| Official Name: | Bay Mills Township, Michigan |
| Settlement Type: | Civil township |
| Pushpin Map: | Michigan |
| Pushpin Label: | Bay Mills Township |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of Michigan |
| Mapsize: | 250 |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Michigan |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Chippewa |
| Leader Title: | Supervisor |
| Leader Name: | Roger Graham |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 253.7 |
| Area Land Km2: | 167.6 |
| Area Water Km2: | 86.0 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 1567 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation M: | 191 |
| Elevation Ft: | 627 |
| Coordinates: | 46.4547°N -84.6875°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code(s) |
| Postal Code: | 49715 (Brimley) 49728 (Eckerman) 49786 (Kincheloe) |
| Area Code: | 906 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 26-06070[1] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1625894 |
| Website: | https://baymillstownship.org/ |
Bay Mills Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 1,567.[2]
Bay Mills Township is in northern Chippewa County on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and is bordered to the north by Whitefish Bay of Lake Superior and to the northeast by the St. Marys River. By road, the community of Bay Mills is west of Sault Ste. Marie. All but the eastern end of the township is within Hiawatha National Forest.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 253.7km2, of which 167.6km2 is land and 86km2, or 33.92%, is water.[3]
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,214 people, 485 households, and 345 families residing in the township. The population density was 18.8sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 996 housing units at an average density of 15.4sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the township was 44.98% White, 51.40% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 3.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.99% of the population. 41.51% was of Ojibwe, 6.7% German, 6.6% French, 6.6% Irish, 6.2% English, 3.0% American, 2.7% French-Canadian, 2.6% Scottish, 2.6% Norwegian, and 2.4% Italian ancestry.[4] [5]
There were 485 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 23.7% 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 2.50 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the township, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.9 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $35,875, and the median income for a family was $39,286. Males had a median income of $25,714 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the township was $18,285. About 10.1% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.6% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.
In 2021, on Easter Sunday the Kateri Tekakwitha church in Bay Mills, Michigan burnt. A picture of the saint survived the fire.[6] That May of the same year, another fire broke out at the same church and destroyed it.[7]