Grattan 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 Kent 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, ...

. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 3,809. It is part of the

Grand Rapids metropolitan area The Grand Rapids metropolitan area is a triangular shaped Metro Triplex, in West Michigan, which fans out westward from the primary hub city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to the other two metro hubs of Muskegon and Holland. The metropolitan are ...

and is located about northeast of the city of

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

Communities

* Grattan (or Grattan Center) 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 ...

located in the center of the township at . Grattan was first settled as an Irish Catholic settlement in 1844. The community had its own post office from January 18, 1849 until February 14, 1906. * Parnell is an unincorporated community in the southwest corner of the township at . The community was settled with the construction of St Patrick's Catholic Church in 1848. A post office operated briefly in Parnell from January 4, 1889 until September 30, 1903.

History

Grattan Township was established in 1846, and named in honor of the Irish orator and politician

Henry Grattan Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (8.36%) is water. There are at least 25 lakes in the township, varying in size from to each. Many of these find a natural outlet through Seely Creek, the only stream of note in the township, and which empties into the Flat River near

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

in Ionia County.

Major highways

* runs east–west through the center of the township.

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 3,551 people, 1,235 households, and 990 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,428 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 96.90%

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 ...

, 0.70%

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 ...

, 0.23% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.51% from other races, and 1.44% 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 2.56% of the population. There were 1,235 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.2% 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, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.8% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.14. The age distribution of the township includes 27.9% of the population under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.5 males. The median income for a household in the township was $56,467, and the median income for a family was $62,148. Males had a median income of $44,813 versus $27,014 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 $23,213. About 1.2% of families and 2.3% 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 2.6% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Grattan Township is served by three separate school districts. The majority of the township is served by Belding Area School District to the east in Ionia County. A small western portion of the township is served by Rockford Public Schools, and the southern portion of the township is served by

Lowell Area Schools Lowell Area Schools (LAS) is a school district serving Lowell, Michigan. In addition to Lowell itself, the school district serves parts of the following townships in Kent County: Ada, Bowne, Cascade, Cannon, Grattan, Lowell and Vergennes. ...

References

Sources

External links

Grattan Township official website
{{authority control Townships in Michigan Townships in Kent County, Michigan Grand Rapids metropolitan area 1846 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1846