Norman 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 Manistee 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 1,567 at the 2020 census.

History

Norman Township was formed in 1911 and named after Ed Norman. He was a surveyor and estimated, bought and sold timber, cutting a lot of it himself. He located here in about 1897, and in the second year, E. G. Filer, who owned the standing timber, donated the school house. Norman and his wife Elizabeth had 16 children. During this time Ed was supervisor of Stronach Township. He cut limbs off his poplars at home and planted them along the road to Filer City. Mrs. Norman recalled that there was some criticism about it by a neighboring township. Residents from this section usually got what they wanted at Stronach. They thought it would be better to divide the township. Ed took about 200 men who were working on Stronach Dam over to vote and they won their point. Thus Norman township was formed in 1911. Dublin is where

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

, the voice of

Darth Vader Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...

, grew up.

Communities

There are no incorporated municipalities in the township. There are two unincorporated communities: *Dublin is in the southern part of the township within the

Manistee National Forest The Manistee National Forest is a national forest located in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It has a total area of . It was established in 1938, and combined with the Huron National Forest in 1945 for administrative purposes, creating the Huro ...

at . The main roads of the community are Seaman Road (north-south), Snyder Road (north-south) and Hoxeyville Road (east-west). Dublin is located just a mile north of Sand Lake Camp, a

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

public

campground Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

. Dublin is also partially in Lake County due to Sand Lake being in both counties.the late

was raised by his maternal grandparents on a farm in Dublin * Wellston is in the Manistee National Forest just south of M-55, about east of Manistee and west of

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

at . The main roads of the community are Seaman Road, Bosschem Road, Tippy Dam Road, and M-55. The ZIP code is 49689 and serves the northern and eastern portions of the township as well as portions of Dickson Township to the north and South Branch Township to the east. Wellston was named for the first postmaster, Adelmer J. Wells. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

officially opened June 30, 1892. The town was founded by the Swigart Land Company along the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad. Wellston is home to the world-renowned critically ill kids' ministry Little Mary's Hospitality House, founded in 1982.

Geography

Norman Township occupies the southeast corner of Manistee County and is bordered by Wexford County to the east, Lake County to the south, and Mason County to the southwest. 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 are land and , or 2.08%, are water. The Pine River crosses the township from east to north, flowing into Tippy Reservoir on the

Manistee River The Manistee River ( ', seldom referred to as the Big Manistee River) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed November 21, 2011 river in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. s ...

, which continues west to

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 ...

Climate

This climatic region has large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Norman Township has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Norman Township, Michigan
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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 1,676 people, 681 households, and 493 families residing in the township. 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 23.7 per square mile (9.1/km). There were 1,632 housing units at an average density of 23.0 per square mile (8.9/km). The racial makeup of the township was 96.00%

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 ...

, 0.72%

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 ...

, 1.25% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.42% from other races, and 1.49% 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 people of any race were 0.78% of the population. There were 681 households, out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% 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, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.82. In the township, 23.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 5.2% was from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.5 males. The median income for a household in the township was $31,010, and the median income for a family was $35,057. Males had a median income of $33,958 versus $19,688 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 $16,081. About 8.6% of families and 15.2% 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 20.7% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Norman Township community site
{{authority control Townships in Manistee County, Michigan 1911 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1911 Townships in Michigan