Green Lake 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
Grand Traverse 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 6,703 at the
2020 census, an increase from 5,784 at the
2010 census. The township is named after
Green Lake, one of two large lakes in the township (the other being
Duck Lake).
The township is the home of
Interlochen Center for the Arts, an
arts
The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
.
Interlochen State Park is also within the township.
History
Green Lake Township was organized in 1883, from part of
Blair Township. This makes it the newest township in Grand Traverse County.
Interlochen Center for the Arts was established in Green Lake Township in 1928 by
Joseph E. Maddy.
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 is land and (19.10%) is water. The township is located in the west of Grand Traverse County, sharing a boundary with
Benzie County.
Green Lake Township's most notable features are the two large lakes within its borders,
Green Lake and
Duck Lake. Interlochen Center for the Arts and
Interlochen State Park are located on the
isthmus between these two lakes. Additionally, a small portion of
Long Lake extends into Green Lake Township from the north. The
headwaters of the Platte River at Long Lake are within the township.
The
Green Lake Airport is a small, unpaved airport located in the south of the township.
Adjacent townships
*
Long Lake Township (north)
*
Garfield Township (northeast)
*
Blair Township (east)
*
Mayfield Township (southeast)
*
Grant Township (south)
*
Colfax Township,
Benzie County (southwest)
*
Inland Township, Benzie County (west)
*
Almira Township, Benzie County (northwest)
Major highways
* runs east–west through the township. To the west, the highway enters
Benzie County, and runs south along
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
. To the east, the highway turns northbound, and runs through
Traverse City. Further north, the highway runs north, again along Lake Michigan, to
Mackinaw City via
Charlevoix and
Petoskey.
* is a former highway that ran entirely within Green Lake Township. A north–south highway, it connected US 31 to Interlochen Center for the Arts and Interlochen State Park, along a road now known as J. Maddy Parkway.
Communities
*Diamond Park is a small resort community on the western shores of Green Lake ().
*Duck Lake Park is a small community on the southeastern shore of Duck Lake ().
*Duck Lake Peninsula is a residential community on the peninsula in Duck Lake ().
*
Interlochen is a
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 ...
within the township known for the
Interlochen Center for the Arts ().
*
Monroe 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 ...
on the border with
Blair Township ()
*Peninsula Resort is a ghost town and residential community on the peninsula in Green Lake ()
*
Wylie is a ghost town that has been enveloped by the
Interlochen Center for the Arts ().
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 2020, there were 6,703 people, 2,437 households, residing in the township. The population density was . The racial makeup of the township was 93.2%
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 ...
, 0.8%
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 ...
, 0.7%
Native American, 0%
Asian, 0.5%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
,and 2% 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 4.8% of the population.
There were 2,437 households, out of which 16% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 15.2% had someone living in the dwelling who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5.
In the township the population was not very spread out, with 16% under the age of 18, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. 68.8% of the township fell into the 18-65 age range. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 males, there were 96.8 females.
The median income for a household in the township was $72,656, and the per capita income was $35,652. About 6.9% 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 ...
.
References
{{authority control
Townships in Grand Traverse County, Michigan
Townships in Michigan
Traverse City metropolitan area