Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan area
The Kalamazoo–Portage Metropolitan Area comprises a region surrounding Kalamazoo. 2015 estimates placed it as the 151st largest among designated areas in the United States. 2015 estimates place the combined statistical area 85th among designated areas. The Kalamazoo–Portage Metropolitan Area is a United States metropolitan area defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget consisting of two counties and Van Buren, in western Michigan, anchored by the cities of Kalamazoo and Portage; as of the 2010 census, the Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 326,589. The Kalamazoo–Battle Creek–Portage Combined Statistical Area ties for 3rd largest CSA in the U. S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the CSA had a population of 524,030; the CSA combines the two population centers of Battle Creek. It includes the two counties of the Kalamazoo–Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area plus one metropolitan area, Battle Creek in Calhoun County and one micropolitan area, Sturgis in St. Joseph County.
Kalamazoo Battle Creek Portage Albion Antwerp Township Bedford Charter Township Comstock Charter Township Cooper Township Emmett Charter Township Kalamazoo Charter Township Marshall Oshtemo Township Pavilion Township Paw Paw Township Pennfield Charter Township Richland Township Ross Township Schoolcraft Township Springfield Texas Township As of the census of 2000, there were 314,866 people, 121,461 households, 78,270 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 85.38% White, 8.64% African American, 0.54% Native American, 1.46% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.80% from other races, 2.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.79% of the population. The median income for a household in the MSA was $40,694, the median income for a family was $49,889. Males had a median income of $37,464 versus $26,514 for females; the per capita income for the MSA was $19,809
St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)
The St. Joseph River is a 206 miles long tributary of Lake Michigan flowing westerly through southern Michigan and northern Indiana, United States, to its terminus on the southeast shore of the lake, it drains a rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan. It was enormously important to Native Americans and aided in the colonial exploration and administration of New France and the nascent United States as a canoe route between Lake Michigan and the watershed of the Mississippi River; the St. Joseph River watershed drains 4,685 square miles from 15 counties: Berrien, Calhoun, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren in Michigan and De Kalb, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, St. Joseph and Steuben in Indiana; the watershed includes 3,742 river miles and flows through and near the Kalamazoo-Portage, Elkhart-Goshen, Mishawaka-South Bend, St. Joseph/Benton Harbor metropolitan areas; the St. Joseph River main stem is 206 miles long, rising in southern Michigan in Hillsdale County near Baw Beese Lake, within 5 miles of the headwaters of the other St. Joseph River of the eastward-flowing Maumee River watershed.
Baw Beese Lake was named for the Potawatomi Chief Baw Beese. The river follows a zigzag route westward across southern Michigan, dipping into northern Indiana. From its headwaters, it flows northwest past Hillsdale into southeastern Calhoun County turns abruptly southwest to flow past Tekonsha, Union City, Sherwood. At Three Rivers it is joined from the north by the Rocky and Portage rivers 3 miles further southwest by the Prairie River from the east; the river continues southward into northern Indiana, flowing west through Elkhart and South Bend, where it turns abruptly to north to re-enter southwestern Michigan in southeastern Berrien County. In southwestern Michigan, it follows a wide meandering route northwest through Niles and past Berrien Springs, it enters Lake Michigan between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, receiving the Paw Paw River from the north 1 mile from its mouth on Lake Michigan. There are 190 dams in the St. Joseph River watershed, 17 on the river mainstem. Most of these dams block fish passage, although fish ladders constructed on the lower dams allow salmonine passage as far as the Twin Branch Dam in Mishawaka, Indiana.
But, the fish ladders are not adequate for many native species, such as sturgeon, the dams tend to be built on the higher gradient portions of the river, which are the most critical river habitats for fish spawning. Sakiwäsipi, as it was called by the Miami people, was inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous tribes as it served an essential trade avenue in the Great Lakes region; the most recent indigenous inhabitants of the area were the Potawatomi peoples. Two different portages allowed nearly continuous travel by canoe among different watersheds of the region; the first major transfer point was at the headwaters in southwestern Michigan, where travelers could make a portage to the St. Joseph River of the Maumee River watershed, which drained into Lake Erie; the second major transfer point was at South Bend, where a short portage to the nearby Kankakee River allowed access to the Illinois River and subsequently to the Mississippi. Another major access point along river was at Niles, where the Old Sauk Trail, a major east-west Indian trail, crossed the river.
