Liberty 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 Jackson 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 3,059.

Communities

*Cedar Bank had a post office from 1889 until 1902.

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 (3.79%) is water. Liberty Township is in southern Jackson County and is bordered to the south by

Hillsdale County Hillsdale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 45,746. The county seat is Hillsdale. Hillsdale County is the only county in Michigan to border both Indiana and Ohio. Due to an a ...

. The southeast corner of the township touches the northwest corner of Lenawee County.

U.S. Route 127 U.S. Route 127 (US 127) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 27, US 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 ...

forms the eastern border of the township and leads north to

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, 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 ...

. Most of the township is drained by the Grand River, except for the westernmost part, which is drained by the North Branch of the

Kalamazoo River The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to when one includes the South Branch.U.S. Geologic ...

Parks, campgrounds, or preserves

*4-H Camp McGregor is a small campground on Adams Road, with a forest and wetlands, and is on the shore of Crispell Lake. *Shady Acres Campground is a campground on Crispell Road. It is on the shore of Crispell Lake and has much foliage. *Grand River Nature Preserve is a nature preserve on Liberty Road. It is one of the headwaters of the Grand River; the other is in Hillsdale County. The area has some woods but is mainly wetland. *MacCready Reserve is a nature preserve on the west side of the township. It has of hiking trails. The property used to be owned by Thomas C. MacCready in the late 1800s, then after three generations of family, Douglas, Lynn, and Willis MacCready donated the land to

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

in 2001. The area has five hiking trails and is managed by the Departments of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife, MSU Extension, and MSU Land Management Office. The area contains many forests, rolling hills, and wetlands and a natural spring.

Lakes and ponds

*Crispell Lake - Crispell Lake and Round Lake are the largest lakes in Liberty Township. It has some wetlands on parts of it, but is usable for boating; it is fairly deep but nothing over . It has two campgrounds on it, 4-H Camp McGregor, and Crispell Lake Campgrounds. The lake has boat ramps. The lake is on the far east side of the township. Crispell lake has a sister lake right across from her called Mud Lake. They are only about a quarter of a mile apart from each other; sometimes when it rains a lot the two lakes connect. The only thing between them is Springbrook Road and woods and wetland. Crispell Lake is larger than Mud Lake and has boats on it and campgrounds, and has more of a population on it. *Grand Lake, one of the smaller lakes in Liberty Township, is at the headwaters of the Grand River. A small stream connects it to Mirror Lake upstream, which is about the same size. Mirror Lake used to be called Little Grand Lake and Grand Lake was called Big Grand Lake. *Mirror Lake is one of the smaller lakes of Liberty Township; it connects with Grand Lake downstream. Mirror Lake used to be called Little Grand Lake, and Grand Lake was called Big Grand Lake. The lake has much of its population on the west shore and south shores; the north and east shore are wilder. *Mud Lake is one of the larger lakes of Liberty Township. It is not very deep—maybe in some areas. It is sometimes considered a swamp because so many lily pads are on it in the summer, and no boats are ever on it. There are only a few houses on it, so it is pretty much all wildlife, with many waterfowl birds on it in the summer. It is one of the most scenic lakes in the township. Mud Lake has a sister lake called Crispell Lake, only a quarter of a mile away. They sometimes connect in the summer by a small creek when it rains a lot. Springbrook Road, woods, and wetlands are the only things between them. *Round Lake – Round Lake or Crispell Lake are the largest lakes in Liberty Township. Round Lake has more population on it than any other lake in Liberty Township, as the whole lake has houses around it, and it is fairly deep. Boats are allowed on the lake, and there are boat ramps and docks on the lake. There is also a public beach and playground, and tables. Round Lake's west shore is on the border between Liberty Township and Hanover Township. *Skiff Lake is one of the larger lakes of the township and one of the least populated. It may be the most scenic lake in the township, with many pine trees along the shores, and a few islands. A small stream leaves the lake and connects to the Grand River.

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 2,903 people, 1,073 households, and 857 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,186 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.97%

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 ...

, 0.14%

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 ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.41% 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 1.10% of the population. There were 1,073 households, out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.5% 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, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.02. In the township the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $55,046, and the median income for a family was $59,135. Males had a median income of $46,842 versus $29,323 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 $27,433. About 1.7% of families and 2.9% 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 3.8% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Liberty Township official website
{{authority control Townships in Jackson County, Michigan Townships in Michigan Populated places established in 1837 1837 establishments in Michigan