Waterford Township, Michigan
Encyclopedia
Waterford Charter Township is a charter township
in north Oakland County
in the U.S. state
of Michigan
. As of the 2010 census, the township had a population of 71,707.
, the third governor of Michigan Territory
, established the boundaries of Oakland County in 1819. Waterford Township was organized in 1834.
Before being displaced by European settlers in the 18th and early 19th century, the area was populated with Iroquoian and Algonquian
tribes of the Hurons, Ottawas
, Ojibwa
s, Potawatomi
es, Miamis
, Sauk, Sashabaws, and others. During the French and Iroquois Wars, the Iroquois
expanded westward and maintained a temporary presence in the area, having displaced other tribes. However, by the time white settlers ventured into the area that would become Waterford Village, there were few Native Americans living in the area.
In the latter part of 1818 Oliver Williams and his brother-in-law, Alpheus Williams, entered the first land purchase for $2.00 an acre ($494/km²). Archibald Phillips and Alpheus Williams purchased 161.4 acres (653,163.2 m²) in what became the village of Waterford.
In 1819, the Oliver Williams family established the first farm settlement in the county on the banks of Silver Lake. Archibald Phillips and Alpheus Williams continued on to where the Clinton River crossed the Saginaw Trail (now known as US-24
/Dixie Highway
). Here the first house of the village of Waterford was built by Alpheus Williams on the north bank of the river. Archibald Phillips built his home across from the south corner where Andersonville Road meets Dixie Highway. Williams and Phillips also built the first dam where the Clinton River crossed the Saginaw Trail and erected the first sawmill.
The historic district of Waterford Township includes Dixie Highway, a block north and south of Andersonville Road, then Andersonville Road between Dixie Highway and Airport Road, south on Airport Road to the railroad tracks.
Other neighborhoods in Waterford Township include Watkins Lake Estates, northwest of Scott Lake Road at Pontiac Lake Road; Elizabeth Lake Estates, south of Elizabeth Lake Road between Cooley Lake Road and Cass Lake Road; Drayton Plains
, near where Dixie Highway and Sashabaw Road meet; Clintonville, near Lake Oakland; Four Towns
, on the southwest corner of the township and home to Oakland Community College
's Highland Lakes campus; and Huron Heights, on the northern shores of Sylvan Lake and home to the Summit Place shopping center. There are 35 recognized lakes within Waterford Township, and many parks, including the Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area, Dodge Brothers State Park and Waterford Oaks county park.
Waterford Township is home to Oakland County International Airport
.
The Waterford School District supports two high schools. Waterford Kettering High School
is located in the northern part of Waterford Township, and Waterford Mott High School
is located to the east. The township's original high school, Waterford Township High School, closed its doors to regular graduating classes following the commencement ceremony for the Class of 1983. The building remained open for alternative classes, adult education and child care for a number of years, before being razed to make way for a new shopping center and residential development. Revenue from the Waterford Township High School property was used to build the Performing Arts Centers and Pool & Fitness Centers at both Waterford Kettering and Waterford Mott.
Waterford is the home of the venerable world-renowned stamp auction firm operated by Charles G. Firby.
, the township has a total area of 35.3 square miles (91.4 km²), of which 31.3 square miles (81.1 km²) is land and 4 square miles (10.4 km²), or 11.22%, is water.
Static and interactive maps of the township are available at the township's web site: Waterford GIS
, Waterford Township has a continental climate
. It has a somewhat higher elevation than Detroit (982 feet (299.3 m) compared to 585 feet (178.3 m)), and therefore the township is cooler than Detroit and other nearby cities. It is moderately cold in the winter with varied snowfall throughout. Spring varies from warm by day to cool at night. The township's warmest weather occurs in the summer with temperatures in the eighty to ninety degree range and typically high humidity. Summer is also the wettest season in the area. In recent years, Waterford Township has seen a few 100-plus degree days. Fall starts warm, but November ends with high temperatures barely above freezing.http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=856602
of 2000, there were 73,150 people, 29,387 households, and 19,130 families residing in the township. The population density
was 2,334.3 people per square mile (901.2/km²). There were 30,404 housing units at an average density of 970.2 per square mile (374.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 92.65% White, 2.89% African American, 0.35% Native American, 1.27% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.13% from other races
, and 1.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.91% of the population.
