St. Joseph County, Michigan

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Saint Joseph County
County
Saint Joseph County Courthouse 8X10 II.jpg
St. Joseph County Courthouse in Centreville
St. joseph logo.PNG
Seal
Map of Michigan highlighting Saint Joseph County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Michigan
Michigan in United States.svg
Michigan's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°55′N85°32′W / 41.92°N 85.53°W / 41.92; -85.53
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Michigan.svg  Michigan
Founded1829 [1]
Named for Fort St. Joseph
Seat Centreville
Largest city Sturgis
Area
 • Total
521 sq mi (1,350 km2)
 • Land501 sq mi (1,300 km2)
 • Water20 sq mi (50 km2)  3.9%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
60,939
 • Density122/sq mi (47/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 6th
Website stjosephcountymi.org

St. Joseph County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan, on the central southern border with Indiana. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 60,939. [2] The county seat is Centreville. [3]

Contents

French colonists in the late 17th century were the first Europeans to explore this territory, and they named the St. Joseph River for the patron saint of New France. [1] This area was not part of the United States until after the American Revolutionary War. After the 1821 Treaty of Chicago was signed, regional tribes of the indigenous peoples ceded much land to the United States, opening the area for American settlement. The county was set off and organized by the Michigan Territory legislature in 1829; it was named for the river. [1]

The area is home to the oldest and largest Amish community in Michigan. [4]

St. Joseph County comprises the Sturgis, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek-Portage, MI Combined Statistical Area.

History

This area was settled by members of the three Algonquian-speaking tribes of the Council of Three Fires: the Potawatomi, Odawa, and Chippewa (known as Ojibwa in Canada). French explorers in a party led by Father Hennepin came upriver from Lake Michigan in 1679. A Jesuit mission was established near where the French later built Fort St. Joseph, and they named the waterway as the St. Joseph River.

After the United States and tribal representatives made the 1821 Treaty of Chicago, much of the land in this region was ceded by the tribes to Michigan Territory, so more settlers came from Detroit, Monroe and later from New England and upstate New York. The first were ethnic French. The Godfroy brothers of Detroit built a trading post south of the river, near the later Marantette House site. They appointed Frances Mouton as an agent to trade with the natives of the Nottawaseepe (sippi) settlement. They had another post nearby where Patrick Marantette, also from Detroit, first worked as an agent. He ended up settling in and marrying Mouton's daughter Francis. Theirs was the first marriage in the settlement, and their daughter the first European American born here, in 1836.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 521 square miles (1,350 km2), of which 501 square miles (1,300 km2) is land and 20 square miles (52 km2) (3.9%) is water. [5] It is the fourth-smallest county in Michigan by total area. The entire county lies in the Saint Joseph River watershed.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Strictly speaking, the Indiana Toll Road does not enter St. Joseph County, but it has an interchanges with US 131 barely within Indiana. Although M-66 does not quite reach the Toll Road, the toll road interchange is in clear sight from M-66 before it becomes Indiana State Road 9.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1830 1,313—
1840 7,068438.3%
1850 12,72580.0%
1860 21,26267.1%
1870 26,27523.6%
1880 26,6261.3%
1890 23,356−12.3%
1900 23,8892.3%
1910 25,4996.7%
1920 26,8185.2%
1930 30,61814.2%
1940 31,7493.7%
1950 35,07110.5%
1960 42,33220.7%
1970 47,39212.0%
1980 56,08318.3%
1990 58,9135.0%
2000 62,4226.0%
2010 61,295−1.8%
2020 60,939−0.6%
2023 (est.)60,878 [6] −0.1%
US Decennial Census [7]
1790-1960 [8] 1900-1990 [9]
1990-2000 [10] 2010-2018 [2]

The 2010 census indicates St. Joseph County had a 2010 population of 61,295. This decrease of -1,127 people from the 2000 United States Census represents a -1.8% population change (decrease) in that decade. In 2010 there were 23,244 households and 16,275 families in the county. The population density was 122.4 per square mile (47.3 per square kilometer). There were 27,778 housing units at an average density of 55.5 per square mile (21.4/km2). The racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 88.0% White, 2.5% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races.

There were 23,244 households, out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were husband and wife families, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.0% were non-families, and 24.8% were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.08.

The county population contained 25.9% under age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.