The indigenous trade and navigation networks in the area allowed for extensive trade and movement of people, which allowed early Europeans access to the area in 1675 when Père Jacques Marquette was guided up the Mississippi River via the Illinois River to the Kankakee River and portaged to Sakiwasipi and down to Lake Michigan. On November 1, 1679 René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle sailed southeast across Lake Michigan and built Fort Miami at the mouth of the river. La Salle named the river La Rivière des Miamis. At the end of 1679, La Salle followed indigenous trade routes in the opposite direction of that taken by Marquette. After giving up on the return of his ship, Le Griffon, in April 1680, he became the first European to walk the well traveled indigenous routes east across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan back to the Detroit River and Canada; the French established Fort St. Joseph at the crossroads of Old Sauk Trail and this well-established east-west trail in 1691; the watershed was used as canoe route by early French fur trappers in the Illinois Country.
European American settlement of the St. Joseph river basin area began to increase in earnest after southwestern Michigan was surveyed in 1829. From the early 1830s until 1846, the river bore various commodities from upstream to a busy port at St. Joseph, where they were loaded onto lake boats for shipment to Chicago and elsewhere. On April 11, 1893, a Lake Michigan seiche pushed a wall of water, 3 to 5 feet high, up the river at St. Joseph and Benton Harbor; this raised the level of the river by 4 to 5 feet. The cause of the seiche was unknown, but has been attributed to a sudden squall or change in atmospheric pressure. Factories located in South Bend was because of access to water and power in the West Races; the water rights to what would become the East and West Races were claimed by Alexis Coquillard and Lathrop Taylor in 1831, when the city of South Bend was founded. Although the idea of digging a mill race (man-made ca
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is a principal agency of the U. S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy; the Census Bureau is part of the U. S. Department of Commerce and its director is appointed by the President of the United States; the Census Bureau's primary mission is conducting the U. S. Census every ten years, which allocates the seats of the U. S. House of Representatives to the states based on their population; the Bureau's various censuses and surveys help allocate over $400 billion in federal funds every year and it helps states, local communities, businesses make informed decisions. The information provided by the census informs decisions on where to build and maintain schools, transportation infrastructure, police and fire departments. In addition to the decennial census, the Census Bureau continually conducts dozens of other censuses and surveys, including the American Community Survey, the U. S. Economic Census, the Current Population Survey.
Furthermore and foreign trade indicators released by the federal government contain data produced by the Census Bureau. Article One of the United States Constitution directs the population be enumerated at least once every ten years and the resulting counts used to set the number of members from each state in the House of Representatives and, by extension, in the Electoral College; the Census Bureau now conducts a full population count every 10 years in years ending with a zero and uses the term "decennial" to describe the operation. Between censuses, the Census Bureau makes population projections. In addition, Census data directly affects how more than $400 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education and more; the Census Bureau is mandated with fulfilling these obligations: the collecting of statistics about the nation, its people, economy. The Census Bureau's legal authority is codified in Title 13 of the United States Code.
The Census Bureau conducts surveys on behalf of various federal government and local government agencies on topics such as employment, health, consumer expenditures, housing. Within the bureau, these are known as "demographic surveys" and are conducted perpetually between and during decennial population counts; the Census Bureau conducts economic surveys of manufacturing, retail and other establishments and of domestic governments. Between 1790 and 1840, the census was taken by marshals of the judicial districts; the Census Act of 1840 established a central office. Several acts followed that revised and authorized new censuses at the 10-year intervals. In 1902, the temporary Census Office was moved under the Department of Interior, in 1903 it was renamed the Census Bureau under the new Department of Commerce and Labor; the department was intended to consolidate overlapping statistical agencies, but Census Bureau officials were hindered by their subordinate role in the department. An act in 1920 changed the date and authorized manufacturing censuses every two years and agriculture censuses every 10 years.
