Clarence 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 ...

located in northeast Calhoun 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, ...

. It is part of the

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,903 at the 2020 census. The township was originally named Pinkney Township.

History

Like the rest of Calhoun County, Clarence Township was populated by

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

people before the coming of Euro-Americans. The first Euro-American settler came to the township in 1836. It was not until 1845 that a Euro-American settled at Duck Lake. This was Jacob Nichols, who still had Potawatomi neighbors as his only close neighbors for several years after this. The township was organized in 1838. The first school in the township was established the following year.

Communities

There are no incorporated municipalities within the rural township. There are settlements at a few unincorporated communities: * Albion Landing, on the southeast shore of Duck Lake at . *Charlotte Landing, on the east shore of Duck Lake at . *Clarence Center, about one mile (1.6 km) east of Duck Lake at . *Duck Lake, on the north side of Duck Lake at . All the historical settlements around Duck Lake are often commonly referred to as Duck Lake. *Rice Creek, about six miles (10 km) southwest of Duck Lake at . This place is actually a few miles away from either branch of the Rice Creek, a tributary of the

Kalamazoo River The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to when one includes the South Branch.U.S. Geologic ...

. It is situated at a crossroads separating Clarence Township on the northeast, Sheridan Township on the southeast, Marengo Township on the southwest, and Lee Township on the northwest. * The city of

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scot ...

is to the south, and the 49224 ZIP code for the Albion post office serves much of the southern area of Clarence Township. * The village of Olivet is to the northwest in Walton Township,

Eaton County Eaton County is a Counties of the United States, county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 109,175. The county seat is Charlotte, Michigan, Charlotte. The county was organized in 1837 and was ...

. The 49076 ZIP code for the Olivet post office also serves the northwest corner of Clarence Township. * The village of Springport is to the east in Springport Township, Jackson County. The 49284 ZIP code for the Springport post office also serves much of the eastern area of Clarence Township.49284 5-Digit ZCTA, 492 3-Digit ZCTA - Reference Map - American FactFinder
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 census

Geography

Duck Lake is the most prominent feature in the township, and is the headwaters for the

Battle Creek River The Battle Creek River (simply Battle Creek on federal maps) is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a tributary of the Kalamazoo River, joining it at Battle Creek, Michigan; the Kalamazoo River empties into Lake Michigan. The river's d ...

, which flows north from the lake towards Charlotte. Two other branches of Battle Creek also flow north out of the township. South and east of Duck Lake are a series of smaller lakes that flow into the North Branch of Rice Creek (a tributary of the

). A small area west of Duck Lake drains into Indian Creek, which flows into Battle Creek near Olivet. 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 ...

, Clarence Township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.40%, is water.

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 2,032 people, 796 households, and 599 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 996 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.29%

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 ...

, 0.54%

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 ...

, 0.69% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 1.18% 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 0.54% of the population. There were 796 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.3% 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, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.90. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $40,700, and the median income for a family was $45,122. Males had a median income of $35,821 versus $21,544 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 $18,713. About 11.9% of families and 14.9% 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 23.3% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Clarence Township official websiteClarence Township HistoryClarence Township History BookRice Creek
{{authority control Townships in Calhoun County, Michigan 1838 establishments in Michigan Townships in Michigan