Shelby Charter Township, officially the Charter Township of Shelby, 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 ...

located in Macomb 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 township is an affluent northern suburb 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,408, up from 73,804 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 ...

. Shelby Charter Township is one of the fastest-growing communities in

Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...

History

Shelby Township was set off by an act of the Michigan Territorial Legislature on April 12, 1827, and a civil government was organized the following May. It originally included the area that is now

Sterling Heights Sterling Heights is a city in Macomb County, Michigan, Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Sterling Heights is located roughly north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had ...

, which was set off March 17, 1835, as the township of Jefferson, renamed to Sterling on March 6, 1838. Utica, located on the southern edge of the township, originally incorporated as a village on March 9, 1838, although that corporation was dissolved soon afterwards. The village was incorporated for a second time on May 10, 1877. The village of

Disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

() was located at what is now the junction of 24 Mile Road and Van Dyke Road. and was platted in 1849. The community never incorporated, although the local high school, the Disco Academy, gained some local recognition and a post office named Disco operated from May 5, 1854, until July 31, 1906. Only a few homes and a namesake on old county road maps remain of this now forgotten historic place. See also: "The Lost Village of Disco" on the Shelby Township Historical Society website.

Geography

Shelby Township is in western Macomb County and is bordered to the west by the cities of Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County. The cities of Utica and

border the township to the south. Mount Clemens, the Macomb

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 ...

, is to the southeast, and

downtown Detroit Downtown Detroit is the central business district and a Neighborhoods in Detroit, residential area of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Locally, "downtown" tends to refer to the 1.4 square mile region bordered by M-10 (Michigan high ...

is to the south. 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 , of which are land and , or 2.31%, are water. The township is drained by the Clinton River, a tributary of

Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair () is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day they first saw the lake. ...

Communities

There are no incorporated villages and four unincorporated communities: * Preston Corners is located at the corner of 25 Mile and Schoenherr roads at . Ira and Deborah Preston bought of land from the United States government in 1826 and settled on it the following year, later building a sawmill and a picket fence factory. * Shelby is located at Shelby and 25 Mile Roads (). * Shelby Village is located where Auburn and Ryan roads intersect. Housing was built in this area in the 1940s. * Yates is on the boundary with Rochester and Rochester Hills, Oakland County ( ; Elevation: 669 ft./204 m.).

Main highways

Shelby Charter Township sits on two main thoroughfares: ;State highways * M-53

M-53, commonly called Van Dyke Avenue or the Van Dyke Expressway, which leads north into

the Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of t ...

M-59, commonly called Hall Road when the expressway ends - which is the east–west connector from just north of Mount Clemens, through Utica as a surface road, and then becomes a limited access freeway to Pontiac,

, being the main northern connector between Macomb County and Oakland County.

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 2010, there were 73,804 people, 28,299 households, and 17,923 families living in the township. The racial makeup of the township was 89.4%

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 ...

, 3.1%

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 ...

, 3.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.5% 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 2.4% of the population. The U.S. Census Bureau defined Shelby Charter Township as a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in the 2000 Census so that the community would appear on the list of places (like cities and villages) as well on the list of county subdivisions (like other townships). The final statistics for the township and the CDP were identical. As of the

of 2000, there were 65,159 people, 24,486 households, and 17,923 families living in the township. The population density was . There were 25,265 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 94.95%

, 0.85%

, 0.24% Native American, 2.11% 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 ...

, 0.45% from other races, and 1.38% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.71% of the population. There were 24,486 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% 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, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.13. In the township the population dispersal was 24.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males. The median income for a household in the township was $65,291, and the median income for a family was $76,312. Males had a median income of $59,380 versus $33,844 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 $30,131. About 2.7% of families and 3.7% 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 4.1% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Shelby Charter Township has a Supervisor-Board style township government with elected supervisor, clerk, treasurer and four trustees. The Township operates the Shelby Township Library as well as Cherry Creek Golf Course.

Education

The majority of residents are zoned into Utica Community Schools, which serves parts of the communities of

, Macomb Township, Washington Township, and Ray Township, as well as most of Shelby Charter Township, and all of Utica. However, a small number of residents are zoned into Romeo Community Schools.

Notable people

* Robb Brent, racing driver * Joe Cada, professional poker player * Kyle Connor, former hockey player at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and current player on

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

* John DiGiorgio, linebacker for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

* Karl Iagnemma, robotics researcher and fiction writer * John Mazza, eight-time titlist on the

Professional Bowlers Association The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Mechanicsville, Virginia, and currently owned by the Lucky Strike Entertainment Corpor ...

(PBA) Tour * Justin Meram, soccer player who represented the Iraq national team * Jax Taylor, model and actor famous for his role on '' Vanderpump Rules'' * Greg DeLiso, model and actor famous for his role on '' Certain Burton'' * Shawn Fain, president of the United Automobile Workers of America

Notable places

* Stony Creek Metropark, predominantly located in Washington Township, and Oakland County; a small portion of the park extends into Shelby Charter Township. The park includes two beaches, golf courses, a nature center, a boat launch, picnic areas, basketball courts, a zip-line park (Closed in 2018) and more. * Packard Proving Grounds - National Historic Place * Yates Cider Mill and Yates Park, predominantly located in Shelby Charter TWP, with a small portion located in Rochester Hills and Rochester. The water-powered cider mill near the Clinton River includes a confectionery and cider shop, picnic and fishing areas, hiking trails and more. * Macomb Orchard Trail, partially located in Shelby Charter TWP, is a 23.7 mile hiking trail that stretches from Shelby Charter TWP, at its connection with the Clinton River Trail, through northern Macomb County.
Riverbend Park
a 600-acre public park whose main entrance is located at 22 Mile & Shelby Road. Amenities include the Burgess-Shadbush Nature Center, 18 hole disc golf course, walking trails, as well as a barrier-free playground. The site also offers fishing, picnic facilities, and several sports opportunities.

References

External links

*
Shelby Township Library
{{authority control Townships in Macomb County, Michigan Charter townships in Michigan Former census-designated places in Michigan 1827 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1827