Hagar 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 Berrien County 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 3,243. The township is in the north of the county with

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 northwest, Covert Township in Van Buren County to the north, Coloma Charter Township to the east, Bainbridge Township to the southeast, and Benton Charter Township to the south.

Communities

There are no incorporated municipalities within the township. The unincorporated communities of Riverside and Lake Michigan Beach (also known as "Hagar Shores") are within the township.

History

Charles Lamb and his wife came to the area from

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

in 1839 to become the first European-American settlers. The township was officially organized on March 25, 1846.Hagar Township
, Berrien County Community Development Department, August 2008.

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 , or 1.76%, is water.

Interstate 196 Interstate 196 (I-196) is an List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs for in the US state of Michigan. It is a Michigan State Trunkline Highway System, state trunkline highway that links Benton Harbor, Michi ...

/ US 31 serves the township with two interchanges, and M-63 passes through the township along the shore of Lake Michigan. The

Paw Paw River The Paw Paw River is located in the U.S. state of Michigan in the southwest portion of the lower peninsula. It is formed by the confluence of the north and south branches at in Waverly Township, Van Buren County, Michigan, Waverly Township in th ...

flows to the southwest through 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 3,964 people, 1,639 households, and 1,085 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 2,122 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 95.59%

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 ...

, 1.74%

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 ...

, 0.71% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.83% from other races, and 0.83% 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 2.14% of the population. There were 1,639 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% 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, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.94. In the township the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $38,614, and the median income for a family was $47,768. Males had a median income of $34,890 versus $23,924 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 $19,710. About 6.5% of families and 8.0% 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 6.1% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Hagar Township official website
{{authority control Townships in Berrien County, Michigan 1846 establishments in Michigan Townships in Michigan