Gratiot County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan
. As
of the
2000 census, the
population was 42,285.
The county seat is
Ithaca
, although
its most populous city is Alma
. The
Gratiot County
Courthouse was built in
the
classical revival style by
Claire Allen, a prominent
southern Michigan architect. It is one of seven sites in the County
listed on the
National Register of
Historic Places (No. 76002291 added 1976).
Geography
Adjacent counties
Highways
US Highways
US-127
routes north to I-75 and south to Lansing.-
BUS US-127 is a loop route through
downtown Alma.
-
BUS US-127 is a loop route through
downtown Ithaca.
-
BUS US-127 is a loop route through
downtown St. Louis.
Michigan State Trunklines
M-46 is an important
cross-peninsular highway that routes east to Saginaw. It ends at Port
Sanilac on Lake
Huron
. Westbound the highway courses to Muskegon on
Lake
Michigan
.
M-57 heads east to the northern
suburbs of Flint. Going west it ends at US
131 near the northern suburbs of Grand Rapids.
History
The
county is named for Captain Charles
Gratiot, who supervised the building of Port
Huron
's Fort
Gratiot
. See, List of Michigan county
name etymologies.
Emil Lockwood, a
noted Michigan legislator, represented Gratiot County in the
Michigan Senate from 1963-1970, much
of the time as Senate Majority Leader.There are six Michigan
historical markers in Gratiot county, namely:
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 42,285
people, 14,501 households, and 10,397 families residing in the
county. The
population density
was 74 people per square mile (29/km²). There were 15,516 housing
units at an average density of 27 per square mile (11/km²).
The racial makeup of the county was 92.01%
White, 3.72%
Black or
African American, 0.55%
Native American, 0.34%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 1.76% from
other races, and 1.60%
from two or more races. 4.43% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
24.4% were of
German, 17.2% American
, 12.6% English and
6.9% Irish ancestry according to
Census 2000. 96.1% spoke
English and 2.7%
Spanish as their first language.
There were 14,501 households out of which 34.00% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 57.60% were
married couples living together, 10.20% had a
female householder with no husband present, and 28.30% were
non-families. 23.70% of all households were made up of individuals
and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family
size was 3.02.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.80% under the
age of 18, 11.60% from 18 to 24, 29.50% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from
45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 108.30 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.10
males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,262, and
the median income for a family was $43,954. Males had a median
income of $32,442 versus $22,333 for females. The
per capita income for the county was
$17,118. About 7.30% of families and 10.30% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including
11.70% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or
over.
Government
The county government operates the
jail,
maintains rural roads, operates themajor local courts, keeps files
of deeds and mortgages, maintains
vital
records, administers
public health
regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of
welfare andother social services. The
county board of commissioners controls
thebudget but has only limited authority to make laws or
ordinances. In Michigan, most localgovernment functions — police
and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, streetmaintenance,
etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and
townships.
Gratiot County elected officials
(information as of September 2005)
Cities, villages, and townships
Cities
Villages
Unincorporated
Townships
Notes
- National Register of Historic Places in Gratiot
County.
- Saginaw
County Diocese home page
- Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan
University, Bibliography on Gratiot County
- Michigan Historical Markers.
External links
(northeast)
(northwest)
(east)
(west)
(southeast)
(south)
(southwest)
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