Golden 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
Oceana County in the
U.S. state of
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 1,660 at the
2020 census. The township is home to the
Silver Lake Sand Dunes, and is located along the shore of
Lake Michigan.
Golden Township was established in 1864.
Communities
*Collinsville was an unincorporated community that grew up around a sawmill. It had a post office from 1872 until 1874.
*
Mears is an
unincorporated community and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
in the eastern part of the township at . The community was founded by mill owner Charles Mears in 1873. A post office opened in May 1873. The Mears
ZIP code, 49436, includes most of Golden Township as well as small areas of
Pentwater Township to the north,
Hart Township to the east, and
Benona Township to the south.
*
Hart is located to the east, and a small area in the northeast part of the township is served by the Hart ZIP code, 49420.
*
Pentwater is located to the north, and a small area in the northeast part of the township is served by the Pentwater ZIP code, 49449.
* Upper Silver Lake Improvement Association is a homeowners association comprising over 600 parcels in and around the Upper Silver Lake Area http://www.uslia.org
*
Shelby is to the southeast, and small areas in the southeast and southwest corners of the township are served by the Shelby ZIP code, 49455.
49455 5-Digit ZCTA, 494 3-Digit ZCTA - Reference Map - American FactFinder
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 census
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, of it is land and of it (4.14%) is water.
The township is bounded on the west by Lake Michigan. A portion of the Lake Michigan shoreline and adjacent land is taken up by Silver Lake State Park.
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 ...
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 ...
, 0.39% African American, 0.94% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 6.69% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.05% of the population.
There were 712 households, out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.4% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the township the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $35,878, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $32,321 versus $20,721 for females. The per capita income for the township was $17,934. About 9.3% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.7% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.
Recreation and tourism
Golden Township is home to many lakes, streams, and rivers. One of largest lakes in the area is Silver Lake. Silver Lake is a semi-circular lake with one side bordering the Silver Lake Sand Dunes. Silver Lake is an all sports lake where many people go kayaking, canoeing, boating, sailing, water skiing, wakeboarding, and more.
Silver Lake has a largely seasonal population due to its vast number of campgrounds, cottages, and summer homes.
The Sand Dunes are a state park and consist of a pedestrian area for hikers and visitors as well as a vehicle recreation area where dune buggies can drive up and down the hills. The Sand Dunes western border is Lake Michigan.
See also
* '' The Mears Newz''
Further reading
*
References
External links
Silver Lake Sand Dune Area Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control
Townships in Oceana County, Michigan
1864 establishments in Michigan
Townships in Michigan