Royal Oak 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 ...

Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Pontiac, and its largest city is Troy. As of the ...

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, ...

. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak Township borders Detroit to the north, roughly north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population of 2,374. It is independent of the city of Royal Oak. The township is the only remaining unincorporated portion of the original Royal Oak

survey township A survey township, sometimes called a Congressional township or just township, as used by the United States Public Land Survey System and by Canada's Dominion Land Survey is a nominally-square area of land that is nominally six survey miles (a ...

, which was organized in 1833. With a present-day area of , Royal Oak Charter Township is the state's smallest charter township by area and the second-smallest overall township in the state after Novi Township.

History

Royal Oak Township was established in 1833 as a regular, civil township, and at one time consisted of all or parts of the following modern cities:

Hazel Park Hazel Park is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Hazel Park borders Detroit to the north, roughly north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 14,983. Haz ...

, Ferndale, Oak Park, Madison Heights, Pleasant Ridge, Huntington Woods,

Royal Oak The Royal Oak was the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House ...

, Berkley, and Clawson. The township began to shrink beginning in 1921 with the incorporation of the cities above. To provide greater protection from easy annexation, the township incorporated as a

in 1972. Currently, the township has neither its own police department nor a post office. Its police department was disbanded in 1998.

2003 and 2004 annexations

From the incorporation of Madison Heights in 1955 to 2004, the township consisted of two small non-contiguous parts within Oakland County. The larger portion lies along Eight Mile Road, adjacent to the cities of

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 ...

, Oak Park, and Ferndale. A second portion, located to the northwest and bordering Oak Park and Southfield, was the subject of a series of annexations and conditional land transfers in 2003 & 2004 Two property-initiated annexation elections in 2003 consisted of Crown Pointe Plaza office complex, Lincoln Towers Apartments, Biarritz Club/Rue Versailles Apartments, in which the township was estimated to have lost 20% of its property tax value to Oak Park. The property owners cited lower taxes in the city of Oak Park and poor relations with the township's government as reasons for seeking annexation. Two additional property owners initiated an annexation to Oak Park in 2004, which involved the annexation of the Bridgewater Village Apartments and Lincoln Woods Apartments. Lawsuits were filed by the township seeking to overturn these annexations; to make the transfer of the territory to the city more amicable and to end litigiation, Oak Park initiated talks with the township on a

425 Agreement The legislature of the State of Michigan enacted Public Act 425 of 1984 which is also known by the title ''Intergovernmental Conditional Transfer Of Property By Contract Act''. It became effective March 29, 1985, and was subsequently amended in ...

in September 2004, which allows the transfer of territory conditioned on the sharing of taxes generated from the transferred territory. The 425 agreement, which was to run 35 years and covered all previously annexed areas of the township—except Bridgewater Village Apartments—plus the remaining unannexed areas of the township, was agreed upon by the city and township in October. It came into effect on November 1, 2004, the day preceding the election to annex Bridgewater Village and Lincoln Woods Apartments, fully completing the transfer of the northwest part of the township to Oak Park, and ending litigation from the township against the city. Oak Park amended the 425 Agreement on January 16, 2006, to bring in Bridgewater Village Apartments after resolving litigiation with the property owner concerning taxes and the associated costs of annexation.

Geography

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 , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,374 people living in the township. The population density was . 1,106 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township (including Hispanics) was 5.0%

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 ...

, 89.7%

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 ...

, 0.0% Native American, 0.0% Asian, 0.0%

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 ...

, 1.3% from other races, and 3.3% 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 1.6% of the population.

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 2,419 people living in the township. The population density was . There were 1,111 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 1.4%

, 95.3%

, 0.1% Native American, 0.0% Asian, 0.0%

, 0.3% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.

2000 census

There were 1,211 households, out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.1% 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, 26.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.5% were non-families. 44.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 3.02. In the township the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $23,710, and the median income for a family was $28,397. Males had a median income of $28,824 versus $26,382 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 $15,027. About 19.9% of families and 23.5% 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 25.8% of those under age 18 and 30.4% of those age 65 and over.