There were 29,387 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples
living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the township the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 36.0% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $55,008, and the median income for a family was $64,500. Males had a median income of $47,409 versus $32,016 for females. The per capita income
for the township was $27,432. About 3.8% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 and over.
Charter township
A charter township is a form of local government in the U.S. state of Michigan. Townships in Michigan are organized governments. A charter township is a township that has been granted a charter, which allows it certain rights and responsibilities of home rule that are generally intermediary in...
in north Oakland County
Oakland County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. As of the 2010 census, the township had a population of 71,707.
History
Lewis CassLewis Cass
Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...
, the third governor of Michigan Territory
Michigan Territory
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan...
, established the boundaries of Oakland County in 1819. Waterford Township was organized in 1834.
Before being displaced by European settlers in the 18th and early 19th century, the area was populated with Iroquoian and Algonquian
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
tribes of the Hurons, Ottawas
Ottawa (tribe)
The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
, Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
s, Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
es, Miamis
Miami tribe
The Miami are a Native American nation originally found in what is now Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio. The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is the only federally recognized tribe of Miami Indians in the United States...
, Sauk, Sashabaws, and others. During the French and Iroquois Wars, the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
expanded westward and maintained a temporary presence in the area, having displaced other tribes. However, by the time white settlers ventured into the area that would become Waterford Village, there were few Native Americans living in the area.
In the latter part of 1818 Oliver Williams and his brother-in-law, Alpheus Williams, entered the first land purchase for $2.00 an acre ($494/km²). Archibald Phillips and Alpheus Williams purchased 161.4 acres (653,163.2 m²) in what became the village of Waterford.
In 1819, the Oliver Williams family established the first farm settlement in the county on the banks of Silver Lake. Archibald Phillips and Alpheus Williams continued on to where the Clinton River crossed the Saginaw Trail (now known as US-24
U.S. Route 24
U.S. Route 24 is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is west of Clarkston, Michigan, at an intersection with I-75 and its western terminus is near...
/Dixie Highway
Dixie Highway
The Dixie Highway was a United States automobile highway, first planned in 1914 to connect the US Midwest with the Southern United States. It was part of the National Auto Trail system, and grew out of an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final result is better understood as a small network of...
). Here the first house of the village of Waterford was built by Alpheus Williams on the north bank of the river. Archibald Phillips built his home across from the south corner where Andersonville Road meets Dixie Highway. Williams and Phillips also built the first dam where the Clinton River crossed the Saginaw Trail and erected the first sawmill.
The historic district of Waterford Township includes Dixie Highway, a block north and south of Andersonville Road, then Andersonville Road between Dixie Highway and Airport Road, south on Airport Road to the railroad tracks.
Other neighborhoods in Waterford Township include Watkins Lake Estates, northwest of Scott Lake Road at Pontiac Lake Road; Elizabeth Lake Estates, south of Elizabeth Lake Road between Cooley Lake Road and Cass Lake Road; Drayton Plains
Drayton Plains, Michigan
Drayton Plains is an unincorporated community in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. It was first settled in 1823. A dam and gristmill was built in 1837 and the Drayton Plains Hotel was built in 1839. It was platted in 1860, but never incorporated as a municipality and its identity has been...
, near where Dixie Highway and Sashabaw Road meet; Clintonville, near Lake Oakland; Four Towns
Four Towns, Michigan
Four Towns is a historical locale in Waterford Township, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The coordinates are .Four Towns received its name because it is near the point where the townships of West Bloomfield, Commerce, Waterford, and White Lake meet. In 1866 a frame school house was...