In 1929, a bill was passed mandating the House of Representatives be reapportioned based on the results of the 1930 Census. In 1954, various acts were codified into Title 13 of the US Code. By law, the Census Bureau must count everyone and submit state population totals to the U. S. President by December 31 of any year ending in a zero. States within the Union receive the results in the spring of the following year; the United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions. The Census Bureau regions are "widely used...for data collection and analysis". The Census Bureau definition is pervasive. Regional divisions used by the United States Census Bureau: Region 1: Northeast Division 1: New England Division 2: Mid-Atlantic Region 2: Midwest Division 3: East North Central Division 4: West North Central Region 3: South Division 5: South Atlantic Division 6: East South Central Division 7: West South Central Region 4: West Division 8: Mountain Division 9: Pacific Many federal, state and tribal governments use census data to: Decide the location of new housing and public facilities, Examine the demographic characteristics of communities and the US, Plan transportation systems and roadways, Determine quotas and creation of police and fire precincts, Create localized areas for elections, utilities, etc.
Gathers population information every 10 years The United States Census Bureau is committed to confidentiality, guarantees non-disclosure of any addresses or personal information related to individuals or establishments. Title 13 of the U. S. Code establishes penalties for the disclosure of this information. All Census employees must sign an affidavit of non-disclosure prior to employment; the Bureau cannot share responses, addresses or personal information with anyone including United States or foreign government
1910 United States Census
The Thirteenth United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21.0 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 Census. The 1910 Census switched from a portrait page orientation to a landscape orientation; the 1910 census collected the following information: Full documentation for the 1910 census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. The column titles in the census form are as follows: LOCATION. Street, road, etc. House number. 1. Number of dwelling house in order of visitation. 2. Number of family in order of visitation. 3. NAME of each person whose place of abode on April 15, 1910, was in this family. Enter surname first the given name and middle initial, if any. Include every person living on April 15, 1910. Omit children born since April 15, 1910. RELATION. 4. Relationship of this person to the head of the family.
PERSONAL DESCRIPTION. 5. Sex. 6. Color or race. 7. Age at last birthday. 8. Whether single, widowed, or divorced. 9. Number of years of present marriage. 10. Mother of how many children: Number born. 11. Mother of how many children: Number now living. NATIVITY. Place of birth of each person and parents of each person enumerated. If born in the United States, give the state or territory. If of foreign birth, give the country. 12. Place of birth of this Person. 13. Place of birth of Father of this person. 14. Place of birth of Mother of this person. CITIZENSHIP. 15. Year of immigration to the United States. 16. Whether naturalized or alien. 17. Whether able to speak English. OCCUPATION. 18. Trade or profession of, or particular kind of work done by this person, as spinner, laborer, etc. 19. General nature of industry, business, or establishment in which this person works, as cotton mill, dry goods store, etc. 20. Whether as employer, employee, or work on own account. If an employee— 21. Whether out of work on April 15, 1910.
22. Number of weeks out of work during year 1909. EDUCATION. 23. Whether able to read. 24. Whether able to write. 25. Attended school any time since September 1, 1909. OWNERSHIP OF HOME. 26. Owned or rented. 27. Owned free or mortgaged. 28. Farm or house. 29. Number of farm schedule. 30. Whether a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy. 31. Whether blind. 32. Whether deaf and dumb. Special Notation In 1912 and 1959, New Mexico, Arizona and Hawaii would become the 47th, 48th, 49th and 50th states admitted to the Union; the 1910 population count for each of these areas was 327,301, 204,354, 64,356 and 191,909 respectively. On this basis, the ranking list above would be modified as follows: First 42 ranked states - positions unchanged New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, Wyoming and Alaska; the original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in the 1940s. The microfilmed census is available in rolls from the National Records Administration. Several organizations host images of the microfilmed census online, along which digital indices.
