Gobles is a city in Van Buren County of 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 2010 census, the city population was 829. It was originally called Gobleville, after its founders, the Goble family.

History

In 1864–1865, John Goble built a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

at this location. In 1870, a plot was laid out as Gobleville by Hiram E. Goble. Warren Goble plotted an addition to the original plot two years later. Hiram Goble also became the first

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

on April 16, 1872 when the post office was moved from Lake Mills. Gobleville was incorporated as a village in 1893. The current name of Gobles was adopted on April 10, 1922. Gobles was incorporated as a city in 1957. On April 6, 2012, a fire raged throughout downtown in which thirteen departments were called in. The various buildings that were destroyed were over 100 years old.

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 city has a total area of , all land.

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 829 people, 320 households, and 210 families living in the city. 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 347 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.1%

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 ...

, 0.6%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 1.7% from other races, and 4.3% 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 4.9% of the population. There were 320 households, of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% 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, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.24. The median age in the city was 37.7 years. 27.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26% were from 25 to 44; 26.7% were from 45 to 64; and 12.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 815 people, 314 households, and 209 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 333 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.11%

, 1.84% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 1.10% from other races, and 2.82% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.33% of the population. There were 314 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were

living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.13. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $26,917, and the median income for a family was $33,194. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $21,818 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 city was $12,804. About 16.4% of families and 18.3% 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 21.0% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.

Attractions

The

Kal-Haven Trail The Kal-Haven Trail, formally known as the Kal-Haven Trail Sesquicentennial State Park, is a rail trail in the US that originally ran between South Haven, Michigan, to a point just west of the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan, where there is a trail ...

, which runs from

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

South Haven, Michigan South Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city is in Van Buren County, Michigan, Van Buren County, although a small portion extends into Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan County. The population was 3,964 at the 2020 United ...

, goes through the city's business district.

Notable people

Tubby Meyers Melvin J. "Tubby" Meyers (September 5, 1887 – May 2, 1940), sometimes spelled "Myers," was an American college football player and coach. He was the first head coach and first captain of the Western State Normal football program, holding both ...

- college

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach for

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

, was born in Gobleville.

References

Sources

* {{Coord, 42, 21, 39, N, 85, 52, 46, W, type:city_region:US-MI, display=title Cities in Van Buren County, Michigan Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan area Populated places established in 1864