Courtland Township is a civil township of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 7,678, up from 5,817 at the 2000 census. The community is quite rural in character and farmland still occupies much of the township, but the area also seems to be on the edge of expansion of the Grand Rapidsmetro area.
History
Barton Johnson was the first settler in the township, arriving in 1838. He lived near the modern intersection of 13 Mile Road and Myers Lake Road. About fifteen other families moved into the township the next year, and those people remained the only residents for the next fifteen years. The first township meeting was held at the home of Barton Johnson in 1839, the year the township was also officially organized.
Communities
The pioneers of the township had settled near the center of the township, and that small community became known as Courtland Center. The Courtland post office was housed there and served the area from October 24, 1856 until February 15, 1901. Today there is nothing recognizable as a village in that area. Evans and Sheffield were two small communities that formed around railroad stops along the Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon Railway, which later became part of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. Both communities were founded in 1888 and disappeared when the railroad eliminated the stops and later ceased service in 1946. Evans was located on Redmond road about a half mile south of Benham, and Sheffield was located at the intersection of Myers Lake and 15 mile roads. A post office operated in Sheffield from 1891 until 1906.
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,817 people, 1,936 households, and 1,635 families residing in the township. The population density was 164.0 per square mile. There were 2,022 housing units at an average density of 57.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 98.07% White, 0.19% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.33% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population. There were 1,936 households, out of which 44.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 77.4% were married couplesliving together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.5% were non-families. 12.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.26. In the township the population was spread out, with 30.5% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $64,430, and the median income for a family was $69,306. Males had a median income of $50,392 versus $29,744 for females. The per capita income for the township was $26,254. About 2.0% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.
