Metamora 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 Lapeer 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, ...

. The population was 4,368 at the 2020 Census.

History

Metamora Township was formed from the eastern half of Hadley Township on 2 April 1838. The name of the township was based on the character Metamora in the very popular 1829 play '' Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags'', which had a stage run over 60 years. This play inspired four new Midwestern towns to adopt the name Metamora — Metamora, Ohio in the 1830s, Metamora Township, Michigan in 1838 after the 1836-37

Toledo War The Toledo War (1835–1836), also known as the Michigan–Ohio War or Ohio–Michigan War, was a boundary dispute between the U.S. state of Ohio and the adjoining territory of Michigan over what is now known as the Toledo Strip. Control of th ...

caused the removal of Metamora from

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

to Ohio, Metamora, Indiana also in 1838, and Metamora, Illinois in 1845.

Communities

* The village of Metamora is located within the township, and the Metamora post office, with ZIP code 48455, also serves most of the township. * Farmers Creek 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 on the boundary between Metamora Township on the east and Hadley Township to the west. It was named for the nearby stream. John L. Morse purchased land here in 1833 and settled in 1834. John Look and family also settled here in 1834. Morse became the first postmaster on January 3, 1836, and the office operated until September 30, 1903. * Thornville is an unincorporated community at on the boundary between Metamora Township on the west and Dryden Township on the east. It was given a post office with the name "Amboy" on March 21, 1837, with Joseph S. Gibbins as the first postmaster. Benjamin Thorne, who came here from

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

in 1839, became the third postmaster on December 3, 1845. On July 14, 1854, the settlement and post office were renamed Thornville after him. The post office operated until June 30, 1905. * The village of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

is to the south in Oakland County, and the Oxford post office, with ZIP code 48371, also serves a portion of southern Metamora Township.

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 (1.59%) is water.

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 4,184 people, 1,533 households, and 1,214 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,634 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.28%

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 ...

, 0.17%

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 ...

, 0.33% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 1.48% 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 1.20% of the population. There were 1,533 households, out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.6% 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, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.06. In the township the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $61,250, and the median income for a family was $67,425. Males had a median income of $53,589 versus $34,107 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 $29,255. About 4.7% of families and 5.4% 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 4.2% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most of the township is in Lapeer Community Schools. Other portions are in Dryden Community Schools, and

Oxford Community Schools Oxford Community Schools is a school district headquartered in Oxford, Michigan. The district serves portions of northeastern Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County and southwestern Lapeer County, Michigan, Lapeer County as well as a small no ...

. Respective zoned high schools are Lapeer High School, Dryden Junior/Senior High School, and Oxford High School.

References

{{authority control Townships in Lapeer County, Michigan Townships in Michigan