Fennville, Michigan

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Fennville, Michigan
settlement_type = City
nickname =
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mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Location of Fennville, Michigan


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Michigan
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Allegan

government_footnotes =
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unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 2.8
area_land_km2 = 2.7
area_water_km2 = 0.1
area_total_sq_mi = 1.1
area_land_sq_mi = 1.1
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 1459
population_density_km2 = 532.2
population_density_sq_mi = 1378.4

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 203
elevation_ft = 666
latd = 42 |latm = 35 |lats = 38 |latNS = N
longd = 86 |longm = 6 |longs = 13 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 49408
area_code = 269
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 26-27740GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0625892 [gnis|0625892]
website =
footnotes =

Fennville is a city in Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,459 at the 2000 census.

The city is situated on M-89 on the boundary between Manlius Township on the north and Clyde Township on the south. The city of Saugatuck is about seven miles northwest and Allegan is about 13 miles east-southeast.

The city and surrounding region is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) known for the production of Michigan wine.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), of which, 1.1 square miles (2.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.85%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 1,459 people, 484 households, and 349 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,378.4 per square mile (531.4/km²). There were 552 housing units at an average density of 521.5/sq mi (201.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.27% White, 3.15% African American, 0.75% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 19.81% from other races, and 2.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 32.63% of the population.

There were 484 households out of which 48.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.53.

In the city, the population was spread out with 38.0% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 15.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,013, and the median income for a family was $40,875. Males had a median income of $32,833 versus $25,556 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,127. About 9.7% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

History

The "official" and widely accepted account of how the city came to be known as Fennville, is that an early white settler by the name of Elam Atwater Fenn built a saw mill in the immediate vicinity of the current community. This lead to people referring to the settlement as "Fenn's Mill" which became the name associated with the post office there. Some early documents pluralized "Mill" to render "Fenn's Mills." The first road through what was to be Fennville was built by Harrison Hutchins and James McCormick in 1837.

A fire (possibly related to the Great Chicago Fire) destroyed the village in October 1871. About that time, the paperwork (timetables and such) for the recently completed Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad arrived which identified the community's station as "Fennville." This was thought by some at the time (including Hutchins) to have been the result of clerical error. However, Fenn himself recorded that the change in name had been suggested by and mutually agreed upon among certain leaders of the community in conjunction with the establishment of the new railroad station. The post office name was then changed to "Fennville" to match the station's name. The community was officially incorporated as the village of Fennville on February 20, 1889.

A United States atlas from 1895 indicates the town name was in some cases broken into two words, as in "Fenn Ville." Yet another documented variation was "Fennsville" as found in a plat book from 1873. See References below.

Notable residents

* Patti Birkholz - Michigan State Senator [http://www.senate.michigan.gov/gop/senators/about.asp?District=24]

References

* [http://fennville.memorieshop.com/Pilgrims/index.html#Map Western County 1837 Plat Map]
* [http://www.livgenmi.com/1895/MI/County/allegan.jpg1895 U. S. Atlas]
* [http://fennville.memorieshop.com/History/Recollections/Index.html History of Fennville by Henry Hudson Hutchins 1853 - 1933]
* [http://fennville.memorieshop.com/History/KitLane/index.html FENNVILLE the Early Years by Kit Lane as Published in the Fennville Herald 1982]

External links

* [http://www.ci.fennville.mi.us/ City of Fennville]
* [http://fennville.memorieshop.com/ Fennville History]
* [http://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/features/fennville32.aspx Fennville: Haven for the Creative Class]