Paw Paw, Michigan
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- There is also the unincorporated community of Paw Paw Lake in Berrien County about 30 miles west of the village of Paw Paw.
Paw Paw is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 3,363. It is the county seat of Van Buren County6.
The village is located at the confluence of the east and south branches of the Paw Paw River in the northeast portion of Paw Paw Township, but is politically independent. Paw Paw was incorporated in 1837 and is located in the southwestern portion of Michigan, on Interstate 94 approximately 20 miles west of Kalamazoo.
Paw Paw is a quaint rural location whose primary agricultural product is grapes, which are used both in the local Michigan wine industry and for juice and jellies. The St. Julian's and Warner's Wineries started in Paw Paw. Paw Paw has an annual Wine and Harvest Festival, which traditionally occurs the weekend following Labor Day. The Festival features a beer tent, bandstand, live music, a popular grape stomping competition among barefoot locals, carnival foods, and fireworks over scenic Maple Lake. Fine dining establishments in the Theater District cater to attendees of the Festival.
Paw Paw is named for the pawpaw trees which once grew along the Paw Paw River. However, the pawpaw trees are less common at present due to the clearing of the shade trees that pawpaws require. An experimental planting of pawpaw trees on the high school grounds failed to flourish due to its location in an open, sunny field.
Famous Paw Paw natives include labor leader and political activist Joseph Labadie, "Paw Paw" Charlie Maxwell, a former Detroit Tigers baseball player who was also known as "Sunday" Charlie due to his propensity for hitting home runs during Sunday games; actress and educator Loretta Long, best known as "Susan" on the long-running children's program Sesame Street, Tony-award winning choreographer Jerry Mitchell, indie rock band Berwer, Jason Babin of the NFL's Houston Texans, International philanthropist Marshall Bailly, and young adult fiction author Jeremy Brown[1]. Roughly equidistant between Chicago and Detroit, the village is also long-rumored to have been the frequent summer residence of notorious gangster Al Capone.
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[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 7.5 km² (2.9 mi²). 6.9 km² (2.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (7.29%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 3,363 people, 1,417 households, and 855 families residing in the village. The population density was 488.1/km² (1,262.5/mi²). There were 1,511 housing units at an average density of 219.3/km² (567.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 92.83% White, 2.85% African American, 0.83% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.19% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.97% of the population.
There were 1,417 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the village the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $38,750, and the median income for a family was $50,889. Males had a median income of $36,548 versus $29,559 for females. The per capita income for the village was $21,859. About 1.9% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Trivia
- The village of Paw Paw is referenced in the song "Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch" on Brian Eno's first solo album Here Come the Warm Jets. In the book More Dark Than Shark (ISBN 0571138101), Eno explained that the song was inspired by the case of a man named A.W. Underwood from Paw Paw in the late 19th century that was rumored to create fires by simply breathing on objects. [2]
- The musical Dear Edwina is set in Paw Paw.
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