Harrisville 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 Alcona 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 1,307 at the 2020 census. Harrisville Township surrounds the city of Harrisville, but the two are administered autonomously.

Communities

*Springport 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 along U.S. Route 23 on the shores of Lake Huron at . The Holden family settled in the area after their boat blew ashore in 1846. In 1865, the community grew when Joseph Van Buskirk built a store and mill. It was first called Sunflower Hill but was also referred to as South Harrisville due to its proximity to Harrisville. It was later known as Springport due to the numerous coldsprings in the area.

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 (0.07%) is water. Harrisville Township has a coastline along

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

, and most of

Harrisville State Park Harrisville State Park is a public recreation area covering on the shore of Lake Huron off U.S. Route 23 in Harrisville and Harrisville Township, Alcona County, Michigan. The state park contains more than 100 acres of heavily forested land ...

is located within the township and extends into the city of Harrisville.

Major highways

* runs along the eastern portion of the township near Lake Huron. * runs west–east through the center of the township into the city of Harrisville.

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 1,411 people, 555 households, and 405 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 790 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.72%

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 ...

, 0.35%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, and 0.92% 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 0.64% of the population. There were 555 households, out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.2% 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, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.74. In the township the population was spread out, with 20.4% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 24.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $35,074, and the median income for a family was $36,685. Males had a median income of $28,500 versus $20,588 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 $15,907. About 7.8% of families and 9.9% 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 ...

, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Harrisville Township is served entirely by

Alcona Community Schools Alcona Community Schools is a school district headquartered in Gustin Township, Michigan, United States. The district has about 700 students and its service area has about of land in Alcona County. In 2000 the district was experimenting wit ...

References

External links

Harrisville Township official website
{{authority control Townships in Alcona County, Michigan Townships in Michigan Populated places on Lake Huron in the United States Populated places established in 1859 1859 establishments in Michigan