Howard City, Michigan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Howard City is a village in Montcalm County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,585 at the 2000 census.
[edit] History
Howard City was established in 1868, and the arrival of the railroad enhanced development in the area. Main street was initially constructed on Ensley street, which was named after early settler Benjamin Ensley, but in 1883 many of the wooden buildings on Ensley street burned down. Main street was then shifted over to Edgerton street, where it still stands today. The Hudson Knife factory and The Skinner and Steenman sideboard factory were two of the earliest businesses. Later, Hudson Knife Co. went through changes and became the Joslin and eventually Olsen Knife Company, which had somewhat famous jingle "Fatty Fatty run for your life, here comes Skinny with an Olsen Knife." Howard City schools were combined with Sand Lake schools to the south in 1962, and renamed Tri County, because students from Kent, Montcalm, and Newaygo counties all attended. The school still runs under the same moniker today.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 6.5 km² (2.5 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 1,585 people, 576 households, and 410 families residing in the village. The population density was 243.8/km² (631.5/mi²). There were 626 housing units at an average density of 96.3/km² (249.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 95.90% White, 0.19% African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.95% from other races, and 2.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.59% of the population.
There were 576 households out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the village the population was spread out with 32.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $34,556, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $32,241 versus $22,917 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,076. About 5.7% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.
