Niles Charter Township is a

charter township A charter township is a form of Local government in the United States, local government in the U.S. state of Michigan. While all townships in Michigan are organized governments, a charter township has been granted a charter, which allows it cert ...

of Berrien 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 14,417 at the 2020 census. On June 5, 2006, the township board voted unanimously to approve a resolution for Niles Township to become Niles Charter Township.

Communities

The city of Niles lies mostly within the boundaries of township, but is administratively autonomous. There are no other incorporated municipalities in the township. Much of the township is considered to be part of either the Niles urban area or the

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

, urban area. Bertrand 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 southern part of the township at on the St. Joseph River approximately south of Niles. Joseph Bertrand, a

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

, had a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

here by 1812. He had married the daughter of a

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

chief and through her had acquired land. After the Potowatomi ceded their lands to the federal government with the

1833 Treaty of Chicago The 1833 Treaty of Chicago was an agreement between the United States government and the Chippewa, Odawa, and Potawatomi tribes. It required them to cede to the United States government their of land (including reservations) in Illinois, ...

, Daniel G. Garnsey obtained the permission of U.S. President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

and the consent of Mrs. Bertrand to locate a village on her land. Alonzo Bennett

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted the village of Bertrand in 1833 and became its first postmaster on June 9, 1834. The town was a stop on the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

road. In 1844, the

Sisters of the Holy Cross The Sisters of the Holy Cross are one of three Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Religious congregation, congregations of nuns, religious sisters which trace their origins to the foundation of the Congregation of Holy Cross by Basil Moreau in Le Ma ...

founded their first

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

in the United States here. The town gradually declined after it was by-passed by railroads. The post office closed on April 15, 1901. , Michigan Historical Markers

Geography

The township is irregularly-shaped, with a southern appendage consisting of a small portion of land lying between the St. Joseph River on the west and Cass County on the east and the

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

state line to the south. Bertrand Township lies to the west and south, Buchanan Township to the west, and Berrien Township to the north. Neighboring townships in Cass County are Pokagon Township to the northeast, Howard Township to the east, and Milton Township to the southeast. To the south in St. Joseph County, Indiana, is Clay Township, and German Township is to the southwest. 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 ...

, Niles Charter Township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.79%, 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 13,325 people, 5,252 households, and 3,744 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 5,522 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 93.30%

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 ...

, 3.03%

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 ...

, 0.56% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.83% from other races, and 1.76% 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 1.92% of the population. There were 5,252 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% 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, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.95. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $37,794, and the median income for a family was $44,446. Males had a median income of $35,037 versus $22,901 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 $18,249. About 7.1% of families and 9.0% 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 9.0% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Niles Charter Township official website

Profile of Niles Charter Township from Berrien County
{{Berrien County, Michigan Townships in Berrien County, Michigan Charter townships in Michigan