Munising Township is a

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a County (United States), county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England town, Ne ...

Alger County Alger County ( ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 8,842. It is the state's second-largest county by area, including the waters of Lake Superior. The county seat is Mu ...

in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. As of 2020, its population was 2,865.

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 township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 7.11%, is water.

Communities

The city of Munising is adjacent to the northwest corner of the township, but is an autonomous municipality. There are several historic locales and

unincorporated communities An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the township: * Camp Cusino, a minimum security state prison, has a Shingleton address west of Shingleton. * Doty is a locale at the junction of the former Marquette and Eastern Railway (now the

Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad The Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad , is a Class iii railroad, Class III railroad U.S. railroad offering service from Marquette, Michigan, to nearby locations in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It began operations in 1896. The LS&I continues to ...

) and the

Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway (DSS&A; ) was an American railroad serving the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Lake Superior shoreline of Wisconsin. It provided service from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and St. Ignace, Michigan, w ...

(now the

Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is one of the primary United States railroad subsidiaries for the CPKC Railway , one of six U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Saul ...

) at . It was named after Marcus A. Doty, a manager for the Marquette & Eastern. The station is called Evelyn on the Soo Line. * Gogarnville was the name of a post office here from 1889 until 1893. * Hallston was a former post office and a station on the

; Elevation: . The post office was established as "Anna River" on October 12, 1888, with Neil Steinburg as its first postmaster. The office was transferred and renamed Hallston on December 19, 1888, with railroad agent Julius W. Gogarn as its first postmaster. The office operated until August 14, 1897. From 1895 to 1897, the Hallston Post Office operated as a summer post office. *Indian Town is located at Old Indian Town and Indian Town Road ( Elevation: . * Juniper is a place at Coalwood Recreation Trail and County Road 646 ( Elevation: . * Kentucky is a place on Doe Lake Road west of Kentucky Trail ( Elevation: . * Melstrand is an unincorporated community at the junction of county highways H-58 and H-52 (Cusino Trail) ( Elevation: , about east of Munising on county road H-58. It was a sawmill village with a railway station and a post office that operated from July 11, 1917, until February 15, 1926. * Myren is a place at (Elevation: . * Petrel was a former post office and station on the

at , formed as a lumber settlement around the C. H. Worcester Company operations. A post office was established on September 2, 1903, although the first appointed postmaster, E. V. McGregor, declined the position. Marcel A. Nadeau was appointed on November 2, 1903. The office was discontinued on June 29, 1907. * Reedsboro was a former post office and a station on the

Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette Railroad The Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette Railroad was a land grant railroad that was built and operated briefly (1881–1886) in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Incorporated in 1879, the -long railroad began operations in 1881. It w ...

in 1884 at M-28 and Percy Road ( Elevation: . A post office operated from March 29, 1886, until February 16, 1887. * Shingleton is an unincorporated community at , about southeast of Munising, at the eastern junction of M-28 and

M-94 The M-94 was a piece of cryptographic equipment used by the United States Army, consisting of several lettered discs arranged as a cylinder. It was also employed by the US Navy, under the name CSP 488. The device was conceived by Colonel Parke ...

. West of Shingleton, M-28 and M-94 run concurrently until about a mile south of Munising. The

Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan founded in 1921, charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appoint ...

operates the Cusino Wildlife Research Station & Field Office in Shingleton. The ZIP Code is 49884. Shingleton was a station on the

named "Jeromeville" in 1882, after David H. Jerome, then the governor of Michigan (1881–1883). A post office was established in 1887 named Shingleton, after the local shingle mill. * Star, or Star Siding, is an unincorporated community on M28, west of Star Siding Road ( Elevation: . * Van Meer is a place at . * Wetmore is an unincorporated community at , about southeast of Munising, on M-28/M-94. The ZIP Code is 49895. Wetmore began as a mostly Indian settlement called "Floeter", and had a post office with that name from 1883 to 1889 (with short interruptions). In October 1889, it was renamed "Munising" (the present city of Munising was known as "Old Munising" at the time). It was a station on the

. William L. Wetmore arrived ''circa'' 1871 and built up a business making hardwood charcoal and a general store. The town and post office were renamed for him in 1895.

Demographics

In 2000, there were 3,125 people, 828 households, and 669 families residing in the township. 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 15.4 per square mile (6.0/km). There were 1,154 housing units at an average density of 5.7 per square mile (2.2/km). The racial makeup of the township was 73.02%

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 ...

, 18.98%

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 ...

, 4.29% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.86% from other races, and 2.50% 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 ...

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to th ...

of any race were 1.54% of the population. Culturally, 8.4% were of American, 8.4%

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, 8.0%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 7.0% Finnish, 6.4%

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

, 6.2% Irish, 6.0%

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

and 5.8%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

ancestry. By the 2020 census, its population declined to 2,865 with a predominantly

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

population. In 2000, there were 828 households, out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.0% 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, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.2% were non-families. 14.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.02. In the township the population was spread out, with 20.1% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 39.5% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 179.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 206.9 males. At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the township was $40,946, and the median income for a family was $45,114. Males had a median income of $38,649 versus $24,167 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $17,448. About 5.4% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over. As of 2021 census estimates, its median household income was $48,203.

References

External links

Munising Township official website
{{authority control Townships in Alger County, Michigan Townships in Michigan Michigan populated places on Lake Superior 1867 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1867 Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore