According to the
United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 217.7 square miles (563.8 km2), of which 202.2 square miles (523.7 km2) is land and 15.5 square miles (40.1 km2), or 7.11%, is water.[4]
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 in the township:
Camp Cusino, a minimum security state prison, has a Shingleton address one-mile (1.6 km) west of Shingleton.
Wetmore is an unincorporated community at 46°22′47″N86°37′13″W / 46.37972°N 86.62028°W / 46.37972; -86.62028 (Wetmore, Michigan),[23] about two miles (3.2 km) 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
Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway. 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.[6]
In 2000, there were 3,125 people, 828 households, and 669 families residing in the township.[1] The
population density was 15.4 per square mile (6.0/km2). There were 1,154 housing units at an average density of 5.7 per square mile (2.2/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 73.02%
White, 18.98%
African American, 4.29%
Native American, 0.32%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.86% from
other races, and 2.50% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latinos of any race were 1.54% of the population. Culturally, 8.4% were of American, 8.4%
French, 8.0%
German, 7.0%
Finnish, 6.4%
Polish, 6.2%
Irish, 6.0%
French Canadian and 5.8%
English ancestry. By the
2020 census, its population declined to 2,865 with a predominantly
non-Hispanic white population.[3]
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 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 for the township was $17,448. About 5.4% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, 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.[3]