Microdata from the 1910 census are available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System. 1911 U. S Census Report Contains 1910 Census results Historic US Census data census.gov/population/www/censusdata/PopulationofStatesandCountiesoftheUnitedStates1790-1990.pdf
Kalamazoo River
The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U. S. state of Michigan. The river is 130 miles long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to 178 miles when one includes the South Branch; the river's watershed drains an area of 2,020 square miles and drains portions of eight counties in southwest Michigan: Allegan, Eaton, Van Buren, Calhoun, Hillsdale and Ottawa. The river has a median flow of 1,863 cubic feet per second at New Richmond, upstream from its mouth at Saugatuck; the North and South Branches of the Kalamazoo River originate within a few miles of each other. The South Branch begins near North Adams in Moscow Township in northeastern Hillsdale County and flows north and west through Homer before joining the North Branch at the forks of the Kalamazoo in Albion; the North Branch begins near Farewell and Pine Hills lakes in southern Jackson County and flows north and west through Concord before reaching Albion in Calhoun County.
It flows through Kalamazoo and Allegan counties. After Albion, the Kalamazoo flows westward through Marshall, Battle Creek, Galesburg and Kalamazoo. From Kalamazoo, the river flows north until just before it reaches Plainwell and flows northwest through Otsego, Allegan and into Lake Michigan; some of the larger tributaries of the Kalamazoo are Rice Creek, Wilder Creek, Wabascon Creek, Battle Creek River, Augusta Creek, Portage Creek, Gun River, Swan Creek, Rabbit River. Archeological evidence indicates humans have used the Kalamazoo River basin continuously for more than 11,000 years. At the time of European contact, the Kalamazoo River area was inhabited by members of Potawatomi tribes; the Jesuit priest Father Jacques Marquette and his companions were the first Europeans to glimpse the mouth of the Kalamazoo in 1675 as they returned from Illinois. It wasn't until the late eighteenth century. By the early nineteenth century, there were several small communities along the river, including Kalamazoo.
With the introduction of the railroad in the 1840s, the importance of the river for transportation diminished. By the mid-19th century, several communities had grown up along the River as mill towns and commercial centers: Battle Creek, Parchment and Otsego. After the Civil War and into the 20th century, various industries, from cereal production to pharmaceuticals to automobile parts, flourished. Several communities became sites for paper production, which used the river for water intake and waste discharge. Deinking practices no longer in use led to PCB contamination of the river. Sewage effluent, other industrial discharges, trash contributed to the pollution of the river. For many years in the 1940s to 1960s, the river was an "eyesore" and most people did their best to avoid it. Beginning in the 1970s with the federal Clean Water Act, serious efforts were made to clean up the river. Although today the river is cleaner, the persistent PCB contamination has led to Superfund designation of a 35-mile section from Kalamazoo to Allegan Dam.
Many species of fish inhabit the river, including smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, catfish and many types of panfish. Though populations have increased in recent years due to the cleanup of the river, it is still advised for people to not eat large amounts of fish from the Kalamazoo River, pregnant women are advised not to eat any fish from the river due to lingering effects of the pollution in the diets of many fish. In the late 1950s, a developer at the North Branch headwaters was allowed to build a dam which raised the level of both of those lakes so that he might operate a commercial marina; the dam caused many soil sediments to enter the lake through the raised water level and resultant erosion. The residents of Farwell Lake have been actively working to restore the once pristine quality of that lake. A municipal area sewer system branch has been added and great efforts are being made to educate lake users about keeping fuels, lawn chemicals and fertilizers, etc. out of the water. The property owners are hopeful that the dam will be removed and allow the headwaters to flow again and restore the lake to its natural sandy shoreline.
