Superior Township, officially the Charter Township of Superior, is a charter township in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 13,058 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated community of Dixboro is within the township, near its western edge. The township is surrounded by the nearby, larger communities of Canton Township, Ypsilanti, and Ann Arbor. The township is largely rural north of Geddes Road, which has been designated by the township government as the northern limit of high density development. The Hyundai America Technical Center is located in the township.
Dixboro is on the western edge of Superior Township and was founded in 1824, by Captain John Dix, a retired sea captain. Dix purchased of land in section 18 of what was then Township Two in the District of Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan Territory. In 1827, Dix filed a plat for 60 lots around the village square. Although the community prospered and had its own post office for many years, it never incorporated to form a municipal government. The railroad bypassed Dixboro, and Ann Arbor soon quickly outpaced Dixboro. Dixboro is situated east of the junction of Plymouth Road and Dixboro Road at. The community's most notable features are the Dixboro General Store, founded in 1840, and the Humane Society of Huron Valley, founded in 1896.
Frains Lake is a small rural farming community in Superior Township, northeast of Ann Arbor. It is also the name of the small lake, wide by long, from which the hamlet gets its name. The community is in the area where Plymouth Road intersects with the northern terminus of Prospect Road, northeast of the village of Dixboro at. Road signs spell the community's name as "Frains Lake" without an apostrophe, but it is sometimes named "Frain's Lake" or "Frain Lake." The lake is at an elevation of and appears in the Denton U.S. Geological Map. The Pray Cemetery and the historic Esek Pray House are located to the east of Frains Lake; inside the community is the historic Frains Lake School, which was constructed in 1872. The lake and community were named after Michael Frain who came to the area in 1835, the date of establishment for the community given on the road signs on Plymouth Road.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of, of which is land, and, or 0.98%, is water. The Superior Dam is located in the southwest corner of Superior Township.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,740 people, 3,961 households, and 2,911 families residing in the township. The population density was 303.7 per square mile. There were 4,097 housing units at an average density of 115.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 63.01% White, 30.81% African American, 2.30% Asian, 1.83% Hispanics or Latinos, 0.47% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 2.67% from two or more races. There were 3,961 households, out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couplesliving together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67, and the average family size was 3.10. In the township the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median agewas 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $56,622, and the median income for a family was $64,916. Males had a median income of $50,351 versus $35,417 for females. The per capita income for the township was $31,093. About 8.4% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
Harris Fletcher, academic, author, and leading authority on John Milton
Dixboro Ghost
In 1846, Isaac Van Woert swore in an affidavit to a justice of the peace in Ann Arbor that he had been visited by the ghost of Martha Mullholland, who told him she had been murdered by a doctor at the behest of her brother-in-law, James Mullholland, to keep her from returning to Canada, and who had committed another murder and dumped the body in Frains Lake. His claims were investigated but were not substantiated. This spectral visitation would later become known as the "Dixboro Ghost.
