Homer is a village in Calhoun 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, ...

. It is part of the Battle Creek,

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,575 at the 2020 census.

History

Milton Barney arrived from Lyons, New York the summer of 1832 to scout the area and returned that September with his family and workmen to settle on the south bank of the Kalamazoo River in Section 5. Soon after Barney hired Osha Wilder to layout the plat for the village of Barneyville on the SW corner of Section 5, SE corner of Section 6, NE corner of Section 7, and NW corner of Section 8. For more a detailed history of the surrounding area see the entry for Homer Township and Clarendon Township. Milton Barney built a store, a sawmill, and a hotel. In 1834 when a post office was registered, Barneyville was renamed Homer after the village in Cortland County, New York, at the request of many of the residents who had moved from there. Homer was incorporated as a village in 1871. According to Dr William Lane, the

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

natives were friendly and the children of settlers and natives often played together. Chief Ne-au-to-beer-saw, called Leather-nose,Michigan Historical Commission
"Letter of N.P. Hobart", ''Michigan Historical Collections, Vol. III'' Lansing: W.S. George and Company, 1881. pp368-370 and Chief Wopkezike are mentioned in many stories of the founding era. The native population was numerous until the autumn of 1840 when the U.S. Government forcibly removed the Indians to reserves west of the Mississippi under Authority of the

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States president Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, ...

and

1833 Treaty of Chicago The 1833 Treaty of Chicago was an agreement between the United States government and the Chippewa, Odawa, and Potawatomi tribes. It required them to cede to the United States government their of land (including reservations) in Illinois, ...

. Because of the peacefulness of the Potawatomi, they continued to co-exist with the settlers many years after the Treaty of Chicago until General Brady removed about 250 Indians of Hillsdale and Homer to Miami County, KS. Chief Ne-au-to-beer-saw drowned while crossing the Detroit River returning from his escape to Canada. The "old" Homer mills was built by a stock company of Milton Barney, Walter Wright, Nelson D. Skeeles, Asabel Finch, Jr, and Mr Platt in 1837–1838. This structure was later operated under the name Smith, Lewis, & Redfield. The property passed on to B. & E.R. Smith in 1860 and to Judge Emons of Detroit in 1872. This original structure burned on January 25, 1886. The heirs of Judge Emons sold the water power, land, and mill site to Cortright & Sons. The Homer High School varsity baseball team set the national record for most consecutive wins at 75. The streak started at the start of the 2004 season and ended in the state championship game in 2005. From 2003 to 2006 the varsity baseball team compiled a 143–6 record. Winning two state championships, in 2004 and 2006, and was televised on ESPN's 50 States in 50 Days segment on the state of Michigan. In the early morning of May 16, 2010, the "new" Homer mills, a local landmark, burned to the ground. The fire is estimated to be the biggest fire in the town's history since the high school burned down in 1943. The fire was so intense that the Homer Fire Department requested and received the aid of the fire departments of

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scot ...

, Albion Township, Sheridan Township, Marengo Township, Fredonia Township, Litchfield, and Concord. Fire trucks had to patrol the town, as ashes were raining down and posed the threat of setting houses on fire. The cause of the fire is unknown.

Education

The Homer Community Schools District serves Homer and Homer Township, Michigan. The district also receives a large number of students from surrounding villages & towns, who take advantage of Michigan's school of choice.

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 village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

2010 census

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 2010, there were 1,668 people, 615 households, and 435 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 722 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.7%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 0.7% 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 2.8% of the population. There were 615 households, of which 41.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% 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, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.3% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.12. The median age in the village was 33.5 years. 30.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.6% were from 25 to 44; 22.9% were from 45 to 64; and 12.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,851 people, 707 households, and 477 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 745 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.24%

, 0.27%

, 0.16% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 2.05% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.16% of the population. There were 707 households, out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were

living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.16. In the village, the population was spread out, with 31.3% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $35,542, and the median income for a family was $41,125. Males had a median income of $31,214 versus $22,829 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 village was $16,394. About 9.6% of families and 11.5% 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 17.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Greg Barton Gregory Mark Barton (born December 2, 1959) is an American sprint kayaker who competed from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. During his career he won four Olympic medals, including two gold medals, and four world championship titles. Caree ...

, Olympic gold medalist * Josh Collmenter, Major league baseball player

References

External links

Homer Schools Official Website
{{authority control Villages in Calhoun County, Michigan Villages in Michigan Populated places established in 1832 1832 establishments in Michigan Territory