Fife Lake 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 ...

of Grand Traverse 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, ...

. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 1,526, a slight increase from 1,517 at the 2000 census. The

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 ...

of Fife Lake is located within the township.

Communities

* Fife Lake is a village within the township at the junction of

U.S. Route 131 US Highway 131 (US 131) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway, of which all but 0.64 of its 269.96 miles (1.03 of 434.46 km) are within the state of Michigan. The highway starts in rural Indiana south of the state lin ...

and M-186. *Hodge, a ghost town () *Holmes, a ghost town () *McManus Corner, a ghost town () * Walton 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 township near the junction of US 131 and

M-113 The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed and produced by the FMC Corporation. The M113 was sent to United States Army Europe in 1961 to replace the mechanized infantry's M59 armored personnel carrier, M59 A ...

at . Walton Junction is a place just north of the community, named for the junction of two railroad lines, and is now at the junction of US 131 and M-113.

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 township has a total area of , of which is land and (4.34%) is water. Fife Lake Township forms the southeastern corner of Grand Traverse County. It shares boundaries with Kalkaska County, to the east, Missaukee County, to the southeast, and Wexford County, to the south.

Adjacent townships

* Union Township, Grand Traverse County (north) * Boardman Township, Kalkaska County (northeast) * Springfield Township, Kalkaska County (east) * Bloomfield Township, Missaukee County (southeast) * Liberty Township, Wexford County (south) * Greenwood Township, Wexford County (southwest) * Paradise Township, Grand Traverse County (west)

Major highways

* runs northeast–southwest through the township, skirting west of the village of Fife Lake. The highway exits east into Kalkaska County, and south into Wexford County. South of the Wexford County line, the highway converts to a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

. * primarily runs north–south through Fife Lake Township, beginning at a junction with US 131 near Walton. However, in the northwest of the township, the highway makes a 90-degree curve, running due west through Kingsley, ending south of Traverse City at a junction with M-37 * is a short highway between M-113 and US 131. The highway is located entirely within Fife Lake Township, serving as a connector between M-113 and the village of Fife Lake.

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 1,517 people, 562 households, and 397 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 779 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 90.44%

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 ...

, 4.88%

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 ...

, 1.71% Native American, 0.07%

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 ...

, 0.26% from other races, and 2.64% 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 0.92% of the population. There were 562 households, out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% 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, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.91. In the township the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 118.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 124.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $36,667, and the median income for a family was $42,813. Males had a median income of $28,977 versus $21,736 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 $18,739. About 6.5% of families and 8.7% 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 10.8% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Official Fife Lake Township website
{{authority control Townships in Grand Traverse County, Michigan Townships in Michigan Traverse City metropolitan area