Richland 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 Missaukee 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 1,489 at the 2020 census.

Communities

* Lucas 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 at . It was founded in 1878 by William Taylor. A number of Dutch settlers, including Harm Lucas and his five sons, arrived in 1882. A post office was established on February 23, 1883, named "Lucas" after Harm Lucas, with Abraham Lucas as the first postmaster. The office closed on February 16, 1885, and re-opened on September 7, 1886, with Peter Van den Bosch as postmaster. The office was discontinued on June 30, 1957, and became a rural branch/station of McBain until 1972. * Garfield was a rural post office in the township. The post office opened on July 12, 1880, with farmer William N. Taylor as the first postmaster, and operated until June 15, 1882. * The city of McBain borders the township to the east (with half of its area incorporating land from the township). The McBain post office with ZIP code 49657 serves most of Richland Township.49657 5-Digit ZCTA, 496 3-Digit ZCTA - Reference Map - American FactFinder
U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 census

Geography

Richland Township is in the southwest corner of Missaukee County, bordered to the west by Wexford County and to the south by Osceola County. 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 0.20%, are water. The Clam River, an east-flowing tributary of the

Muskegon River The Muskegon 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 Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Fr ...

, crosses the northeast corner of the township.

Highways

* touches the northwest corner of the township. * forms the eastern boundary of the township north of McBain.

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 1,445 people, 486 households, and 393 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 558 housing units at an average density of 15.7 per square mile (6.1/km). The racial makeup of the township was 98.69%

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 ...

, 0.14% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 0.62% 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 0.48% of the population. There were 486 households, out of which 45.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.7% 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, 4.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.1% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.34. In the township the population was spread out, with 32.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $45,833, and the median income for a family was $48,947. Males had a median income of $35,250 versus $20,956 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 $15,834. About 4.3% of families and 4.6% 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 7.2% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Townships in Missaukee County, Michigan Townships in Michigan