Although the word Kalamazoo appears to be Native American in origin, the exact meaning is obscure and various definitions have been suggested. See the article on the Etymology of Kalamazoo for a detailed discussion of name origin theories. On 26 July 2010, an Enbridge Energy pipeline leaked more than 1 million US gallons of tar sands known as dilbit into Talmadge Creek that flows into the Kalamazoo causing two homes to be evacuated, prohibitions against fishing and swimming to be posted; the US Environmental Protection Agency estimated the spill to be in excess of 1 million gallons. On 29 July 2010, the Calhoun County Health Department asked 30 to 50 households to evacuate, twice as many were advised not to drink their water; the National Transportation Safety Board stated the Enbridge oil spill is the costliest onshore cleanup in U. S. history. A list of major dams on the Kalamazoo River; the Plainwell Dam was removed in 2009. Kalamazoo Superfund Site USGS Streamflow Data Kalamazoo River Superfund Site U.
S. EPA Kalamazoo River Project Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Natural Resource Damage Assessment Great Lakes Environmental & Molecular Sciences Center, focuses on Kalamazoo River & PCBs
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was an American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson gained fame as a general in the United States Army and served in both houses of Congress; as president, Jackson sought to advance the rights of the "common man" against a "corrupt aristocracy" and to preserve the Union. Born in the colonial Carolinas to a Scotch-Irish family in the decade before the American Revolutionary War, Jackson became a frontier lawyer and married Rachel Donelson Robards, he served in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, representing Tennessee. After resigning, he served as a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1798 until 1804. Jackson purchased a property known as The Hermitage, became a wealthy, slaveowning planter. In 1801, he was appointed colonel of the Tennessee militia and was elected its commander the following year, he led troops during the Creek War of 1813–1814, winning the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
The subsequent Treaty of Fort Jackson required the Creek surrender of vast lands in present-day Alabama and Georgia. In the concurrent war against the British, Jackson's victory in 1815 at the Battle of New Orleans made him a national hero. Jackson led U. S. forces in the First Seminole War. Jackson served as Florida's first territorial governor before returning to the Senate, he ran for president in 1824, winning a plurality of the electoral vote. As no candidate won an electoral majority, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams in a contingent election. In reaction to the alleged "corrupt bargain" between Adams and Henry Clay and the ambitious agenda of President Adams, Jackson's supporters founded the Democratic Party. Jackson ran again in 1828. Jackson faced the threat of secession by South Carolina over what opponents called the "Tariff of Abominations." The crisis was defused when the tariff was amended, Jackson threatened the use of military force if South Carolina attempted to secede.
In Congress, Henry Clay led the effort to reauthorize the Second Bank of the United States. Jackson, regarding the Bank as a corrupt institution, vetoed the renewal of its charter. After a lengthy struggle and his allies dismantled the Bank. In 1835, Jackson became the only president to pay off the national debt, fulfilling a longtime goal, his presidency marked the beginning of the ascendancy of the party "spoils system" in American politics. In 1830, Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which forcibly relocated most members of the Native American tribes in the South to Indian Territory; the relocation process resulted in widespread death and disease. Jackson opposed the abolitionist movement. In foreign affairs, Jackson's administration concluded a "most favored nation" treaty with Great Britain, settled claims of damages against France from the Napoleonic Wars, recognized the Republic of Texas. In January 1835, he survived the first assassination attempt on a sitting president. In his retirement, Jackson remained active in Democratic Party politics, supporting the presidencies of Martin Van Buren and James K. Polk.
Though fearful of its effects on the slavery debate, Jackson advocated the annexation of Texas, accomplished shortly before his death. Jackson has been revered in the United States as an advocate for democracy and the common man. Many of his actions proved divisive, garnering both fervent support and strong opposition from many in the country, his reputation has suffered since the 1970s due to his role in Indian removal. Surveys of historians and scholars have ranked Jackson favorably among U. S. presidents. Andrew Jackson was born on March 1767 in the Waxhaws region of the Carolinas, his parents were Scots-Irish colonists Andrew and Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, Presbyterians who had emigrated from present day Northern Ireland two years earlier. Jackson's father was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, in current-day Northern Ireland, around 1738. Jackson's parents lived in the village of Boneybefore in County Antrim, his paternal family line originated in Killingswold Grove, England. When they immigrated to North America in 1765, Jackson's parents landed in Philadelphia.
