| Bath Charter Township | |
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| — Charter township — | |
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Bath Charter Township
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| County | Clinton |
| Settled | 1836 |
| Organized | 1839 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Supervisor-Board of Trustees |
| • Supervisor | Tom Schneider |
| Area | |
| • Total | 35.0 sq mi (90.6 km2) |
| • Land | 31.8 sq mi (82.4 km2) |
| • Water | 3.2 sq mi (8.3 km2) |
| Elevation | 856 ft (261 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 11,598 |
| • Density | 331.0/sq mi (127.8/km2) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 48808 |
| Area code(s) | 517 |
| FIPS code | 26-05900[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1625889[2] |
| Website | http://www.bathtownship.us/ |
Bath Charter Township is a charter township of Clinton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 11,598, an increase from 7,541 in 2000. It is situated directly north of the city of East Lansing.
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Bath Township was originally organized in 1839 as Ossowa Township, having been split off from DeWitt Township by an act of the governor. It was renamed Bath Township in 1843 after Bath, New York.
Bath Township was the scene of the May 18, 1927, Bath School Disaster, a series of bombings of a farm, elementary school and car. The bombings killed 45 people and injured an additional 58; most of these were children in the second through sixth grades. The Bath School Disaster is the deadliest act of mass murder in a school in United States history, claiming more than three times as many victims as the Columbine High School massacre, and half-again as many victims as the Virginia Tech shootings. It was also the worst act of domestic terrorism in the United States until the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Disgruntled Bath Consolidated school board member Andrew Kehoe, upset by a property tax levy to fund the school building that he blamed for putting his farm into foreclosure, first killed his wife and set his farm buildings on fire. As fire fighters arrived at the farm, an explosion rocked the school building. A detonator that Kehoe had planted in the school ignited dynamite and hundreds of pounds of pyrotol hidden inside the school's north wing, killing the majority of the victims. While rescuers gathered at the school, Kehoe drove up, called the school superintendent over and detonated a bomb in his shrapnel-filled vehicle, killing himself and the superintendent, as well as killing and injuring several more. An additional 500 pounds (230 kg) of pyrotol that had failed to explode was subsequently found inside the school's south wing.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 35.0 square miles (91 km2), of which, 31.8 square miles (82 km2) of it is land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2) of it (10.0%) is water.
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1980 | 5,746 |
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| 1990 | 6,387 | 11.2% | |
| 2000 | 7,541 | 18.1% | |
| 2010 | 11,598 | 53.8% | |
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 7,541 people, 2,799 households, and 2,076 families residing in the township. The population density was 208.6 per square mile (80.5/km²). There were 2,931 housing units at an average density of 81.1 per square mile (31.3/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 95.20% White, 0.82% African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.77% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.76% of the population.
There were 2,799 households out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the township the population was spread out with 28.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $53,881, and the median income for a family was $58,825. Males had a median income of $43,548 versus $31,056 for females. The per capita income for the township was $24,675. About 3.8% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
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