Vicksburg, Michigan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vicksburg is a village in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,320 at the 2000 census.

The village is located mostly within Schoolcraft Township on the east side, though a portion is also within Brady Township.

Vicksburg is the birthplace of the actor William Lucking.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 External links

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²). 4.7 km² (1.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (3.17%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 2,320 people, 908 households, and 629 families residing in the village. The population density was 489.5/km² (1,265.9/mi²). There were 956 housing units at an average density of 201.7/km² (521.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.38% White, 0.34% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.56% from other races, and 1.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.64% of the population.

There were 908 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the village the population was spread out with 28.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $41,780, and the median income for a family was $49,167. Males had a median income of $36,094 versus $25,573 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,178. About 4.9% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

John Vickers, the town's namesake, settled in the area in 1831. It was incorporated as a Village of the state of Michigan in 1871. A Michigan Registered Historic Site plaque reads [1]:

VICKERS' MILL: In 1831, John Vickers built a brush dam over the eight-foot waterfall on Portage Creek and erected a log grist mill. The mill is believed to have been the first mill in Kalamazoo County. The dam created a pond that supplied water power to the mill, and formed the sizeable Sunset Lake, around which pioneers built homes and set up businesses. Vickers died in 1842. On October 18, 1871, the village was incorporated as Brady, but one day later, a petition passed to rename it Vicksburg.