Curtis Township, Michigan

Township of Curtis Curtis Township
—  Township  —
Township of Curtis
Coordinates: 44°33′24″N 83°45′40″W / 44.55667°N 83.76111°W / 44.55667; -83.76111Coordinates: 44°33′24″N 83°45′40″W / 44.55667°N 83.76111°W / 44.55667; -83.76111
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Alcona
Organized	1881
Government
– Supervisor
Area
– Total	70.7 sq mi (183.0 km2)
– Land	68.3 sq mi (176.8 km2)
– Water	2.4 sq mi (6.2 km2)  3.37%
Elevation	991 ft (302 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	1,378
– Density	20.2/sq mi (7.8/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	48737 (Glennie), 48761 (South Branch)
Area code(s)	989
FIPS code	26-19320[1]
GNIS feature ID	1626150[2]

Curtis Township is a civil township of Alcona County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,378 at the 2000 census.

Curtis Township was organized in 1881 and named for its first settler, E.D. Curtis.^[3] There were several lumber camps in the township area around Curtisville.^[4]

Communities

• Bamfields (also spelled Bamfield) was a station on the Au Sable and Northwestern Railroad near what was then known as the Bamfield Pond. A post office was established on December 27, 1922, with March C. Freeman as postmaster. The office closed on June 30, 1924, or about the time the Alcona Dam Pond was created.^[3][5][6] An old toll bridge made of logs, called the Bliss Bridge, crossed the Au Sable River here. It was later replaced by the Bamfield Bridge, which was made from hewed timber. The area where the bridges were located are now under the waters of the Alcona Dam Pond.^[7]
• Bryant is a named locality at the junction of Sawmill and Ford roads on the Bryant Creek (a tributary of the South Branch Pine River) at 44°31′30″N 83°39′57″W / 44.525°N 83.66583°W / 44.525; -83.66583 (Bryant, Michigan).^[8]
• Cheviers is a named locality approximately one mile northwest of Glennie at 44°34′05″N 83°44′13″W / 44.56806°N 83.73694°W / 44.56806; -83.73694 (Cheviers, Michigan).^[9]
• Curtisville is an unincorporated community at the junction of Curtisville Road and Bamfield Road at 44°33′35″N 83°52′02″W / 44.55972°N 83.86722°W / 44.55972; -83.86722 (Curtisville, Michigan).^[10] The name is based on the township, which was named for the first settler, E.D. Curtis. A post office named "Curtis" operated briefly, from June 14 until August 23, 1881, with James Simons as postmaster. The office reopened as "Curtisville" on December 29, 1897, with cattle dealer Joseph Bell as postmaster. The office was discontinued on August 14, 1909, reestablished on June 3, 1910, and closed on February 15, 1955.^[3][11]
• Glennie is an unincorporated community at the junction of Bamfield/Glennie Road and M-65 at 44°33′38″N 83°43′33″W / 44.56056°N 83.72583°W / 44.56056; -83.72583 (Glennie, Michigan).^[12] The ZIP code for Glennie is 48737 and includes the eastern two thirds of Curtis Township, as well as portions of Mitchell Township, Alcona County, Michigan, Millen Township, and Mikado Township in Alcona County, as well as a portions of Oscoda Township and Plainfield Township in Iosco County.^[13] A depot on the Detroit and Mackinac Railway as "Glennie Station" and a post office of the same name was established on October 5, 1889, with Ella Deacon as the postmaster. The name was shortened to "Glennie" on October 2, 1894. A plat for the settlement was not officially recorded until 1940.^[3][14]
• Kurtz is a named locality approximately four miles east of Glennie on the boundary with Mikado Township near the Kurtz Creek (a tributary of the South Branch Pine River) at 44°33′40″N 83°38′44″W / 44.56111°N 83.64556°W / 44.56111; -83.64556 (Kurtz, Michigan)^[15] Kurtz was a logging camp by a railroad siding founded by Hugo Kurtz circa 1900. A post office opened July 31, 1909, with Samuel P. Hertzler as postmaster, and continued until April 30, 1911.^[3][16]
• Wallace is a named locality about a mile north of Bryant at the junction of Aldritch and Ford roads on the Wallace Creek (a tributary of the South Branch Pine River) at 44°31′55″N 83°39′56″W / 44.53194°N 83.66556°W / 44.53194; -83.66556 (Wallace, Michigan).^[17]
• South Branch is to the south, and the South Branch ZIP code 48761 also serves a portion of western Curtis Township.^[18]

Geography

• According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 70.7 square miles (183 km²), of which, 68.3 square miles (177 km²) of it is land and 2.4 square miles (6.2 km²) of it (3.37%) is water.
• It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,378 people, 608 households, and 432 families residing in the township. The population density was 20.2 per square mile (7.8/km²). There were 1,605 housing units at an average density of 23.5 per square mile (9.1/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.62% White, 0.07% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.

There were 608 households out of which 19.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.5% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.66.

In the township the population was spread out with 19.9% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 20.1% from 25 to 44, 31.5% from 45 to 64, and 25.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females there were 108.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.3 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $27,048, and the median income for a family was $30,817. Males had a median income of $26,563 versus $22,778 for females. The per capita income for the township was $15,457. About 11.7% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Curtis Township, Michigan
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Romig, Walter (1986) [1973]. Michigan Place Names. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1838-X. 
4. ^ Lumber camp history in the Curtisville area
5. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bamfield Post Office (historical)
6. ^ "Alcona Dam Pond", by Timothy A. Cwalinski, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Status of the Fishery Resource Report, No. 2004-6, Year 2004
7. ^ "The History of Curtis Township, by Catherine Clarey, written as a school assignment during the period when the Alcona Dam was under construction, between 1914 and 1924; also archived at USGenWeb Archives, Submitted by Ronald J. Sortor
8. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bryant, Michigan
9. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cheviers, Michigan
10. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Curtisville, Michigan
11. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Curtisville Post Office (historical)
12. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Glennie, Michigan
13. ^ 48737 5-Digit ZCTA, 487 3-Digit ZCTA - Reference Map - American FactFinder, U.S. Census Bureau
14. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Glennie Post Office
15. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Kurtz, Michigan
16. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Kurtz Post Office (historical), N.B., Romig gives March 31, 1911 as the date the post office closed.
17. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Wallace, Michigan
18. ^ 48761 5-Digit ZCTA, 487 3-Digit ZCTA - Reference Map - American FactFinder, U.S. Census Bureau

External links

• Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography on Alcona County