Britton is a village in Lenawee 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, ...

. The population was 537 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Ridgeway Township.

History

The village of Britton was originally called Balch and was established after the

Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...

built a station there in 1881 and a post office opened on August 13, 1881. In 1888, a local storekeeper in charge of the post office named John Britton, paid $500 to have the town renamed after himself. The post office name was changed from Balch to Britton on April 13, 1888.

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 village has a total area of , all land. Britton is located on the M-50, about northeast of Adrian, along a line of the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

. The main industries are agriculture and small business. Britton is located about six miles west of

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

Demographics

2010 census

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 2010, there were 586 people, 237 households, and 166 families living in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 268 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.6%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.3% 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 1.9% of the population. There were 237 households, of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% 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, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.0% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age in the village was 38.8 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.2% were from 25 to 44; 28.5% were from 45 to 64; and 11.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.5% male and 49.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 699 people, 261 households, and 196 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 268 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.71%

, 0.72%

, 0.14% Asian, 0.72% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.43% of the population. There were 261 households, out of which 42.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were

living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.14. In the village, 29.8% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males. The median income for a household in the village was $49,091, and the median income for a family was $50,703. Males had a median income of $39,861 versus $26,000 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 village was $18,087. About 7.8% of families and 7.3% 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 11.4% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The village of Britton is home to the Britton-Macon Area School District, often shortened to Britton-Macon. The school covers the area of Britton, as well as Macon and Ridgeway Townships. However, the school also attracts many students from surrounding cities, villages and townships for various personal, academic and athletic reasons. The school is located at 201 College Ave just off of M-50. There is one building in Britton, which provides for the students in K-12. The Britton-Macon Tories are a member of the Tri-County Conference.

Notable person

Duane Below Duane Arthur Below ( ; born November 15, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins and Detroit Tigers. Below has also played in the KBO League for the Kia Tigers ...

, starting pitcher for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

; born in Britton

Gallery

Image:Ridgeway_Township_Britton_Elevator.JPG, Britton

Elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

Inc., N. Main St. Image:Ridgeway_Township_Britton_Post_office.JPG, Britton

Post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, E. Chicago Blvd. Image:Ridgeway_Township_Britton_High_School.JPG, Britton

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, College Ave. Image:Ridgeway_Township_Congregational_Christian_Church.JPG, Congregational Christian

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, E. Chicago Blvd. Image:Ridgeway_Township_Britton_Library.JPG, Britton

Public Library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, S. Main St.

References

External links

{{Authority control Villages in Lenawee County, Michigan Villages in Michigan Populated places established in 1881 1881 establishments in Michigan