Fenton, Michigan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fenton is a city in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,582. The city was incorporated from Fenton Township, but the city and township are politically independent.
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[edit] History
Fenton was first named Dibbleville after the first caucasian settler in the area, Clark Dibble, who moved there from New York in 1834. According to local legend, it was renamed Fenton as a result of an 1837 card game involving two men, William M. Fenton and Robert LeRoy. Leroy Street, the city's main street, was named for the loser. The city's original name survives as the name of one of Fenton's neighborhoods.
Fenton was incorporated as a village in 1863 and as a city in 1965. Today, Fenton has the fastest growing population of any city 25,000 inhabitants or less. An entirely new neighborhood, Silver Lake Village, for example, has been built around a contemporary open-air shopping area. U.S. Highway 23 runs through the city.
On the south side of Fenton lies the old Fenton Seminary. The wife of famed pragmatist John Dewey had attended the seminary.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.8 km² (6.9 mi²). 17.0 km² (6.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (4.65%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 10,582 people, 4,335 households, and 2,709 families residing in the city. The population density was 622.8/km² (1,612.5/mi²). There were 4,569 housing units at an average density of 268.9/km² (696.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.25% White, 0.60% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.66% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.80% of the population.
There were 4,335 households out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $47,400, and the median income for a family was $55,637. Males had a median income of $44,874 versus $30,435 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,435. About 4.4% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.
