Ira Township, Michigan

Ira Township is a civil township of St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,966 at the 2000 census. The township was created in 1837 and was named for Ira Marks, an early settler. A post office named Ira was established at a settlement on the north shore of Lake St. Clair in May 1851 and operated until June 1853.^[3]

Communities

• Algonac is a city to the east and the Algonac ZIP code 48001 serves a small area in the southeast corner of the township.^[4]
• Anchorville is an unincorporated community on M-29 situated on northern shore of Lake St. Clair at .^[5] The Anchorville ZIP code 48004 provides P.O. Box service.^[6] The Rev. Charles Chambille arrived in 1853 to serve the French living in the area, which was then called the "Swan Creek Settlement." Chambille dedicated a church in 1854, which became the nucleus of a village. In 1876, it was renamed to describe its location on Anchor Bay. A post office was established in December 1885.^[3]
• Fair Haven is an unincorporated community about a mile and a half east-southeast of Anchorville on M-29 at .^[7] The Fairhaven ZIP code 48023 serves most of Ira Township.^[8] The community was the site of a French settlement dating from before 1837 and named after the nearby stream, Rivière des Cygnes. This was translated by American settlers as Swan Creek and was given a post office with that name in October 1857. In February 1862, it was renamed Fair Haven.^[3]
• New Baltimore is a city adjacent to Ira Township on the southwest. New Baltimore incorporates some land that had been within Ira Township and is served by the New Baltimore ZIP code, 48047.^[9]
• Pearch Point is an unincorporated community on M-29 at the southeast corner of Ira Township on the boundary with Clay Township at .^[10]

Description

The township of Ira is a civil law township. It is bordered by 26 Mile Rd. to the north, Mayer Rd. to the East, Lake Saint Clair to the south and the New Baltimore city limit and County Line Rd. to the West. The township has lost lands in the south east to Clay township in the 1800s and to New Baltimore as well in the same century. Most of what would be the remaining square of the civil law township is under Lake Saint CLair. There are two unincorporated communities in Ira Township. They are Anchorville and Fair Haven. Fair Haven is often the mailing address of the community as it is larger than Anchorville. Both communities were busier and larger than today during the early part of the twentieth century when boats were the main business and transport of the area. The communities were also served by the now gone Detroit Urban Railway which was a regional transit line that ran primarily along today's Dixie Hwy. Both of the communities are along Lake Saint Clair. Most of the homes and businesses lie along Dixie Hwy which hugs the shoreline throughout the township. There is also a large trailer home community which makes up half the population of the township and is located along the western border. Most of the homes in the township along the water were old vacation cottages for Detroit or are large lakefront mansions. In the interior of the township there has been a number of homes built on large parcels from 5 to 40 acres (160,000 m²) of land. Most of the township is rural open space and farmland.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 21.6 square miles (56 km²), of which, 17.0 square miles (44 km²) of it is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km²) of it (21.42%) is water. Ira township is flat and rises slightly from the shoreline of Lake Saint Clair. Most of the township is rural and made up of woods, open space and farms. The shoreline is developed along the Dixie Hwy which hugs the shore and there are small clusters of homes at Fair Haven and Anchorville. There is a small industrial are in the north west section of the township as well. The primary tributaty which is centered geographically is the Swan Creek which brances off to the east and west out north of the township limits. The drainage area of these creeks is small but makes up most of the townships watershed. The shoreline is often sandy or has seawalls along private homes and the water is shallow near the land. There are a number of marshes in the township along the lake and the creeks.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 6,966 people, 2,677 households, and 1,833 families residing in the township. The population density was 411.0 per square mile (158.7/km²). There were 2,871 housing units at an average density of 169.4 per square mile (65.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 96.87% White, 0.82% African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.26% of the population.

There were 2,677 households out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the township the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.6 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $45,525, and the median income for a family was $49,741. Males had a median income of $43,472 versus $27,383 for females. The per capita income for the township was $22,115. About 7.8% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notes