Hamlin 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 Mason 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, ...

. The population was 3,711 at the 2020 census, up from 3,408 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

History

Hamlin Township was organized in 1860. It was named in honor of

Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American politician and diplomat who was the 15th vice president of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republi ...

, 15th vice president of the United States.

Geography

The township is in western Mason County, sitting on the eastern shore of

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 ...

. Hamlin Lake, a dammed lake on the

Big Sable River The Big Sable River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed November 21, 2011 river in Michigan in the United States. It originates in Lake County in the chain of lakes kn ...

, occupies a large portion of the township, and the Lincoln River forms the southern border of the township. Big Sable Point Light and

Ludington State Park Ludington State Park is a public recreation area located two miles north of Ludington, Michigan, Ludington, Michigan, occupying between the shores of Lake Michigan and Hamlin Lake. The state park is crossed by a one-mile stretch of the Big Sabl ...

are located within the township along Lake Michigan. 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 are land and , or 20.21%, are water.

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 3,192 people, 1,343 households, and 992 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 2,123 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.43%

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 ...

, 0.06%

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 ...

, 0.56% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.60% from other races, and 1.13% 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 1.79% of the population. There were 1,343 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% 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, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.77. In the township the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the township was $41,594, and the median income for a family was $49,231. Males had a median income of $38,111 versus $24,750 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 $21,658. About 5.0% of families and 7.0% 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 10.3% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{authority control Townships in Mason County, Michigan Townships in Michigan Populated places established in 1860 1860 establishments in Michigan Michigan populated places on Lake Michigan Hannibal Hamlin