Galien (pronounced guh-LEEN) is a village in Berrien 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, ...

. The population was 513 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Galien Township.

History

The founder of the village of Galien was George A. Blakeslee. Born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, he came to Galien Township in 1853. He platted Galien village in 1861, and it was incorporated in 1879. The village straddled a fairly new Michigan Central Railroad completed in 1849 from New Buffalo to Detroit. Blakeslee operated a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

at the site of present-day Galien, and established a

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

. He purchased several thousand acres in the vicinity of the village and harvested the

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

for his sawmill operation. For many years after Galien was established, he was president of the village, postmaster, justice of the peace, member of the school board and later World Bishop of the Latter Day Saint's Church. Blakeslee Street was named after him and is located in the SE quadrant of the city plat. On July 21, 1971, fire broke out in a hardware store in downtown Galien and destroyed that building as well as a restaurant and a beauty salon adjacent to it. Another fire on October 18, 1971, extensively damaged a nearby IGA supermarket. Between the two fires in one year, the northeast corner of the business district was destroyed. Galien downtown business fire

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 , all land. Galien straddles U.S. Highway 12, and is located in the

Galien River The Galien River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 19, 2011 stream in the Michiana, southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river begins at the outlet ...

basin, being situated just west and south of the main stem.

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 549 people, 227 households, and 133 families living 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 255 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.4%

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 ...

, 1.1%

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 ...

, 0.9% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.3% 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 1.8% of the population. There were 227 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% 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, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.4% were non-families. 33.5% 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 2.42 and the average family size was 3.09. The median age in the village was 37.6 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64; and 15.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 593 people, 223 households, and 159 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 244 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.96%

, 0.17% Native American, and 2.87% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.84% of the population. There were 223 households, out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were

living together, 20.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.14. In the village, the population was spread out, with 30.9% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $35,250, and the median income for a family was $35,313. Males had a median income of $36,053 versus $17,692 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 $15,739. About 13.3% of families and 14.3% 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 22.0% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Villages in Berrien County, Michigan Villages in Michigan 1861 establishments in Michigan