Elk Rapids is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

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 village is the largest incorporated community in Antrim County, with a population of 1,529 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Elk Rapids Township, in the southwest of Antrim County, and is on the shore of

Grand Traverse Bay Grand Traverse Bay ( ) is an arm of Lake Michigan, located along the west coast of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The bay is separated from the rest of Lake Michigan by the Leelanau Peninsula. The bay is some long, ranges from wide, and up ...

, a bay of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

. Elk Rapids is located about southwest of Bellaire, 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 ...

, and about northeast of Traverse City, the largest city in

Northern Michigan Northern Michigan (also known as Northern Lower Michigan and colloquially within Michigan as "Up North") is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. The region, which is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsul ...

History

The first settler in the Elk Rapids area was Abram S. Wadsworth, from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. Wadsworth platted the area in 1852, calling it Stevens. A post office opened in 1854. In 1858, Wadsworth renamed the area to Elk Rapids, after finding a pair of elk antlers near the mouth of the later-named Elk River. In 1863, Antrim County was organized, and Elk Rapids was made the

. However, the seat was moved to the more centrally-located Bellaire in 1879. In 1892, Elk Rapids became a station on a spur of the

Chicago and West Michigan Railway The Chicago and West Michigan Railway (C&WM) is a defunct railroad which operated in the state of Michigan between 1881 and 1899.village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in 1900.

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 , of which is land and is water. The village of Elk Rapids is located on an

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

. To the east of the village is Elk Lake, the 15th-largest inland lake in Michigan and the lowest member of the Elk River Chain of Lakes. To the west of the village is the East Arm of

, a large bay of

. The Elk River bisects the village, flowing northwesterly from Elk Lake to Grand Traverse Bay. Elk Rapids lies about north of the Grand Traverse County line.

Climate

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 ...

, Elk Rapids 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 ...

, labelled ''Dfb'' on climate maps. This climatic region has large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters.

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 1,642 people, 791 households, and 478 families residing 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 1,179 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.6%

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 ...

, 0.7%

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 ...

, 1.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.2% from other races, and 0.7% 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 1.3% of the population. There were 791 households, of which 21.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% 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, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.6% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.63. The median age in the village was 52.4 years. 18.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16.3% were from 25 to 44; 30.9% were from 45 to 64; and 28.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 46.5% male and 53.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,700 people, 769 households, and 483 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,056 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.00%

, 0.29%

, 1.00% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.24%

, 0.59% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.12% of the population. There were 769 households, out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were

living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.83. In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males. The median income for a household in the village was $31,382, and the median income for a family was $45,179. Males had a median income of $30,845 versus $23,167 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 $19,735. About 7.6% of families and 8.2% 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 11.1% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

K-12 education K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the world. ...

in Elk Rapids is served by the Elk Rapids Schools district. The district operates Lakeland Elementary School, Cherryland Middle School, and Elk Rapids High School within village limits, as well as Mill Creek Elementary School in the nearby community of Williamsburg, in Grand Traverse County.

Major highways

* runs north–south through Elk Rapids, east of the central business district. US 31 parallels the shore of

, and can be used to access the nearby cities of

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...

and Traverse City.

Images

File:Elk Rapids Michigan Post Office.jpg, Post office File:Elk Rapids Michigan Sign Looking North.jpg, Looking north at the city sign File:Elk Rapids Michigan Welcome Sign2.jpg, City welcome sign File:Elk Rapids Michigan Looking North US31.jpg, Looking north on US 31 File:Elk Rapids Michigan Sign US31.jpg, Sign on US 31 File:Downtown Elk Rapids on River Street.JPG, Downtown Elk Rapids on River Street File:The Island House (Elk Rapids, MI).jpg, The Island House File:Elk Rapids Township Hall-Elk Rapids.jpg, Elk Rapids Township Hall File:Hughes House-Elk Rapids.jpg, Hughes House File:Elk Rapids River from US31.jpg, Elk River from US 31 File:Elk River.jpg, The Elk River File:Elk Rapids Michigan Welcome Sign.jpg, Welcome sign along US 31

References

External links

Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall AssociationVillage of Elk Rapids, MITownship of Elk Rapids, MIElk Rapids Public SchoolsThe Elk Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Villages in Antrim County, Michigan Villages in Michigan 1900 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1900 Michigan populated places on Lake Michigan