 of the township. It was named after the family that platted it, W. and Martha J. Ward, but was originally Birch Lake City and it had a post office simply called Birch Lake, due to its proximity to a lake of the same name. At one time it had a

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

station. Ward Springs is widely known for its spontaneous and unorganized July 4 Independence Day parade.

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 (8.57%) is water.

Wildlife Management Area

The Elgin Wood Wildlife Management Area has a large unnamed pond on the east side of its 239 acres. There is access to a mile long hiking trail on the north end end, just off Blue Spruce Road in Birchdale Township. The Minnesota DNR describes this area as being tolling hardwood forest with some small wetlands.

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 814 people, 318 households, and 221 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 568 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 99.26%

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 ...

, 0.12% Asian, and 0.61% 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 0.12% of the population. There were 318 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.9% 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, 2.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.14. In the township the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $33,750, and the median income for a family was $47,667. Males had a median income of $30,139 versus $24,688 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 $22,056. About 5.2% of families and 10.9% 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 13.7% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

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