Paw Paw, Michigan

Not to be confused with Paw Paw Lake, Michigan in Berrien County, approximately 30 miles to the west.

Paw Paw, Michigan
—  Village  —
Van Buren County Courthouse
Location of Paw Paw, Michigan
Coordinates: 42°13′2″N 85°53′24″W
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Van Buren
Area
• Total	2.9 sq mi (7.4 km2)
• Land	2.7 sq mi (6.9 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)
Elevation	732 ft (223 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	3,363
• Density	1,262.5/sq mi (487.5/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	49079
Area code(s)	269
FIPS code	26-62980
GNIS feature ID	634488

St. Julian Winery in Paw Paw

Paw Paw is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 3,363. It is the county seat of Van Buren County.

Overview

The village is located at the confluence of the east and south branches of the Paw Paw River in the northeast portion of Paw Paw Township. Paw Paw was incorporated in 1837 and is located in the southwestern portion of Michigan, on Interstate 94 approximately 20 miles west of Kalamazoo.

Paw Paw is in a rural location whose primary agricultural product is grapes, which are used both in the local Michigan wine industry and for juice and jellies. The St. Julian Winery and Warner's Winery started in Paw Paw. Paw Paw has an annual Wine and Harvest Festival, which traditionally occurs the weekend following Labor Day. The Festival features a beer tent, bandstand, live music, a popular grape stomping competition among barefoot locals, carnival foods, and fireworks over scenic Maple Lake. Fine dining establishments in the Theater District cater to attendees of the Festival.

Paw Paw is named for the pawpaw trees which once grew along the Paw Paw River. However, the pawpaw trees are less common at present due to the clearing of the shade trees that pawpaws require. An experimental planting of pawpaw trees on the high school grounds failed to flourish due to its location in an open, sunny field.

Paw Paw has also recently gained national prominence as the site of the Great Wheelchair Ride of Ben Carpenter (2007) The story of this event was carried by most major news media organizations, including the BBC.^{[citation needed]}

The village is the main setting for the musical Dear Edwina by Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich. The off-broadway edition of the show recently ended(Feb 25, 2011) after three successful years of production, see webpage link at www.dearedwina.com.

Historic sites

Listed in the National Register for Historic places is the Van Buren County Courthouse, wherein the first election was held in 1837. Renovations were completed in 1999.

Boy Scout Troops in Paw Paw

• Boy Scouts of America Troop 169
• Boy Scouts of America Troop 167 Paw Paw, Michigan (Website URL Needed)

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km²), of which, 2.7 square miles (7.0 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) of it (7.29%) is water.

Major highways

• I-94
• M-40

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,363 people, 1,417 households, and 855 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,262.5 per square mile (488.1/km²). There were 1,511 housing units at an average density of 567.3 per square mile (219.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 92.83% White, 2.85% African American, 0.83% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.19% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.97% of the population.

There were 1,417 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the village the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $38,750, and the median income for a family was $50,889. Males had a median income of $36,548 versus $29,559 for females. The per capita income for the village was $21,859. About 1.9% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Chris D'Arienzo, writer of the Tony Award-nominated musical Rock of Ages
• Doane Harrison, film editor and producer, best known for his long collaboration with director Billy Wilder.
• Joseph Labadie, Labor leader and political activist.
• Loretta Long, Actress and educator, best known as "Miss Susan" on Sesame Street.
• Charlie Maxwell ("Old Paw Paw"), a former Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox baseball player.
• Jerry Mitchell, Tony Award-winning choreographer, currently hosting Step It Up and Dance.
• Don Moorhead, record breaking football player for the University of Michigan football team from 1969-1970.
• A.W. Underwood, a 19th century Paw Paw native with the purported ability to set items ablaze
• Abraham Wechter, master luthier of Wechter Guitars.
• John Bonamego, NFL assistant coach formally with the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.
• Ron Labadie, head of scouting for the Miami Dolphins

See also

• Kalamazoo, Lake Shore and Chicago Railway

External links

• Paw Paw Michigan
• Southwest Michigan Planning Commission
• Two Rivers Coalition