Montcalm County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 population was 66,614. The county is geographically located in the West Michigan region of the Lower Peninsula. 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 ...

is Stanton, and the largest city is Greenville. The county is named for General Marquis Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, military commander of French troops during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. The county was set off in 1831 and organized in 1850. Montcalm County is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Isabella County (northeast) * Mecosta County (north) * Gratiot County (east) * Newaygo County (west) * Ionia County (south) * Kent County (southwest) * Clinton County (southeast)

National protected area

* Manistee National Forest (part)

Major highways

* * * * * *

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 61,266 people, 22,079 households, and 16,183 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 25,900 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.83%

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 ...

, 2.17%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.60% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 0.64% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. 2.28% of the population were

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. 25.5% were of English ancestry, 22.5% were of German ancestry, 9.5% were of Irish ancestry, 6.0% were of Dutch ancestry and 5.7% were of Danish ancestry according to the 2010

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimate. 96.4% spoke only English at home, while 2.1% spoke Spanish. There were 22,079 households, out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% 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, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were non-families. 21.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.07. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.10% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 105.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,218, and the median income for a family was $42,823. Males had a median income of $32,635 versus $23,645 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 county was $16,183. About 7.40% of families and 10.90% 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 14.00% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The county government operates the

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Elected officials

Prosecuting Attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

: ''Andrea Krause'' *

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

: ''Michael J. Williams'' *

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

: ''Kristen Millard'' * County Treasurer: ''JoAnne Vukin'' * Register of Deeds: ''Lori A. Wilson'' * Drain Commissioner: ''Todd Sattler'' * County Commission:''Chris Johnston; Jeremy Miller; Adam Petersen; Patrick Q. Carr; Ron Baker; Scott Painter; Phil Kohn; Michael Beach; Kathy Bresnahan'' * Road Commissioners: ''Dale J. Linton; Bob Brundage; S. Michael Scott'' (information as of August 2019)

Communities

Cities

Carson City Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the 6th most populous city in the state. The m ...

* Greenville * Stanton (county seat)

Villages

* Edmore * Howard City * Lakeview * McBride * Pierson * Sheridan

Census-designated places

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

* Trufant

Other unincorporated communities

* Amble * Cedar Lake *

Conger ''Conger'' ( ) is a genus of marine congrid eels. It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to or more in length, in the case of the European conger. Large congers have often been observed by divers during the day in parts of t ...

Coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

* Entrican * Fenwick * Gowen * Langston * Sidney * Six Lakes * Vestaburg * Westville * Wyman

Townships

* Belvidere Township * Bloomer Township * Bushnell Township * Cato Township * Crystal Township * Day Township * Douglass Township * Eureka Charter Township * Evergreen Township * Fairplain Township * Ferris Township * Home Township * Maple Valley Township * Montcalm Township * Pierson Township * Pine Township * Reynolds Township * Richland Township * Sidney Township * Winfield Township

Education

The county has nine libraries, including the Montcalm Community College Library,

Public Library,

Community Library, Flat River Community Library, Home Township Library, Reynolds Township Library, Richland Township Library, Tamarack District Library, and White Pine Library. The county also has 8 public school districts, including Carson City Crystal Area School District, Central Montcalm Public Schools, Greenville Public Schools, Lakeview Public Schools, Montabella Community Schools, Montcalm Area ISD, Tri County Area Schools, and Vestaburg Community Schools. Finally, the county has one community college, Montcalm Community College.

References

External links

Montcalm County governmentIonia Montcalm Magazine website
* {{Coord, 43.31, -85.15, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MI_source:UScensus1990 Michigan counties 1850 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1850