CLARKSTON, MICHIGAN

'Clarkston', known officially by the somewhat confusing name 'City of the Village of Clarkston', is a city located within Independence Charter Township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan.

Contents

Overview

Public Schools

Demographics

Notable residents

References

External links

Overview

Clarkston is ideally situated as a "bedroom community" in the northern Detroit suburbs. Located with easy access to I-75, Clarkston offers residents an opportunity to be connected to the Detroit suburban life, while not engorging them in the traffic of towns located farther south in Oakland County.
The jurisdiction of the city government is limited to a relatively small downtown area commonly referred to as "the village". Those living in the much larger surrounding area of Independence Township refer to themselves as living in Clarkston and have Clarkston as a postal address.
Police protection during the day, 7am - 11pm, is provided by the small local "Clarkston Police", which only have two police cars. Overnight protection is provided by the much larger Oakland County Sheriff's Department and fire protection is provided by the Independence Township Fire Department.
The township is home to DTE Energy Music Theater.

Public Schools

The schools in the Clarkston Community School District are:

★ Clarkston High School

★ OSMTech Academy

★ Oakland Technical Center - Northwest Campus

★ Clarkston Junior High School

★ Sashabaw Middle School

★ Andersonville Elementary School

★ Bailey Lake Elementary School

★ Clarkston Elementary School

★ Independence Elementary School

★ North Sashabaw Elementary School

★ Pine Knob Elementary School

★ Springfield Plains Elementary School

★ Clarkston Early Childhood Center

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 962 people, 406 households, and 265 families residing in the city. The population density was 807.5/km² (2,106.0/mi²). There were 424 housing units at an average density of 355.9/km² (928.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.78% White, 0.31% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.10% from other races, and 2.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population.
There were 406 households out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $62,667, and the median income for a family was $90,189. Males had a median income of $66,250 versus $37,604 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,838. About 2.2% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.4% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.
While Clarkston has traditionally been a small town, the population is rapidly increasing and major housing and commercial developments are being built. Clarkston High School recently had to reorganize in order to alleviate the overcrowded enrollment of around 2,500.

Notable residents

★ Musician Kid Rock

★ Musician Bob Seger

★ Detroit Lion Jason Hanson

★ Detroit Tigers broadcaster Dan Dickerson

★ Motorcyle stuntman Nick Hill from Scooter Trash stunt team

★ Clarkston was the summer retreat for Henry Ford where he maintained a summer home and weekend cottage on Main Street. The building still stands today. Ford also owned a mill which operated on the water from what is now called "Mill Pond" in Clarkston. This building still exists in part but has been modernized into a small mall which includes art galleries and office space. He also paid to have the original city sewer system built.

References

1. http://www.infomi.com/city/clarkston/

External links

★ Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce

★ Clarkston Community Schools