Government

, it is governed by a popularly elected 7-member board of trustees, which includes a township supervisor, clerk and treasurer as its administrative officers. For

public safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...

, the township contracts with the

Michigan State Police The Michigan State Police (MSP) is the State police (United States), state police agency for the U.S. state of Michigan. The MSP is a full-service law enforcement agency, with its sworn members having full police powers statewide. The department ...

for police services and the Ferndale Fire Department for fire services. For postal purposes, the community records its location as "Ferndale, MI 48220".

Education

The township is divided between Oak Park School District and Ferndale Public Schools.School District Reference Map (2010 Census): Oakland County, MI

Archive
.

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 ...

. Retrieved on June 29, 2015. The Clinton School District previously served Royal Oak Township. The majority black George Washington Carver School District separated from the Clinton district in 1945 as more African-Americans moved to the area. In 1960,

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

G. Mennen Williams Gerhard Mennen "Soapy" Williams (February 23, 1911 – February 2, 1988) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Michigan, elected in 1948 and serving six two-year terms in office. He later served as Assistant Secretar ...

consolidated the Carver School District, along with its elementary school, into the Oak Park School District because the Carver district no longer had sufficient taxes to pay for senior high school services, and no area school districts voluntarily took its students for high school.State of Michigan. "Carver Elementary School" In: Ashlee, Laura Rose (editor). ''Traveling Through Time: A Guide to Michigan's Historical Markers''.

University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is a university press that is a part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earn ...

, 2005. , 9780472030668. p

327.

Economy

At the northernmost point of the township lies Radio Plaza, bordered by Radio Plaza Street on the west, which serves as home to

Beasley Broadcast Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owns 57 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Bea ...

, and

Salem Media Group Salem Media Group, Inc. (formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher based in Irving, Texas, targeting audiences interested in Christian values and wh ...

's Detroit market headquarters, as well as Beasley subsidiary Motower Multilink Corporation's 993-foot radio tower.

WCSX WCSX (94.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Birmingham, Michigan, and serving Metro Detroit. It broadcasts a classic rock radio format and is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group. The studios and transmitter are on Radio Plaza i ...

WDVD WDVD (96.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a hot adult contemporary radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned and operated by Cumulus Media, WDVD's studios and offices are located in the Fisher Building in Detroit's New Center district near Downtown Detr ...

, and WMGC transmit from Radio Plaza.

WRIF WRIF (101.1 FM) is a commercial active rock radio station licensed in Detroit, Michigan and serving Metro Detroit as well as Windsor and Southwestern Ontario. The station is currently owned by Beasley Media Group. WRIF is a grandfathered ...

is based at Radio Plaza but transmits from the TV 7 tower on West Ten Mile near the Lodge freeway. Salem's AM stations

WDTK WDTK (1400 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Detroit, Michigan, and known as "The Answer." It broadcasts a conservative talk radio format and is owned by Salem Communications. The studios and offices are on Radio Plaza in Fe ...

and

WLQV WLQV (1500 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. It is owned by the Salem Media Group and broadcasts a Christian talk and teaching radio format. It uses ...

are based at Radio Plaza but use separate transmitters located near the cities of Highland Park and

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...

respectively.

Highways

* (8 Mile Road) runs east–west as the southern border of the township with the city of

Images

File:Motower Multilink Corporation Royal Oak Charter Township Radio Tower.jpg, File:Greater Media Detroit.jpg, File:Carver Elementary School.JPG, File:Royal Oak Towers - Royal Oak Charter Township, Michigan.jpg,

References

External links

Official Website of the Charter Township of Royal Oak
{{Metro Detroit Townships in Oakland County, Michigan Charter townships in Michigan Metro Detroit Populated places established in 1833 1833 establishments in Michigan Territory