Leland 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 Leelanau 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 early 2000s, the unincorporated community of Leland, which lies totally within the township, was the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Leelanau County. However, county voters on August 3, 2004, approved a proposal to build a new governmental center in adjacent Suttons Bay Township; the move to the new facility was completed in 2008. As of the 2020 census, Leland Township population was 2,126.

North Manitou Island North Manitou Island ( ) is located in Lake Michigan, approximately west-northwest of Leland, Michigan. It is nearly eight miles long and more than four miles (6 km) wide, with of shoreline. It has a land area of 57.876 km2 (22.346 ...

is politically part of Leland Township.

Communities

* Crescent is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

on North Manitou Island. The community was settled in 1906, and was largely abandoned shortly thereafter. * Leland, formerly the

, 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 ...

within the township, situated on

M-22 M-22 are a British-German DJ and producer duo consisting of Matt James and Frank Sanders. On March 22, the duo met, through a joint production, which is the reason for their stage name. History On March 22, 2015, the duo met during a joint ...

at . Leland has ferry service to both

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Manitou Island South Manitou Island ( ) is located in Lake Michigan, approximately west of Leland, Michigan. It is part of Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The uninhabited island is in land area and can be accessed by a fer ...

. *

Lake Leelanau Lake Leelanau ( ) is a lake that is located in the Leelanau Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The lake is divided into two basins, usually referred to as ''North Lake Leelanau'' and ''South Lake Leelanau'', which are divided by the Lak ...

is an

situated on the "Narrows" between North and South

; Michigan highway M-204 crosses the Narrows here. The community is at . * North Manitou Island Village is a historic settlement on North Manitou Island. The community, located on the eastern shore of the island, was settled in the 1850s. The village became home to a U.S. Lifesaving Station in 1871. and In 1984, the village came under jurisdiction of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, and is historically preserved.

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 (68.87%) is water. The uninhabited

is located within Leland Township.

Major highways

* runs north–south along the 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 ...

. The highway passes through Leland. * is an east–west route that runs through the south of the township. The highway runs through the community of

, and crosses the lake of the same name. The highway terminates in nearby Suttons Bay, traversing the

Leelanau Peninsula The Leelanau Peninsula ( ) is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan that extends about from the western side of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Michigan, forming Grand Traverse Bay. It is often referred to as the "little finger" of ...

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 2,033 people, 818 households, and 589 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,550 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 93.90%

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 ...

, 0.69%

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 ...

, 0.64% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.10%

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 ...

, 3.49% from other races, and 0.93% 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 6.10% of the population. There were 818 households, out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% 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, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 24.1% 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 2.40 and the average family size was 2.81. In the township the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $46,629, and the median income for a family was $55,714. Males had a median income of $32,206 versus $24,231 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 $27,556. About 1.7% of families and 3.2% 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 2.7% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links