Potterville, Michigan
| Potterville, Michigan | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
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| Coordinates: 42°37′39″N 84°44′31″W / 42.6275°N 84.74194°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| County | Eaton |
| Area | |
| - Total | 1.8 sq mi (4.8 km2) |
| - Land | 1.8 sq mi (4.8 km2) |
| - Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 899 ft (274 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 2,168 |
| - Density | 1,178.3/sq mi (455.0/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 48876 |
| Area code(s) | 517 |
| FIPS code | 26-66100[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0635356[2] |
Potterville is a city in Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,168 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] History
Potterville is named after Linus Potter, who settled his family in the area in November, 1844. Linus was elected supervisor of Benton Township in 1846. In 1830, Linus and his wife Diantha came from Cayuga County, New York, by way of the Erie Canal, to Buffalo and then by way of Lake Erie steamboat to Detroit. From there, Linus and Diantha walked to Plymouth, Michigan, a journey of about thirty miles, before walking on to Saline. The pair carried their three-year-old son, George, and their infant daughter, Louisa[3].
[edit] Recent calamities
On July 6, 1994, a lightning strike at Fox Park injured 22 beach-goers. The lightning struck the water and "walked up the beach."[4]
A rare Michigan earthquake on September 2, 1994, had its epicenter just east of the city. Measuring a magnitude of 3.4 on the Richter Scale, it could be felt through most of Mid-Michigan.[5]
The city experienced a massive train derailment of 35 Canadian National railroad cars over Memorial Day weekend 2002. Due to leaking propane from the cars, the entire city was evacuated.[6] The cause of the derailment was found to have been a faulty rail.
A second Canadian National train derailment occurred in May 2006, though no evacuation was necessary. The cause of this derailment was found to be a failed wheel bearing on the 82nd car.[7]
June 15, 2008 around 3:00 pm a fire arose at a nearby pallet factory. The fire took four days to be extinguished and 12 different local fire departments to assist. The cause of the fire was unknown.
January 30, 2010 at 11:30 pm a fire occurred in downtown Potterville burning two antique shops, a book store, Masonic Lodge, a dog grooming shop, and two apartments. This fire destroyed historic buildings that were 100 years old. No one was seriously hurt in the fire. Fire fighters from Benton Township, Windsor Township, Delta Township, Charlotte, and Eaton Rapids were initially involved in battling the blaze. When it was found that the city's water system could not keep up with the draw from fighting the inferno, tanker trucks from each of the above departments as well as several other departments in Eaton County were called to assist. It took nearly twelve hours to extinguish the blaze. The fire then rekindled on February 1, 2010 and was again extinguished.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km2), of which, 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2) of it is land and 0.54% is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 2,168 people, 802 households, and 572 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,178.3 inhabitants per square mile (454.9 /km2). There were 892 housing units at an average density of 484.8 /sq mi (187.2 /km2). The racial makeup of the city was 95.48% White, 0.23% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 1.48% from other races, and 1.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.01% of the population.
There were 802 households out of which 44.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 33.7% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 5.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,292, and the median income for a family was $48,182. Males had a median income of $33,988 versus $26,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,880. About 3.5% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
Potterville Public Schools has one elementary school, a middle school and high school.
[edit] Public Safety
The City of Potterville Police Department provides law enforcement services to Potterville with two full-time officers, one part-time officer, and a full-time chief. Fire services are provided by the Potterville / Benton Township Fire Department, which utilizes paid-on-call fire fighters and maintains two ambulances with Advanced Life Support crews.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Wright, Ruth L. The History of Potterville, Michigan, 1869-1976. Potterville: Al Dymond Color Service, 1977.
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19940707&id=exozAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TDgHAAAAIBAJ&pg=5584,1797605
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
[edit] External links
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Coordinates: 42°37′45″N 84°44′20″W / 42.62917°N 84.73889°W