, on the southwest corner of the township and home to Oakland Community College
Oakland Community College
Oakland Community College is a community college established June 8, 1964 in Oakland County, Michigan. It opened September 1965 with two campuses - Highland Lakes, a renovated hospital in Union Lake, and Auburn Hills, a former Army Nike missile site in Auburn Hills.OCC is the largest of Michigan's...
's Highland Lakes campus; and Huron Heights, on the northern shores of Sylvan Lake and home to the Summit Place shopping center. There are 35 recognized lakes within Waterford Township, and many parks, including the Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area, Dodge Brothers State Park and Waterford Oaks county park.
Waterford Township is home to Oakland County International Airport
Oakland County International Airport
Oakland County International Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located in Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The airport is five nautical miles west of the central business district of Pontiac....
.
The Waterford School District supports two high schools. Waterford Kettering High School
Waterford Kettering HIgh School
Waterford Kettering High School is one of two public high schools in the Waterford School District. As of September 2009, 1,660 students were enrolled in the school.-Campus:...
is located in the northern part of Waterford Township, and Waterford Mott High School
Waterford Mott High School
Waterford Mott High School is a public high school in the Waterford School District.-About Mott:Mott opened in 1969 with the first graduating class in June 1970. In 1983, the school district consolidated high schools and closed Waterford Township High School. This left two high schools in the...
is located to the east. The township's original high school, Waterford Township High School, closed its doors to regular graduating classes following the commencement ceremony for the Class of 1983. The building remained open for alternative classes, adult education and child care for a number of years, before being razed to make way for a new shopping center and residential development. Revenue from the Waterford Township High School property was used to build the Performing Arts Centers and Pool & Fitness Centers at both Waterford Kettering and Waterford Mott.
Waterford is the home of the venerable world-renowned stamp auction firm operated by Charles G. Firby.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the township has a total area of 35.3 square miles (91.4 km²), of which 31.3 square miles (81.1 km²) is land and 4 square miles (10.4 km²), or 11.22%, is water.
Static and interactive maps of the township are available at the township's web site: Waterford GIS
Climate
Like the rest of Southeast MichiganSoutheast Michigan
Southeast Michigan, also called Southeastern Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan that is home to a majority of the state's businesses and industries as well as slightly over half of the state's population, most of whom are concentrated in Metro...
, Waterford Township has a continental climate
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
. It has a somewhat higher elevation than Detroit (982 feet (299.3 m) compared to 585 feet (178.3 m)), and therefore the township is cooler than Detroit and other nearby cities. It is moderately cold in the winter with varied snowfall throughout. Spring varies from warm by day to cool at night. The township's warmest weather occurs in the summer with temperatures in the eighty to ninety degree range and typically high humidity. Summer is also the wettest season in the area. In recent years, Waterford Township has seen a few 100-plus degree days. Fall starts warm, but November ends with high temperatures barely above freezing.http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=856602
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 73,150 people, 29,387 households, and 19,130 families residing in the township. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,334.3 people per square mile (901.2/km²). There were 30,404 housing units at an average density of 970.2 per square mile (374.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 92.65% White, 2.89% African American, 0.35% Native American, 1.27% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.13% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.91% of the population.
There were 29,387 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the township the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 36.0% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $55,008, and the median income for a family was $64,500. Males had a median income of $47,409 versus $32,016 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the township was $27,432. About 3.8% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 and over.
Sports
| Club | League | Venue | Established | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland County Cruisers Oakland County Cruisers The Oakland County Cruisers were a professional baseball team based in Waterford Township, Michigan, in the United States. They are a member of the East Division of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball.... |
FL Frontier League The Frontier League, based in Sauget, Illinois, is a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States, Western Pennsylvania, and Southern Ontario. It operates mostly in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either... , Baseball |
Diamond at the Summit Diamond at the Summit Diamond at the Summit is a tentative name of the new ballpark in Waterford Township, Michigan that is currently in the planning stages. It will be primarily used for baseball and will be the home of the Oakland County Cruisers of the Frontier League. The ballpark will have a capacity of 3,900... |
Coming Soon (2011) | 0 |