Sumpter 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 Wayne 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 9,660 at the 2020 census.

Communities

* Ellisville was a community in the 1870s. * Martinsville 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 ...

located within the township at . The community was settled as early as 1840 and was briefly part of Van Buren Township until Sumpter Township was organized that same year. A post office operated here from April 7, 1866, until September 16, 1906. The Martinsville Cemetery remains in the area as an active cemetery. * Smithsville is a former community in the eastern portion of the township. It was given a post office named Woodville on April 12, 1852, and renamed Smithville on January 18, 1858. The post office was renamed again and transferred to

Waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

on February 19, 1872. * West Sumpter is an unincorporated community centered along the intersection of Karr Road and Wear Road at . The community was one of the first settlements in the township and was named after Revolutionary War veteran and later politician

Thomas Sumter Thomas Sumter (August 14, 1734June 1, 1832) was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served in the Continental Army as a Brigadier general (United States), brigadier-general during the American Revolutionary War, Revolution ...

, although inaccurately spelled as Sumpter Township. A post office named West Sumpter operated from March 24, 1874, until February 28, 1902.

History

Sumpter Township was designated Township 4 South in Range 8 East of Wayne County. The original survey was approved on November 5, 1819. Federal land in Sumpter Township began to be sold to individuals by the 1830s, with one land patent to Arthur Fuller on April 4, 1833. Sumpter Township has a brief history on their web page. Sumpter Township, including Township 4 South, of Range 8 East, was taken from Huron township and erected into a separate township on April 6, 1840, under the name of West Huron. Subsequently the name was changed to that of Sumter in honor of General

, Revolutionary war hero, but the engrossing clerk inserted a "p" in the name, which has since remained Sumpter. The township received its first settlers before it was set off from Huron Township. George Jewett, one of the first assessors of Huron township lived in what is now Sumpter, and Ira P. Beach was elected the first supervisor when Sumpter township was erected.

Geography

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 is land and (0.21%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census Sumpter Township had a population of 9,549. The ethnic and racial makeup of the population was 82.1% non-Hispanic white, 12.0% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% from some other race, 2.9% reporting two or more races and 2.6% Hispanic or Latino. 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 11,856 people, 4,110 households, and 3,164 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 4,563 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 84.68%

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 ...

, 12.33%

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 ...

, 0.52% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.50% from other races, and 1.79% 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 1.78% of the population. There were 4,110 households, out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% 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, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. 17.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.22. In the township the population was spread out, with 29.8% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.7 males. The median income for a household in the township was $48,680, and the median income for a family was $51,731. Males had a median income of $41,123 versus $27,397 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 $19,323. About 8.0% of families and 10.0% 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 12.6% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Sumpter Township is divided between four neighboring school districts. The entire western edge of the township is served by Lincoln Consolidated School District in neighboring

Washtenaw County Washtenaw County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 372,258. The county seat and largest city is Ann Arbor. The county was authorized by legislation in 1822 and organized as a county ...

. The north-central portion of the township is served by Van Buren Public Schools to the north. The southwestern portion of the township is served by Airport Community Schools to the south in Monroe County, and a small eastern portion of the township is served by Huron School District. The township itself no longer contains any public school buildings after Lincoln Consolidated closed Bessie Hoffman Elementary at the end of the 2009–10 school year. The school was built in 1965 and is located at 50700 Willow Road. Following its closure, it remains vacant.

References

Sources

External links

Sumpter Township official websiteSumpter Township Police Department official website
{{authority control Townships in Michigan Townships in Wayne County, Michigan 1840 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1840