Powers is a village in Menominee County 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 381 at the 2020 census, down from 422 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. Located within Spalding Township, it is part of the Marinette micropolitan area.

History

At an early date, the place was called "Menominee River Junction", because here was the junction between the main railroad line and the Menominee River Branch.Stennett, William H. 1908. ''A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways.'' Chicago, p. 115. The origin of the name "Powers" is uncertain. Several sources claim the village was named after Edward Powers, a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

involved in building the railroad there. Another source claims the village was founded in 1872 and named after Tom Powers, an engineer for the Chicago & North Western Railroad.

Geography

Powers is in north-central Menominee County at the junction of U.S. Routes 2 and 41, which meet in the northeast corner of the village. US 2 leads west to Iron Mountain, while US 41 leads south to

Menominee The Menominee ( ; meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recognized tribe of Na ...

, 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 ...

. The two concurrent highways lead east to

Escanaba Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city and the county seat of Delta County, Michigan, Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula. The popu ...

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 ...

. Powers is bordered to the northeast by the unincorporated community of Spalding. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it recorded as land. The Cedar River flows briefly through the northern portion of the village.

Demographics

2010 census

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 2010, there were 422 people, 135 households, and 63 families living in the village. 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 141 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.3%

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 ...

, 0.9% Native American, 0.2% Asian, and 0.5% from other 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 0.9% of the population. There were 135 households, of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.6% 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, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 53.3% were non-families. 48.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 26.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.94 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the village was 65.1 years. 11.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16.1% were from 25 to 44; 17.1% were from 45 to 64; and 50.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 41.5% male and 58.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 430 people, 124 households, and 59 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 146 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.67%

, 0.47% Native American, and 1.86% from two or more races. There were 124 households, out of which 14.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were

living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.4% were non-families. 45.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 28.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.85. In the village, the population was spread out, with 9.5% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 13.7% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 54.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 68 years. For every 100 females, there were 62.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 60.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $20,250, and the median income for a family was $36,250. Males had a median income of $25,000 versus $20,625 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 village was $14,207. About 14.6% of families and 17.9% 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 19.0% of those under age 18 and 24.2% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{Authority control Villages in Michigan Villages in Menominee County, Michigan Populated places established in 1872 1872 establishments in Michigan Marinette micropolitan area