Melrose 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 Charlevoix 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 1,405 at the 2020 census. The township was set off from Evangeline Township by the County Board of Supervisors in 1877.

Communities

*Clarion 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 within the township at . The settlement began as early as 1874 by John Darrah from Kent County, and his family homesteaded in the area by the following year. He became the first postmaster when the Clarion post office opened on December 8, 1879. It was named after

Clarion, Pennsylvania Clarion is a borough in and the county seat of Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north-northeast of Pittsburgh and is part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Clarion was settled in 1839 and incorporated in 1841. In the past, the s ...

. The community also received a train station along the

Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad at its height provided passenger and freight railroad services between Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, USA. The company was formed on January 18, 1854. Beginnings After grapp ...

. The post office operated until October 31, 1945. *Lake Junction was a historic settlement that formed around a railway junction that connected the Clarion and Walloon Lake train stations along the

. The junction appeared in Melrose Township on
1911 map
of Charlevoix County. *Troutdale is a former community located within the township on the southern shores of Bear Lake (now Walloon Lake). It was given a post office that operated briefly from September 11, 1879 until August 17, 1881. *

Walloon Lake Walloon Lake is a glacier-formed lake located in Charlevoix and Emmet counties, just southwestward from the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is now home to many vacation homes and cottages. Though the end of the west arm o ...

is an unincorporated community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

located along the eastern shores of

at .

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 (5.77%) is water. The township contains the eastern coastline of

Major highways

* runs south–north through the center of the township. * runs through the west-central portion of the township and terminates at US 131. The roadway continues to the east of US 131 and carries the C-81 designation. * is a county-designated highway that begins at US 131 east of M-75 and runs through the northern portion of the township.

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 1,388 people, 517 households, and 387 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 875 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.05%

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 ...

, 0.07%

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 ...

, 0.65% Native American, 0.07%

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 ...

, 0.14% from other races, and 1.01% 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 1.08% of the population. There were 517 households, out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.8% 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, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 19.7% 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 2.67 and the average family size was 3.09. In the township the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $41,000, and the median income for a family was $45,385. Males had a median income of $29,813 versus $21,620 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 $20,426. About 5.4% of families and 8.2% 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 11.5% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Melrose Township is served by three separate school districts. Most of the township is served by Wolverine Community Schools to the northeast in the village of

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

Cheboygan County Cheboygan County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,579. The county seat is Cheboygan. The county boundaries were set off in 1840, with land partitioned from Michilimackinac County. ...

. The southwest portion of the township is served by Boyne City Public Schools to the southwest in the city of Boyne City. A small southeastern portion of the township is served by Boyne Falls Public School District to the south in Boyne Valley Township.

References

Sources

External links

Melrose Township official website
{{authority control Townships in Charlevoix County, Michigan Townships in Michigan Populated places established in 1877 1877 establishments in Michigan