Caro, Michigan
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Caro is a
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Tuscola County Tuscola County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the The Thumb, Thumb region of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 53,323. The county seat is Caro, Michigan, Caro. The coun ...
,
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, ...
, United States. The population was 4,328 at the 2020 census and 4,145 at the 2000 census (an increase of 4.4%). Caro is located northeast of
Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
and east of
Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of ...
in Michigan's Upper Thumb region.


History

Caro was founded on the ridge just above the site of the Chippewa Village that early on stood at the Oxbow in the Cass River that was known by Native Americans as "Pe-See-Kop-To-Qua-Yone." It is now the site of the Caro Dam in Section 10, Indianfields Township, Tuscola County. Caro would be built and organized on Section 3. On Section 10, at the gate of the Chippewa Village, the logging camp that started the "boom" in logging Cass River was established by Curtis Emerson in 1848. Paschel Richardson of Tuscola Village purchased land for logging on the future site of Caro or Section 3, Indianfields Township, also in 1848. The Johnson brothers, Daniel and Soloman, began to build the City of Zilwaukee, Michigan, from Cass River Pine timber that they logged from the land at the future site of Caro and that they bought in 1849.United States Bureau of Land Management, Original Patents This was how the events would align. Gardener and Ephraim Williams about 1830 to the 1840s were agents of the American Fur Company that had a trading post on the Cass River. The post was described as at the "very short bend in the river." The bend was "shaped like a horseshoe." It was called in rough English "Skop-Ti-Qua-Nou." This was undoubtedly a slightly misspelled name for the Oxbow. Gardner Williams would purchase tracts of land next to the Chippewa Village in the 1850s that amounted in size to be more than what was the area of Caro. Later Samuel P. Sherman would purchase in the north half of the northwest quarter 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 ...
3 in Indianfields Township on September 8, 1852. Prior to this, only two land sales had been recorded, both for lumbering or speculative purposes. His son, William E. Sherman, had worked in the lumber industry nearby on the Cass River for some time prior to 1852 and William's favorable report persuaded his father to visit in 1851 and afterward purchased several tracts of land in addition to his initial purchase. In the 1856-57 session of the Michigan Legislature, construction of a road was authorized from
Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...
in
Saginaw County Saginaw County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 190,124. The county seat is Saginaw. The county was created by September 10, 1822, and was fully organized on February 9, 1835. The ...
northeast to Forestville in
Sanilac County Sanilac County ( ) is a county located in the Thumb region of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 40,611. The county seat is Sandusky. The county was created on September 10, 1822, and was fully organized on ...
, with a route that would pass through what is now Caro. Once the road was cleared, commercial interests began to locate here. Melvin Gibbs, who had been keeping a hotel in an old log house, in 1858 put up a new frame building, known as the Gibbs House. In 1859, William E. Sherman built another hotel, which he named the Centerville House, based on the location being near the center of the county. The name Centerville became associated with the developing community. In 1865, Centerville was selected as the county seat. A post office named Tuscola Center was established on April 25, 1866. To address the confusion caused by the differing names, community leaders met in 1868, and at the suggestion of William E. Sherman selected the name Caro, based on a variant spelling of the Egyptian city of
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
. On July 23, 2007, Governor
Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is an American politician who was the 16th United States secretary of energy from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she previously served as the 47t ...
announced Caro as a community chosen by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) to take part in the Blueprints for Downtowns program. The city would receive a comprehensive, market-driven strategy toward developing an action-oriented downtown that would result in economic growth, job creation and private investments. Caro residents voted in favor of changing to the status of a city on November 3, 2009. Village President Tom Striffler was elected to the position of
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
. Elected to the city council were Mike Henry, Rick Lipan, Joe Greene, Charlotte Kish, Amanda Langmaid, and Richard Pouliot.


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 city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Caro is located in central
Tuscola County Tuscola County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the The Thumb, Thumb region of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 53,323. The county seat is Caro, Michigan, Caro. The coun ...
, surrounded by Indianfields Township on its west, south, and east. Almer Township borders the northern part of the city. The Caro post office, with ZIP code 48723, also serves nearly all of Indianfields and Almer townships, as well as smaller portions of Wells Township to the east of Indianfields, Dayton Township to the southeast of Indianfields, Fremont Township to the south of Indianfields, Juniata Township to the west of Indianfields, Fairgrove Township to the northwest of Indianfields, Columbia Township, to the north of Almer, Elmwood Township to the northeast of Almer, and Ellington Township to the east of Almer.