Most they traveled overland through the Appalachian Mountains to the Scots-Irish community in the Waxhaws, straddling the border between North and South Carolina. They brought two children from Ireland and Robert. Jackson's father died in a logging accident while clearing land in February 1767 at the age of 29, three weeks before his son Andrew was born. Jackson, his mother, his brothers lived with Jackson's aunt and uncle in the Waxhaws region, Jackson received schooling from two nearby priests. Jackson's exact birthplace is unclear because of a lack of knowledge of his mother's actions following her husband's funeral; the area was so remote that the border between North and South Carolina had not been surveyed. In 1824 Jackson wrote a letter saying that he was born on the plantation of his uncle James Crawford in Lancaster County, South Carolina. Jackson may have claimed to be a South Carolinian because the state was considering nullification of the Tariff of 1824, which he opposed. In the mid-1850s, second-hand evidence indicated that he might have been born at a different uncle's home in North Carolina.
As a young boy, Jackson was offended and was considered something of a bully. He was, said to have taken a group of younger and weaker boys under his wing
Branch County, Michigan
Branch County is a county in the U. S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 45,248; the county seat is Coldwater. As one of the "cabinet counties" it was named for the U. S. Secretary of the Navy John Branch under President Andrew Jackson; the county was founded in 1829, was organized in 1833. Branch County comprises MI Micropolitan Statistical Area. Branch County was a New England settlement; the original founders of Coldwater were settlers from the northern coastal colonies – "Yankees", descended from the English Puritans who came from the Old World in the 1600s and who brought their culture. During the early 1800s, there was a wave of New England farmers who headed west into what was the untamed Northwest Territory. Many traveled through New York State via the Erie Canal; these early settlers laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings, established post routes. They brought a passion for education, established many schools. Many were supporters of abolitionism.
They were members of the Congregationalist Church though some were Episcopalian. Culturally Branch County, like much of Michigan, developed as part of the Northern Tier, continuous with New England culture, during its early history; the county still depends on agriculture as the basis of its economy. According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 520 square miles, of which 506 square miles is land and 13 square miles is water, it is the third-smallest county in Michigan by total area. I-69 – runs north-south through central Branch County. Runs east of Girard and Kinterhook. BL I-69 – runs through Coldwater. US 12 – runs ENE through central Branch County. Passes Bronson and Quincy. M-60 – runs through northern part of county. Enters near Union City. M-66 – runs through NW tip of county. Enters west line from Leonidas, runs east 2.4 miles, turns north to exit county toward Athens, Michigan. M-86 runs east-west through central Branch County. Enters from Colon, runs east to intersection with US12, three miles west of Coldwater.
The 2010 United States Census indicates Branch County had a 2010 population of 45,248. This decrease of -539 people from the 2000 United States Census represents a -1.2% growth decrease during the decade. In 2010 there were 16,419 households and 11,350 families in the county; the population density was 89.4 per square mile. There were 20,841 housing units at an average density of 41.2 per square mile. The racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 90.9% White, 3.0% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% from other races, 1.2% from two or more races. There were 16,419 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were husband and wife families, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.9% were non-families, 25.8% were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.05. In the county, the population was spread out with 23.9% under age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 111.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.9 males. The 2010 American Community Survey 3-year estimate indicates the median income for a household in the county was $41,855 and the median income for a family was $48,959. Males had a median income of $25,595 versus $17,263 for females; the per capita income for the county was $18,289. About 2.5% of families and 17.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.3% of those under the age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over. Branch County has been reliably Republican since the beginning. Since 1884, the Republican Party nominee has carried 85% of the elections; the county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds and vital records, administers public health regulations, participates with the state in the provision of social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget and has limited authority to make laws or ordinances.
In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships. Information correct as of March 2017. Bronson Coldwater Quincy Sherwood Union City List of Michigan State Historic Sites in Branch County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places listings in Branch County, Michigan USS Branch County Branch County government Branch County Tourism Bureau Branch County Chamber of Commerce Office of the County Clerk "Bibliography on Branch County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University
United States
Michigan
Calhoun County, Michigan