The 2010 American Community Survey 3-year estimate indicates the median income for a household in the county was $43,964 and the median income for a family was $52,600. Males had a median income of $30,517 versus $16,388 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,737. About 1.8% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.3% of those under the age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over. [11]

Government

St. Joseph County has long been reliably Republican. Since 1884, the Republican Party nominee has carried 81% of the elections (29 of 36).

United States presidential election results for St. Joseph County, Michigan [12]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
2024 19,40366.11%9,45232.20%4951.69%
2020 18,12764.78%9,26233.10%5922.12%
2016 14,88462.10%7,52631.40%1,5576.50%
2012 12,97855.36%10,11243.13%3551.51%
2008 12,88650.00%12,32247.81%5632.18%
2004 15,34060.78%9,64838.23%2510.99%
2000 12,90658.60%8,57438.93%5442.47%
1996 9,76446.96%8,52941.02%2,50112.03%
1992 9,83641.03%7,81732.61%6,31826.36%
1988 13,08464.79%7,01734.74%950.47%
1984 15,40572.34%5,79527.21%960.45%
1980 13,63163.19%6,31829.29%1,6217.52%
1976 11,78461.07%7,30637.86%2051.06%
1972 12,43869.15%5,11928.46%4312.40%
1968 10,44559.20%5,41330.68%1,78710.13%
1964 7,30743.96%9,28455.85%320.19%
1960 12,33769.13%5,44530.51%650.36%
1956 12,32874.11%4,24225.50%640.38%
1952 12,19172.19%4,50926.70%1871.11%
1948 8,16665.66%3,92831.59%3422.75%
1944 9,78569.45%4,23530.06%690.49%
1940 10,02566.32%5,04533.38%450.30%
1936 7,16051.85%6,04843.80%6014.35%
1932 5,62643.78%6,91753.82%3092.40%
1928 8,78176.05%2,69823.37%670.58%
1924 6,63365.43%2,64926.13%8558.43%
1920 6,03566.59%2,72530.07%3033.34%
1916 3,13245.01%3,56751.26%2603.74%
1912 1,22419.03%2,38837.13%2,82043.84%
1908 3,46652.93%2,77042.30%3124.76%
1904 3,64959.80%2,17635.66%2774.54%
1900 3,17848.19%3,28349.78%1342.03%
1896 3,18443.76%3,96854.54%1241.70%
1892 2,82443.93%2,44137.97%1,16318.09%
1888 3,37248.36%3,21746.14%3835.49%
1884 3,26146.89%3,55451.11%1392.00%

The county government operates the jail, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services. The county board of commissioners controls the and has 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.

Elected officials

  • 1st District Commissioner: Jared Hoffmaster
  • 2nd District Commissioner: Rick Shaffer
  • 3rd District Commissioner: Rusty Baker
  • 4th District Commissioner: Luis Rosado
  • 5th District Commissioner: Dennis Allen
  • 6th District Commissioner: Ken Malone
  • 7th District Commissioner: Terrance Conklin
  • Prosecuting Attorney: David Marvin (incumbent), Deborah Davis (elect) [13]
  • Sheriff: Mark Lillywhite (incumbent), Chad Spence (elect) [13]
  • County Clerk/Register of Deeds: Lindsay Oswald
  • County Treasurer: Kathy Humphreys
  • Drain Commissioner: Jeffrey Wenzel
  • County Surveyor: David Mostrom
  • 45th Circuit Court Judge: Paul Stutesman
  • 3B District Court Judge: Robert K. Pattison
  • 3B District Court Judge: Jeffrey C. Middleton
  • Probate Court Judge: David C. Tomlinson

(Information verified with county website [14] as of August 2024)

Communities

White Pigeon General Land Office White Pigeon land office.jpg
White Pigeon General Land Office

Cities

Villages

Unincorporated communities

Townships

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marantette Bridge</span> United States historic place

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bibliography on St. Joseph County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". US Census Bureau. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Michigan Amish". amishamerica.com. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  5. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  7. ↑ "US Decennial Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  11. ↑ "U.S. Census website". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  12. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of US Presidential Elections".
  13. 1 2 Rietsma, Jef (August 7, 2024). "Election results: Unofficial primary results for St Joseph County". Sturgis Journal. Sturgis, MI. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Government". St. Joseph County, Michigan. St Joseph County. Retrieved August 7, 2024.

41°55′N85°32′W / 41.92°N 85.53°W / 41.92; -85.53

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