Colfax 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 ...

Mecosta County Mecosta County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 39,714. The county seat is Big Rapids, Michigan, Big Rapids. The county is named ...

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 1,962 at the 2020 census.

History

Colfax Township was organized in 1869.

Communities

* Byers began around a shingle mill in 1870. It was also a depot on the

Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad at its height provided passenger and freight railroad services between Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, USA. The company was formed on January 18, 1854. Beginnings After grapp ...

. It had a post office from 1877 until 1902. * Rodney 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 southeast part of the township at . The Rodney ZIP code, 49342, serves areas in the eastern and north central parts of the township. The Rodney ZIP code also serves most of the western part of Martiny Township as well as small areas of northeast Austin Township and northwest Morton Township to the south and the southeast corner of Grant Township and the southwest part of Chippewa Township to the north. The town is the home to the characters of Jef Mallett's ''

Frazz ''Frazz'' is a syndicated comic strip by Jef Mallett about school custodian Edwin "Frazz" Frazier and the school and students where he works. The strip debuted on April 2, 2001, and , appears in over 250 newspapers and is read by tens of thous ...

'', a comic strip about a school

janitor A cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of Industry (economics), industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter ...

named Edwin "Frazz" Frazier, a

Renaissance man A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

and ultra-triathlete. His bored genius sidekick Caulfield, girlfriend Jane Plainwell, friend James Burke, boss Mr. Spaetzle, discordant teacher Mrs. Olsen, and athletic adversary Coach Hacker all reside in Rodney, and are (except for Caulfield, who is a student) staff at the fictional Bryson Elementary School.49342 5-Digit ZCTA, 493 3-Digit ZCTA - Reference Map - American FactFinder
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 census

Geography

Colfax Township is in central Mecosta County, with

Big Rapids Big Rapids is a city and the county seat, seat of government of Mecosta County, Michigan, United States. The population was 7,727 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 10,601 in 2010 United States census, 2010. The city is sur ...

, 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 ...

, west of the township's western border. State highway M-20 passes through the center of the township, connecting Big Rapids to the west with Rodney on the eastern edge of the township, then continuing southeast to the village of Mecosta. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the township has a total area of , of which are land and , or 2.06%, are water. The majority of the township drains west to the

Muskegon River The Muskegon River ( ) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 21, 2011 river in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Fr ...

, which crosses the township's southwest corner. The southeast corner of the township drains to the West Branch of the

Little Muskegon River The Little Muskegon River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed November 21, 2011 tributary of the Muskegon River in western Michigan in the United States. Flowing primari ...

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 1,975 people, 734 households, and 566 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 806 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 96.76%

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 ...

, 0.46%

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 ...

, 0.30% Native American, 0.61% 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 ...

, and 1.82% 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 0.41% of the population. There were 734 households, out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.6% 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, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.8% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.05. In the township the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males. The median income for a household in the township was $46,071, and the median income for a family was $50,917. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $23,938 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 $19,418. About 5.9% of families and 8.9% 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 6.8% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

Notes

Sources

* {{authority control Townships in Mecosta County, Michigan 1869 establishments in Michigan Townships in Michigan