Mathias 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 Alger 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 554 at the 2010 census. In 2020, its population was 532.

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 , or 1.87%, is water.

Communities

*Trenary 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 ...

at . The town's name is familiar to many in the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...

, especially in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula of ...

. A food product from Trenary is "Trenary Toast", a style of Finnish

rusk A rusk is a hard, dry Biscuit#Biscuits in British usage, biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the ...

bread, based on the original ''korppu''. Average rainfall is per year, and average snowfall is per year within the township.Trenary, Michigan 49891 Demographics - Weather, Forecast, Temperature and Precipitation. http://www.clrsearch.com/49891-Demographics/Weather-Forecast-Temperature-Precipitation

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 571 people, 262 households, and 166 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 465 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 96.32%

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 ...

, 1.23% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.53% from other races, and 1.40% 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 ...

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to th ...

of any race were 1.40% of the population. Culturally, 30.5% were of Finnish, 13.9%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 7.3% United States or American, 6.8% English, 6.6% Swedish and 5.6% Irish ancestry. In 2020, its population declined to 532. In 2000, there were 262 households, out of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% 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, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.70. In the township the population was spread out, with 19.4% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the township was $25,167, and the median income for a family was $27,500. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $22,250 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 $16,135. About 15.4% of families and 20.4% 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 37.6% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over. As of 2021, its median household income was $53,125.

Outhouse Classic

Since 1993, Trenary has played host to the Trenary Outhouse Classic. This event is held on the last Saturday of February. The event brings in around 4000 spectators. Outhouse race participants build

outhouse An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket ...

s of their own design mounted on skis. The outhouse must have a

toilet seat A toilet seat is a hinged unit consisting of a round or oval open seat, and usually a lid, which is bolted onto the bowl of a toilet used in a sitting position (as opposed to a squat toilet). The seat can be either for a flush toilet or a dry ...

, roll of toilet paper, and skis. Participants push the outhouse and across the finish line. The race takes place on Trenary's Main Street. There are several categories to win in, including kids age 6–10, kids 16–20, adults 21–35, adults 36-49 and adults 50 and over.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Townships in Alger County, Michigan Townships in Michigan