Van Buren County, Michigan
Van Buren County, Michigan | ||
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Location in the state of Michigan |
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Michigan's location in the U.S. |
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Founded | 1829 | |
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Seat | Paw Paw | |
Area - Total - Land - Water |
1,090.19 sq mi (2,824 km²) 610.86 sq mi (1,582 km²) 479.33 sq mi (1,241 km²), 43.97% |
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Population - (2000) - Density |
76,263 124/sq mi (48/km²) |
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Website | www.vbco.org |
Van Buren County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2000 census, the population was 76,263. It is part of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Area. The county seat is the village of Paw Paw.
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[edit] History
The county was named for Martin Van Buren before he became president. He was U.S. Secretary of State and later Vice President under President Andrew Jackson, and thus Van Buren is one of Michigan's "Cabinet counties".
The Van Buren County Courthouse was built by Claire Allen, a prominent southern Michigan architect.
[edit] Government
The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major 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 and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.
[edit] Van Buren County elected officials
- Prosecuting Attorney: Juris Kaps
- Sheriff: Dale R. Gribler
- County Clerk: Tina Leary
- County Treasurer: Karen Makay
- Register of Deeds: Mark A. Smith
- Drain Commissioner: Joe Parman
- County Surveyor: Donald Gilchrist
(information correct in October 2006)
[edit] Geography
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,090.19 square miles (2,823.6 km2), of which 610.86 square miles (1,582.1 km2) (or 56.03%) is land and 479.33 square miles (1,241.5 km2) (or 43.97%) is water.[1] The county seat is Paw Paw.[2]
Much of the county is farmland dotted with small towns. Areas near Kalamazoo County are becoming suburbanized. Many of the inland lakes are ringed with homes, either by people living year-round or cottagers, generally people who live the rest of the time in Chicago. Tourism is a major industry in the areas near Lake Michigan.
[edit] Geographic features
[edit] Cities, villages and townships
Cities |
Villages |
Townships
[edit] Transportation
Interstates
US Highways
Michigan State Trunklines
Van Buren County Highways
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Allegan County - north
- Kalamazoo County - east
- St. Joseph County - southeast
- Cass County - south
- Berrien County - southwest
- Lake County, Illinois - west
Allegan County | ||||
Lake County, Illinois | Kalamazoo County | |||
Van Buren County, Michigan | ||||
Berrien County | Cass County | St. Joseph County |
[edit] Parks, preserves, natural areas
- Dunes Parkway, an 84 acre (340,000 m²) preserve of dunes in Covert Township
- Jeptha Lake Fen Preserve, a 49 acre (200,000 m²) preserve in Columbia Township
- Kal-Haven Trail, a multi-use trail converted from old rail line that runs from Kalamazoo to South Haven
- Keeler State Game Area, 400 acres (1.6 km²) in Keeler Township
- Northpoint land - high dunes on 17 acres (69,000 m2) on Lake Michigan, north of Van Buren State Park
- Ross Preserve, a 1,449 acre (5.9 km²) preserve of coastal plain marsh in Covert Township owned by The Nature Conservancy
- Van Buren State Park
- Van Buren Trail State Park is adjacent to Kal-Haven Trail
[edit] Demographics
Historical populations | |||
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Census | Pop. | %± | |
1900 | 33,274 |
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1910 | 33,185 | −0.3% | |
1920 | 30,715 | −7.4% | |
1930 | 32,637 | 6.3% | |
1940 | 35,111 | 7.6% | |
1950 | 39,184 | 11.6% | |
1960 | 48,395 | 23.5% | |
1970 | 56,173 | 16.1% | |
1980 | 66,814 | 18.9% | |
1990 | 70,060 | 4.9% | |
2000 | 76,263 | 8.9% | |
2010 | 76,258 | 0% |
The 2010 United States Census[3] indicates Van Buren County had a 2010 population of 76,258. This is a decrease of -5 people from the 2000 United States Census. Overall, the county had a 0.0% growth rate during this ten year period. In 2010 there were 28,928 households and 20,434 families in the county. The population density was 125.5 per square mile (48.5 square kilometers). There were 36,785 housing units at an average density of 60.6 per square mile (23.4 square kilometers). The racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 82.7% White, 3.9% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 10.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races.
There were 28,928 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were husband and wife families, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.4% were non-families, and 24.0% were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.5% under age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96 males.
The 2010 American Community Survey 1-year estimate[3] indicates the median income for a household in the county was $44,242 and the median income for a family was $53,642. Males had a median income of $28,079 versus $18,124 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,495. About 10.0% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under the age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ a b "American Factfinder". United States Census Bureau accessdate=March 11, 2012. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.
[edit] External links
- Van Buren County Government Information
- Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography on VanBuren County
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