Superior Charter 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 ...

of Washtenaw 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 14,832 at the 2020 census.

Communities

* Dixboro 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 . Dixboro was settled as early as 1825 by John Dix and was platted in 1826 by A. B. Rowe. The name was first recorded in 1828 at a time when the area was still administratively part of Wayne County until Washtenaw County was created in 1829. A post office opened under the name Dixborough, which was named after John Dix, on December 6, 1825. The post office closed on September 25, 1850. The post office was then restored on two separate occasions from July 11, 1861 until January 20, 1863 and again from May 26, 1890 until it ultimately closed on June 15, 1905. Even after John Dix sold his properties and moved to Texas in 1833, the community was growing faster than the nearby community of

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. However, the railroads bypassed Dixboro in favor of Ann Arbor, and the community slowly dwindled. The oldest structure within the community is the Dixboro General Store, which was built in 1840. * Frain Lake is an unincorporated community located within the township at . It is along Plymouth Road near the small lake of the same name. The name of the lake and community are sometimes spelled as Frains Lake or Frain's Lake. The settlement began in 1835 when Michael Frain from New York came to the area and purchased land in Superior Township. * Geer is a historic settlement that was named after early settler William Geer, who became the first postmaster when the Geer post office opened on June 13, 1890. The post office closed on August 31, 1900. A one-room schoolhouse, now named the Geer School since he also served as an elected school director, remains standing and is now a county-designated historic site. It was constructed in 1880 to replace an earlier 1829 log structure, and it was an active educational facility until it closed in 1982. It is currently owned by Plymouth-Canton Community Schools and used as a historic exhibit. * Superior is an unincorporated community located within the township just north of the

Huron River The Huron River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed November 7, 2011 river in southeast Michigan, southeastern Michigan, rising out of the Huron Swamp in Springfie ...

at . Robert Fleming bought the first plot of land here in the

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

in 1823. A sawmill was built in 1826, and the Bank of Superior was established in the community in 1838. A post office named Superior operated from March 2, 1838 until June 20, 1862.

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 (0.98%) is water. The Superior Dam is located in the southwest corner along the

Major highways

* runs briefly through the northwest corner of the township. * runs east–west through the township and has its western terminus at M-14.

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 10,740 people, 3,961 households, and 2,911 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 4,097 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 63.01%

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 ...

, 30.81%

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 ...

, 2.30% Asian, 1.83%

Hispanics The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term. The term commonly appli ...

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to th ...

, 0.47% Native American, 0.03%

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 ...

, 0.71% from other races, and 2.67% from two or more races. There were 3,961 households, out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% 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, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67, and the average family size was 3.10. In the township the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $56,622, and the median income for a family was $64,916. Males had a median income of $50,351 versus $35,417 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 $31,093. About 8.4% of families and 9.6% 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 15.0% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Superior Charter Township is served by three separate public school districts. The majority of the township is served by Ypsilanti Community Schools, and portions of Willow Run Community Schools also served the township until it was absorbed by Ypsilanti Community Schools in 2013. The northwestern portion of the township is served by Ann Arbor Public Schools. A small northeastern portion of the township is served by Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.

Notable person

* Harris Fletcher (1892–1979), academic, author, and leading authority on

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

Dixboro Ghost

In 1846, Isaac Van Woert swore in an affidavit to a justice of the peace in Ann Arbor that he had been visited by the ghost of Martha Mullholland, who told him she had been murdered by a doctor at the behest of her brother-in-law, James Mullholland, to keep her from returning to Canada, and who had committed another murder and dumped the body in Frains Lake. His claims were investigated but were not substantiated. This spectral visitation would later become known as the "Dixboro Ghost.

Images

File:Superior Township Michigan Original Town Hall.JPG, File:Dixboro General Store.JPG, File:Plymouth Road Facing East in Frains Lake Michigan.JPG, File:Esek Pray House historic site Superior Township Michigan.JPG,

References

Sources

External links

* {{Washtenaw County, Michigan Townships in Washtenaw County, Michigan Charter townships in Michigan 1831 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1831