Transportation

* * The city is served by the
Tuscola Area Airport Tuscola Area Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Caro, a city in Tuscola County, Michigan, United States. It is owned by the Tuscola Area Airport Authority. It ...
(also known as the Caro Municipal Airport), located approximately three miles southwest of the city. Founded in 1930, the airport was significantly improved under Michigan Department of Transportation grants throughout the 1980s and 1990s, to add and lengthen the runway and taxi-ways, as well as a new administration building and additional hangar space.


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 4,229 people, 1,777 households, and 1,015 families residing in the city. 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 1,987 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.5%
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 ...
, 0.7%
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 ...
, 0.4% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 1.5% 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 5.3% of the population. There were 1,777 households, of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.9% 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, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.9% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age in the city was 39.6 years. 21.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.3% were from 25 to 44; 25% were from 45 to 64; and 18.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.3% male and 53.7% female.


2000 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 2000, there were 4,145 people, 1,738 households, and 1,042 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,899 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 94.62%
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 ...
, 0.55%
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 ...
, 1.01% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.05%
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 ...
, 1.95% from other races, and 0.94% 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 4.08% of the population. There were 1,738 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% 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, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.95. In the village the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.8 males. The median income for a household in the village was $31,226, and the median income for a family was $39,432. Males had a median income of $36,307 versus $25,833 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 $17,152. About 5.1% of families and 11.1% 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 7.0% of those age 65 or over.


Industry

Caro is the home of a
Michigan Sugar Michigan Sugar Company is an agricultural cooperative, based in Bay City, Michigan, that specializes in the processing of beet sugar. Founded in 1906, Michigan Sugar sells beet sugar under the brand names ''Big Chief'' and ''Pioneer.'' Michigan ...
facility. Local sugarbeet farmers retain joint ownership of the plant. In 2003, Michigan Ethanol, a partner of Poet Biorefining, opened a corn
ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...
production facility in southwest Caro. The Caro Center, a mental health facility operated by the state of Michigan, originally opened as a support center for individuals with epilepsy and operated as a self-supportive community, producing its own vegetables and maintaining livestock. Following, it converted to an institution for the developmentally disabled, and now operates as an inpatient psychiatric hospital for mentally ill adults. The former Camp Tuscola, which was a state correctional facility until 2005, is now a residential re-entry program.


Media


Radio

Local radio stations licensed to serve Caro are commercial broadcasters WKYO AM and WIDL FM.


FM

* WCTP 88.5 FM, Gagetown, Gospel, ''Christian Gospel Radio'' * WSMB 89.3 FM, Harbor Beach, Religious, ''Smile FM'' * WIDL 92.1 FM, Cass City, Classic Rock ''The Thumb's Only Road for Pure Classic Rock'' * WBGV 92.5 FM, Marlette, Country, ''The Thumb's Best Country'' *
WRCL WRCL (93.7 FM) is a commercial broadcast radio station serving the mid Michigan area (Flint, Saginaw and Bay City). It plays rhythmic contemporary hits, naming itself ''Club 93-7''. The transmitter is in Tuscola County, but the studios are in ...
93.7 FM, Frankenmuth, Urban CHR, ''Today's Hottest Jamz'' *
WHNN WHNN (96.1 FM, "96.1 WHNN") is a radio station serving the Saginaw, Bay City, Midland and Flint, Michigan areas with an adult contemporary format. The transmitter for WHNN is located on Dutcher Road near Van Buren Road in the northwest corne ...
96.1 FM, Bay City, Adult Contemporary, ''The Best Variety of Yesterday and Today *
WMJO WMJO (97.3 FM, "Joe FM") is a radio station licensed to Essexville, Michigan and broadcasting at 97.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 3,000 watts. Known on the air as ''Joe-FM'', WMJO has a variety hits format targeted to Saginaw, Bay ...
97.3 FM, Essexville, Classic Hits/Adult Hits, ''Joe Plays Everything'' *
WTGV WTGV-FM (97.7 Hertz, MHz) is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits/oldies format, serving Sandusky, Michigan, Sandusky and the Thumb and Blue Water area of Michigan. WTGV is owned and operated by Sanilac Broadcasting. Programming WTGV feat ...
97.7 FM, Sandusky, Adult Contemporary, ''Light and Easy Listening'' *
WKCQ WKCQ (98.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to Saginaw, Michigan, and broadcasting on 98.1 mHz with an effective radiated power of 50,000 watts. The station has broadcast a popular country music format since 1968 (the country format began under the ...
98.1 FM, Saginaw, Country, ''The Most Country'' * WOWE 98.9 FM, Vassar, Urban AC, ''Jammin' Oldies'' *
WWBN WWBN (101.5 FM, "Banana 101.5") is a radio station broadcasting mainstream rock to Flint and The Thumb areas of Michigan. Syndicated shows on Banana include the morning comedy program ''The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show'' and the nightly music ...
101.5 FM, Tuscola, Active Rock, ''The Banana, Flint's Rock Radio'' * WLEW 102.1 FM, Bad Axe, Classic Hits, ''Your Classic Hits Station'' *
WIOG WIOG (102.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station airing a top 40 (CHR) format. It is licensed to Bay City, Michigan, and serves the Greater Tri-Cities area, including Saginaw and Midland as well as Flint. It is owned by Cumulus Media with ...
102.5 FM, Bay City, CHR/Top 40, ''The Hit Music Channel'' * WCZE 103.7 FM, Harbor Beach, Christian Country, ''Positive Country'' * WTLZ 107.1 FM, Saginaw, Urban AC, ''Simply the Best R&B''


