Chase Township, Michigan Explained

Official Name:Chase Township, Michigan
Settlement Type:Civil township
Pushpin Map:Michigan#USA
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Label:Chase Township
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within the state of Michigan##Location within the United States
Mapsize:250
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Michigan
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Lake
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Total Km2:92.1
Area Land Km2:91.7
Area Water Km2:0.5
Area Total Sq Mi:35.6
Area Land Sq Mi:35.4
Area Water Sq Mi:0.2
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:1153
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Density Sq Mi:auto
Timezone:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Elevation M:374
Elevation Ft:1227
Coordinates:43.875°N -85.6206°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP code(s)
Postal Code:49623
Area Code:231
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:26-14880[1]
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:1626064

Chase Township is a civil township of Lake County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,153 at the 2020 census.[2]

The unincorporated community of Chase is the only significant population center in the township. Chase is located where U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) crosses the Middle Branch of the Pere Marquette River at . The post office in Chase serves ZIP Code 49623, which includes most of the northwest part of Chase Township as well as the southwest portion of Pinora Township, the southeast portion of Cherry Valley Township, and the northeast portion of Yates Township.[3]

Both the community and township were named after Salmon P. Chase, the Chief Justice of the United States at the time the area was being settled in the 1860s. The community was first known as "Greendale", which was recorded through clerical error as "Green Dale". A post office was established with the name of Chase in March 1872. It served as the county seat until 1874.[4] The beginning of Chase as a community largely resulted from Charles Joiner building a sawmill, broom handle factory and shingle mill here in 1869.[5]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 35.6sqmi, of which 35.4sqmi is land and 0.2sqmi (0.48%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,194 people, 427 households, and 330 families residing in the township. The population density was 33.7sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 559 housing units at an average density of 15.8sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the township was 95.48% White, 1.68% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.17% of the population.

There were 427 households, out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the township the population was spread out, with 30.2% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.2 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $36,776, and the median income for a family was $39,375. Males had a median income of $29,821 versus $24,000 for females. The per capita income for the township was $14,882. About 11.8% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.4% of those under age 18 and 20.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: U.S. Census website . . 2008-01-31 .
  2. Web site: Explore Census Data . 2024-05-01 . data.census.gov.
  3. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/MapItDrawServlet?geo_id=86000US49623&_bucket_id=50&tree_id=420&context=AdvSearch&_lang=en American FactFinder Zip Code Tabulation Area map
  4. Book: Romig, Walter . 1986 . Michigan Place Names . 1973 . Wayne State University Press . Detroit, Michigan . 0-8143-1838-X.
  5. Walter Romig, Michigan Place Names, p. 111