DeWitt Charter Township, Michigan

DeWitt Charter Township
—  Charter township  —
DeWitt Charter Township
Location within the state of Michigan
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Michigan
County Clinton
Settled 1833
Organized 1836
Chartered 1978
Government
 • Type Supervisor-Board of Trustees
 • Supervisor Rick Galardi
 • Manager Rodney Taylor
Area
 • Total 31.2 sq mi (80.8 km2)
 • Land 31.0 sq mi (80.3 km2)
 • Water 0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)
Elevation 830 ft (253 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 14,321
 • Density 461.5/sq mi (178.2/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 48820 & 48906
Area code(s) 517
FIPS code 26-22140[1]
GNIS feature ID 1626183[2]
Website http://www.dewitttownship.org/

DeWitt Charter Township is a charter township of Clinton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 14,321 at the 2010 census, an increase from 12,143 in 2000.[3]

Contents

Communities

Description and history

The township is situated directly north of the city of Lansing, Michigan's capital city. Still largely rural, the township is quickly developing along the Business US-127 thoroughfare, and near its intersection with I-69. The township is also home to Lansing Capital Region International Airport.

DeWitt was named after DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York during the 1830s. It was first settled by Captain David Scott, who moved there from Ann Arbor in 1833, and platted the land. The State Legislature formally created DeWitt Township on March 23, 1836. The first township meeting was held at the house of Captain Scott on April 8, 1836. A gentleman by the name of Welcome J. Partelo was named the township’s first Supervisor at that meeting.

It did not take long for the State to divide DeWitt Township into the many townships that we recognize today. In 1837, the township was split in half by a North/South line with the western half becoming Watertown Township. Two years later, the township was again split in half by an East/West line with the northern half becoming Bingham Township. One day later, the Governor approved an act, which split the remaining township area in half by a North/South line with the eastern half becoming Ossowa Township (renamed Bath Township in 1843). The final split of the township came in 1841 with the northern half of the remaining land becoming Olive Township. In four short years, DeWitt Township went from encompassing the entire County to its current boundary.

The county seat for Clinton County was also located in DeWitt Township from the inception of the County. The county seat remained in DeWitt Township until December 1857 when it was moved to Plumstead Hall, in the village of St. Johns, until a new courthouse could be built.

In the early 1900s, the Lansing, St. Johns and St. Louis Railway opened the community to a new era of prosperity.

It was not until 1929 when the town was incorporated as a village, and then was no longer under the full jurisdiction of the township.[3]

The Village of DeWitt was incorporated into a city in 1965.

The Township became a Charter Township on November 7, 1978.

The DeWitt area was ranked as the 75th best place to live in the United States by CNN Money in 2005.[4]

DeWitt Township has three primary schools district; DeWitt Public Schools, Bath Public Schools and Lansing Public Schools.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 31.2 square miles (81 km2), of which, 31.0 square miles (80 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) of it (0.7%) is water.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1980 10,038
1990 10,448 4.1%
2000 12,143 16.2%
2010 14,321 17.9%

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 12,143 people, 4,839 households, and 3,450 families residing in the township. The population density was 383.5 per square mile (148.1/km²). There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 161.7 per square mile (62.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 94.16% White, 1.34% African American, 0.81% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.22% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.02% of the population.

There were 4,839 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the township the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $49,782, and the median income for a family was $61,202. Males had a median income of $45,013 versus $36,297 for females. The per capita income for the township was $24,624. About 3.2% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links