| Official Name: | Fairbanks Township, Michigan |
| Settlement Type: | Civil township |
| Pushpin Map: | Michigan#USA |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Label: | Fairbanks Township |
| 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: | Delta |
| Leader Title: | Supervisor |
| Leader Name: | Ron Collins |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 775.0 |
| Area Land Km2: | 122.2 |
| Area Water Km2: | 652.8 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 299.2 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 47.2 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 252.0 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 297 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation M: | 177 |
| Elevation Ft: | 581 |
| Coordinates: | 45.6864°N -86.6572°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code(s) |
| Postal Code: | 49835 |
| Area Code: | 906 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 26-26960[1] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1625139 |
Fairbanks Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 297, up from 281 at the 2010 census.[2]
In 1867, the Jackson Iron Company had Fayette Brown build a charcoal iron smelter at Fayette, which grew up around the smelter and named after Brown. A Fayette post office opened on September 13, 1870 with Marvin H. Brown as postmaster. In 1891, the smelter was dismantled.
Fairport was founded in 1886 by fishermen who had relocated from St. Martin Island. The community was a commercial fishing port.
Fayette continued on as a small resort community until the mid-1950s, and then became a state park in 1959.[3]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 299.2sqmi, of which 47.2sqmi is land and 252sqmi (84.23%) is water. The northern Potawatomi Islands are in Fairbanks Township, while the southern Potawatomi Islands are in the town of Washington in Door County, Wisconsin. Part of St. Martin Island is owned by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians as a Tribal Trust Land.
As of the census of 2000, there were 321 people, 143 households, and 93 families residing in the township. The population density was 6.8sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 267 housing units at an average density of 5.7sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the township was 91.59% White, 4.98% Native American, 0.31% Asian, and 3.12% from two or more races.
There were 143 households, out of which 19.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the township the population was spread out, with 15.6% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.7 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $24,643, and the median income for a family was $32,500. Males had a median income of $28,214 versus $25,417 for females. The per capita income for the township was $15,327. About 14.0% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.