Gilead 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 ...

Branch County Branch County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 44,862. The county seat is Coldwater. One of the "cabinet counties", it was named for John Branch, U.S. Secretary of the Navy under President ...

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 656.

Communities

There are no incorporated municipalities within the primarily agricultural township. The only concentrated settlements are in two unincorporated communities: *East Gilead is just north of the

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

state border at . *Gilead is on the east side of Lake Gilead at . Its founding was largely the result of the efforts of

Philander Chase Philander Chase (December 14, 1775 – September 20, 1852) was an Episcopal Church bishop, educator, and pioneer of the United States western frontier, especially in Ohio and Illinois. Early life and family Born in Cornish, New Hampshire, t ...

, who came here in 1831 with plans to found a college. The college did not materialize, but the community did have a post office from 1833 until 1906.Walter Romig, ''Michigan Place Names'', p. 223

Geography

The township is drained mostly by the Prairie River and several tributary creeks. A small portion of the southwest corner drains into the Fawn River. 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 , or 1.65%, 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 753 people, 256 households, and 186 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 368 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 88.58%

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 ...

, 0.40% Native American, 10.23% from other races, and 0.80% 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 13.01% of the population. There were 256 households, out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% 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, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.08. In the township the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 131.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 127.7 males. The median income for a household in the township was $37,000, and the median income for a family was $43,000. Males had a median income of $34,063 versus $26,974 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 $17,256. About 5.9% of families and 18.2% 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 14.0% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Townships in Branch County, Michigan Townships in Michigan