Columbus 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 St. Clair 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 4,112 at the 2020 Census.

Communities

*Belle River 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 ...

on Gratiot Road, just southwest of where it crosses the Belle River in

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

32 in the southeast of the township. It is about 17 miles southwest of

Port Huron Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Por ...

at . *Columbus is an unincorporated community between sections 10 and 11 in the northeast of the township, on Rattle Run Road between Rattle Run and

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

. It is about 13 miles southwest of

at . The ZIP code is 48063. *Snyderville is an unincorporated community on Gratiot Road, less than two miles northeast of Belle River in section 27 of the township. It is about 15 miles southwest of

at .

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 , of which is land and (0.38%) is water. The Belle River passes through the township and has two tributaries: Gillett Drain and Dawson Drain.

History

The creation of the Fort Gratiot Turnpike, now known as Gratiot Road, in 1832 led to the settlement of Columbus Township. Columbus Township was organized as a township on March 11, 1837. The Township was named for explorer

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

, and Theodore Bethey served as the Township's first supervisor. In 1839 the

Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad ha ...

opened a small train station. In 1859, a 12-year-old

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

was given his first job, as a newsboy on the

line between Port Huron and Detroit. In 1992, the moved the 1900-era Grand Trunk Railroad Depot located in Hickey to the nearby community of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. In 1845 the population was 315. In 1880, the township's population increased to 1,327, and by 2000 the population had grown to 4,615.

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 4,615 people, 1,533 households, and 1,266 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,595 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.01%

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 ...

, 0.09%

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 ...

, 0.56%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 0.37% 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 ...

, 0.69% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

, and 1.26% 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 2.30% of the population. There were 1,533 households, out of which 42.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.5% 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, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.4% were non-families. 13.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.29. In the township the population was spread out, with 30.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $61,063, and the median income for a family was $65,000. Males had a median income of $46,824 versus $29,931 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 $21,767. About 2.5% 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 2.8% of those age 65 or over.

Parks

The township has two parks. Columbus County Park is a 385-acre park that straddles Belle River. It offers fishing, hunting, hiking, sledding, kayaking, and horseback riding opportunities. It also includes a lodge. Funding to purchase Columbus County Park was made possible with a $2.23 million grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. The township's other park is a small roadside park on Gratiot Avenue located alongside the Belle River.

References

External links

* {{authority control Townships in St. Clair County, Michigan Populated places established in 1849 1849 establishments in Michigan Townships in Michigan