SHELBY CHARTER TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN

The 'Charter Township of Shelby', usually referred to as 'Shelby Township', is a charter township of Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township had a total population of 65,159.

Contents

History

Political

Geography

Demographics

Notable people from Shelby Township

References

External links

History

Shelby Township was set off by an act of the Michigan Territorial Legislature on April 12, 1827 and a civil government was organized the following May. It originally included the area that is now Sterling Heights, which was set off March 17, 1835, as the township of Jefferson, renamed to Sterling on March 6, 1838. Utica, located on the southern edge of the township, originally incorporated as a village on March 9, 1838, although that corporation was dissolved soon afterwards. The village incorporated a second time on May 10, 1877. ^[1][2]
The hamlet of 'Disco' was platted in 1849, located at what is now the junction of 24 Mile Road and Earl Memorial Highway. The community never incorporated, although the local high school, the "Disco Academy" gained some recognition and a post office operated named Disco from 1854 until 1906. ^[3]

Political

- Shelby Township is a pioneer in violating the State of Michigan’s constitution Article 1, Section 4 when in 2001 it moved the old Hope United Methodist Church building onto township municipal grounds. Officially it is a wedding chapel. It is however still adorned with Christian crucifixes and other symbolatry. The chapel was originally built in 1890 on the current grounds of the Hope United Methodist Church. In 1997 the church decided to construct a new building and sold the old chapel to Shelby Township

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 91.2 km² (35.2 mi²). 89.8 km² (34.7 mi²) of it is land and 1.4 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (1.53%) is water.

Demographics

The U.S. Census Bureau has also defined Shelby Township as a census-designated place (CDP) in the 2000 Census so that the community would appear on the list of places (like cities and villages) as well on the list of county subdivisions (like other townships). The final statistics for the township and the CDP are identical.
As of the census² of 2000, there were 65,159 people, 24,486 households, and 17,923 families residing in the township. The population density was 725.4/km² (1,878.7/mi²). There were 25,265 housing units at an average density of 281.3/km² (728.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 94.95% White, 0.85% African American, 0.24% Native American, 2.11% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 1.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.71% of the population.
There were 24,486 households out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the township the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $65,291, and the median income for a family was $76,312. Males had a median income of $59,380 versus $33,844 for females. The per capita income for the township was $30,131. About 2.7% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people from Shelby Township

★ Karl Iagnemma, robotics researcher and fiction writer

References

1. History of Macomb County, Michigan, , Michael A., Leeson, University of Michigan Library, 2005,
2. Past and present of Macomb County, Michigan, , Robert F., Eldredge, University of Michigan Library, 2005,
3. Michigan Place Names, , Walter, Romig, Wayne State University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-8143-1838-X

External links

★ Charter Township of Shelby home page

★ Shelby Township Library