Ithaca, Michigan
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Ithaca is a
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Gratiot County, Michigan Gratiot County ( ') is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 41,761. The county seat is Ithaca, Michigan, Ithaca, although its most populous city is ...
. It is located very near the geographical center of the state's
lower peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...
. The population was 2,853 at the 2020 census. Ithaca is run as a council-manager government. It sits at the conjunction of four townships in the center of the county: Emerson Township to the northeast, Arcada Township to the northwest, Newark Township to the southwest, and North Star Township to the southeast, but is administratively autonomous.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.


Demographics


2010 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 2,910 people, 1,188 households, and 765 families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 1,293 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.7%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.5%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.9% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 1.5% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 6.2% of the population. There were 1,188 households, of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.6% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age in the city was 39.2 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.2% were from 25 to 44; 26.7% were from 45 to 64; and 15.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.


Transportation

* *


Attractions


Parks

Ithaca has four parks within the city limits. These include the Woodland Park, Atkinson Park, McNabb Park, and the Ithaca Dog Park. Woodland park is a large park for children, including a playscape and much playground equipment like slides and swings. The park also has a large sledding hill and an ice skating rink. Inside the Woodland park to the North end site the Ithaca Dog park which was started and finished in the summer of 2012. Atkinson Park is much quieter and is a senior favorite as it is very close to the community Senior Center and senior housing. McNabb Park can be found in the South of the town and is home to many events throughout the year, including the Gratiot Agricultural Society Expo and AYSO soccer games. McNabb park also has several biking and hiking paths to enjoy.


Schools

Ithaca has one unified public school system, which is spread out over three buildings (covering the communities of Ithaca, Sumner, North Star and the surrounding townships). The school mascot is Jack, a yellow jacket. The school's football and soccer stadium was recently renovated with funding from both public and private donors. The stadium was completed over the course of the summer of 2012 and features renovated concessions and bathroom facilities, as well as renovated seating and a new concourse. Since 1998 there has been a student exchange program with a German school, Goethe-Gymnasium Ludwigslust. Every year, a small group of students and a chaperone travel to Germany for two weeks to experience German life with their host family. They, in turn, host a German student for two weeks later in the school year.


National Register of Historic Places

The following properties and districts in Ithaca are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
registry: *
Gratiot County Courthouse The Gratiot County Courthouse is a government building located at 214 East Center Street in Ithaca, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1957 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. History Gratio ...
* Ithaca Downtown Historic District


History

Along with the Native Americans, the first recorded settler in Ithaca was James J. Bush from
Howell, Michigan Howell is the largest city in and county seat of Livingston County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2025 census, the city had a population of 9,914. The city is mostly surrounded by Howell Township, Michigan, Howell Township, but the two are ad ...
in 1850. John Jeffery, from New York State, bought land in 1853, and permanently relocated on the land in 1855. He
platted In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...
the area in 1856, assisted by Sidney S. Hastings, calling it Gratiot Center and laying out streets, lots, blocks, and even alleys. Gratiot Center was the name of its first post office, granted on November 16, 1855 with John Knight as the first postmaster. In 1856 the site was named as the county seat of Gratiot County. The settlement's name was changed on April 13, 1857 to Ithaca, after
Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...
. Ithaca was incorporated as a village in 1869 and became a city in 1961.


Notable people from Ithaca

* Richard J. Allen (born 1933), former member of the
Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of the Senate (the upper chamber) and the House of Representatives (the lower chamber). Article IV of the Michigan Con ...
and executive director of the
Michigan State Fair The Michigan State Fair is an annual event originally held from 1849 to 2009 in Detroit, the state's largest city. In 2009 the governor declined to fund it because of other priorities. Because agriculture still has a major place in the Michigan ec ...
. * Roy Beechler (1880 – 1946),
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
player and coach. * Chris Patrick (born 1984), former pro football player. * James M. Swift (1873 – 1946),
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
, District Attorney of Massachusetts Southern District and
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
of
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
.


References


External links


City of Ithaca, Michigan
{{coord, 43, 17, 30, N, 84, 36, 27, W, type:city_region:US-MI, display=title Cities in Gratiot County, Michigan County seats in Michigan