Walton 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 ...

Eaton County Eaton County is a Counties of the United States, county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 109,175. The county seat is Charlotte, Michigan, Charlotte. The county was organized in 1837 and was ...

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 2,293 at the 2020 census.

History

Speculators began making land entries in the area that became Walton Township as early as 1832. Captain James W. Hickok became the first settler in 1836, and was the first postmaster of what was then known as East Bellevue. Walton Township was organized in 1839, with the second settler, Parlery P. Shumway as the first supervisor.

Communities

* The city of Olivet in the southwest part of the township is the only incorporated municipality in the township. The Olivet ZIP code 49076 serves most of Walton Township. * The city of Charlotte is to the north-northeast, and the Charlotte ZIP code 48813 serves areas in the northern part of Walton Township. * Ainger was a station on the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

at . A post office was established on March 16, 1882, with Carl F. Meads as the first postmaster. The name was changed to Thurman on February 13, 1889, then back to Ainger on May 9, 1889, and was closed on February 28. 1910. It is thought to have been named for state official Daniel B. Ainger. * East Walton was a rural post office named for its location in the township, operating from April 3, 1866, until January 17, 1864. * Five Points Corner is a named populated place south of the city of Charlotte at . The community is at the junction of four townships: Walton to the southwest, Brookfield to the southeast, Eaton to the northeast, and Carmel to the northwest. * Moore's or Moore's Station was a station on the Chicago and Lake Huron Railroad north of Olivet in 1876. * Walton is the name of a former post office in the township. It first opened on August 24, 1838, as East Bellevue, from its location relative to

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

. After Walton Township was organized in 1839, the post office was renamed Walton on December 31, 1840, and operated until August 17, 1849.

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 (0.56%) is water.

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 2,011 people, 699 households, and 564 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 732 housing units at an average density of 20.8 per square mile (8.0/km). The racial makeup of the township was 98.61%

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 ...

, 0.25%

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 ...

, 0.35% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 0.15% from other races, and 0.45% 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 0.99% of the population. There were 699 households, out of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.1% 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, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.3% were non-families. 15.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.15. In the township the population was spread out, with 29.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.0 males. The median income for a household in the township was $50,571, and the median income for a family was $51,500. Males had a median income of $39,531 versus $26,076 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 $20,034. About 1.6% of families and 3.1% 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 2.5% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Townships in Eaton County, Michigan Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area Populated places established in 1836 Townships in Michigan 1836 establishments in Michigan Territory