Leaton is an unincorporated community in the township at. The community is named for attorney James C. Leaton, who lived in Mount Pleasant and also engaged in real estate and lumbering operations throughout the county. A post office was established on March 1, 1880, with William Allenbaugh as the first postmaster. It was a station on the Pere Marquette Railroad and was platted by the firm of Leaton & Upton in 1886.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,147 people, 415 households, and 304 families residing in the township. The population density was 31.4 per square mile. There were 446 housing units at an average density of 12.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 93.37% White, 0.26% African American, 4.10% Native American, 0.17% from other races, and 2.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.70% of the population. There were 415 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couplesliving together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.19. In the township the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median agewas 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males. The median income for a household in the township was $41,181, and the median income for a family was $44,926. Males had a median income of $30,938 versus $20,156 for females. The per capita income for the township was $17,480. About 5.2% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.
