Moran 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
Mackinac County
Mackinac County ( , ) is a County (United States), county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 10,834. The county seat is St. Ignace, Michigan, St. Ignace. F ...
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 1,029 at the
2020 census.
Geography
The township is in central Mackinac County, along the northeast shore of
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
. The southeastern end of the township touches the
Straits of Mackinac
The Straits of Mackinac ( ; ) are the short waterways between the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, traversed by the Mackinac Bridge. The main strait is wide with a maximum depth of , and connects the Great Lakes of Lake M ...
at the northeast end of the lake. The city of
St. Ignace borders the township to the southeast.
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 are land and , or 5.10%, are water.
Communities
*
Brevort 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 ...
in the township on
U.S. Route 2 at , approximately northwest of
St. Ignace. The community is not a part of
Brevort Township, which is adjacent to Moran Township on the north and east.
* Gros Cap is an unincorporated community in the township on Lake Michigan, approximately west of St. Ignace at
* Ozark is a mostly unpopulated historic locale in the township at .
It was the site for the charcoal kilns of the Martel Furnace Company and was a flag stop named "Johnson's" on the
Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway
The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway (DSS&A; ) was an American railroad serving the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Lake Superior shoreline of Wisconsin. It provided service from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and St. Ignace, Michigan, w ...
in 1882. A post office named Ozark operated from June 1884 until August 1966. The name was derived from the early
French name for the place ''Aux Arc'', meaning "at the bend."
Attractions
*
Father Marquette National Memorial
*
Fred Dye Nature Sanctuary
*
Hiawatha National Forest (part)
*
North Country Trail (segment)
*
St. Helena Island
Demographics
In 2020, the township population was 1,029.
References
{{authority control
Townships in Mackinac County, Michigan
Townships in Michigan
Populated places established in 1844
1844 establishments in Michigan
Michigan populated places on Lake Michigan