AM

* WMIC 660 AM, Sandusky (Daytime Only), Full Service/Country, ''The Thumb's Information Station'' * WSGW 790 AM, Saginaw, News/Talk, ''Your Connection to the Saginaw Valley and the World'' * WJMK 1250 AM, Bridgeport, Oldies, ''MeTV FM'' *
WTRX WTRX (1330 AM, "Sports XTRA 1330") was an American radio station broadcasting a sports format in Flint, Michigan. At closure, WTRX was the Flint affiliate for Michigan Wolverines football and men's basketball, and Infinity Sports Network. ...
1330 AM, Flint, Sports, ''Mid-Michigan's Biggest Athletic Supporter'' * WLEW 1340 AM, Bad Axe, Country, ''The Thumb's Hottest Country * WKYO 1360 AM, Caro, Oldies, ''Your Greatest Hits'' * WMAX 1440 AM, Bay City, Religious Talk, ''Ave Marie Radio'' *
WFNT WFNT (1470 kHz) was a commercial AM radio station in Flint, Michigan. It was owned by Townsquare Media and until December 31, 2023, broadcast a talk radio format. The studios and transmitter were on East Bristol Road in Burton. By day, WFNT ...
1470 AM, Flint, News/Talk, ''Flint's News Talk'' *
WLCO WLCO (1530 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a contemporary Christian format, as an affiliate of Smile FM. Licensed to Lapeer, Michigan, it first began broadcasting under the WTHM call sign in 1962. Until December 2019, it broadcast a country ...
1530 AM, Lapeer, Classic Country, ''Real Country, Today's Stars and Legends''


Newspapers

* Daily editions of the ''
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...
'' and ''
The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United S ...
'', four-day-per-week editions of the ''
Bay City Times ''The Bay City Times'' is a newspaper published in Bay City, Michigan, United States, published Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, with a Tuesday edition jointly published with ''The Saginaw News''. The paper is published by Booth Newspapers, owned ...
'' and ''
Saginaw News ''The Saginaw News'' is a newspaper publication based in Saginaw, Michigan, owned by MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers or Booth Michigan, a division of Advance Publications. Published on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays (alo ...
'',How the launch of the MLive Media Group affects you
mlive.com, November 2, 2011, Retrieved November 3, 2011
as well as the "Tuscola County Advertiser" and ''Vassar Pioneer Times'' are available.


Broadcast television

Tuscola County lies inside the Flint/Tri-Cities Television Market. Only stations available on
Charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
in the Caro area are listed below. * WNEM 5 (
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
/
MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (stylized as mynetworkTV; unofficially abbreviated MNT or MNTV) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its Fox Television Stations ...
) *
WJRT WJRT-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Flint, Michigan, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for northeastern Michigan. Owned by Allen Media Group, the station maintains studios on Lapeer Road in Flint, with offices and ...
12 (
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
) * WDCQ 19 (
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
) * WEYI 25 (
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
) *
WBSF WBSF (channel 46), branded CW 46, is a television station licensed to Bay City, Michigan, United States, serving northeastern Michigan as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Cunningham Broadcasting, which maintains a shared services agreemen ...
46 (
The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
) *
WAQP WAQP (channel 49) is a religious television station licensed to Saginaw, Michigan, United States, serving northeastern Michigan as an owned-and-operated station of Tri-State Christian Television (TCT). The station's transmitter is located near C ...
49 ( TCT) *
WSMH WSMH (channel 66), branded on-air as Fox 66, is a television station licensed to Flint, Michigan, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for northeastern Michigan. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to ...
66 (
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
)


Climate

This
climatic Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorolog ...
region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Caro has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. July averages 71 °F (21 °C), with high temperatures reaching 90 °F (32 °C) an average of 17 days per year. The average high temperature in July is 86 °F (30 °C). January averages 23 °F (-5 °C), with an average monthly low of 15 °F (-9 °C).


References


Further reading

*


External links


City websiteCaro Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Cities in Tuscola County, Michigan County seats in Michigan Populated places established in 1847 1847 establishments in Michigan