Thompsonville is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Benzie 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 village had a population of 451 at the 2020 census, up from 441 at the 2010 census. The village lies immediately north of the Manistee County line, and is divided between Colfax and Weldon townships. Crystal Mountain, one of Michigan's largest

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

s, is located just west of Thompsonville.

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 village has a total area of , all land.

Origin

Thompsonville was established when construction of the lines of two railroads, the Chicago & West Michigan and the Frankfort & South Eastern, crossed here in 1889. The village, originally called Lyndonville, was platted on July 23, 1890, and was named for Sumner S. Thompson,(4/12/1823-10/24/1889), who was the President of the Frankfort and South Eastern Railroad at the time of his death. Of the two railroads serving the village, the Chicago & West Michigan was merged into the

Pere Marquette Railway The Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes (North America), Great Lakes region of the United States and southern parts of Ontario in Canada. It had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and the Canadi ...

in 1900 and the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in 1947, while the Frankfort & South Eastern was acquired in 1892 by the Toledo, Ann Arbor & North Michigan, which in turn was reorganized in 1895 as the Ann Arbor Railroad.

Points of interest

*Thompsonville is best known for the ski resort located there, Crystal Mountain. *The junction between the two railroads AA Railroad and C&O Railway is known locally as the "Diamond Crossing". In 1982, C&O Railway made its last train through Thompsonville before the closure. 9 Years later in 1991, Tuscola and Saginaw Bay Railway train was the last train through Thompsonville. When the railbeds were razed, the "Diamond Crossing" was saved from the dismantling of the railroad tracks and moved. It can be seen with Caboose on tracks adjacent to the George W. Sharp Park. *A Michigan Historical Commission Historical Marker #2335 was registered in the fall of 2020 and is situated near the site of the Diamond Crossing.

Demographics

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 441 people, 183 households, and 112 families living in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 245 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 94.8%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 2.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 2.0% 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 1.4% of the population. There were 183 households, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% 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, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.8% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age in the village was 38.5 years. 23.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.1% were from 25 to 44; 24% were from 45 to 64; and 15.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 49.9% male and 50.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 457 people, 180 households, and 120 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 221 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.06%

, 2.41% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 1.09% from other races, and 0.22% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.22% of the population. There were 180 households, out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were

living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.12. In the village, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.4 males. The median income for a household in the village was $29,125, and the median income for a family was $31,103. Males had a median income of $22,500 versus $18,250 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 village was $12,104. About 12.8% of families and 13.3% 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 24.3% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

This climatic region has large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Thompsonville has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary Thompsonville
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References

{{authority control Villages in Benzie County, Michigan Villages in Michigan Traverse City metropolitan area Populated places established in 1890 1890 establishments in Michigan