Clayton Township, Genesee County, Michigan

There is also Clayton Township, Arenac County, Michigan.

Charter Township of Clayton, Michigan Clayton Township
—  Charter township  —
Charter Township of Clayton, Michigan Location within the state of Michigan
Coordinates: 42°59′54″N 83°52′41″W / 42.99833°N 83.87806°W / 42.99833; -83.87806Coordinates: 42°59′54″N 83°52′41″W / 42.99833°N 83.87806°W / 42.99833; -83.87806
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Genesee
Settled	1839
Organized	1846
Government
– Type	Supervisor-Board
– Supervisor	Brian Sepanak
– Clerk	Dennis Milem
– Treasurer	vacant
– Trustee	Greg Childers, Rick Caruso, Chris Gehringer, Tammy Kapraun
Area
– Total	34.2 sq mi (88.7 km2)
– Land	34.3 sq mi (88.7 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	764 ft (233 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	7,546
– Density	220.3/sq mi (85.1/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	48433, 48449, 48473, 48532
Area code(s)	810
FIPS code	26-16260[1]
GNIS feature ID	1626093[2]
Website	http://www.claytontownship.org/

Clayton Charter Township, or more officially Charter Township of Clayton, is a charter township of Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,546 at the 2000 census.

Communities

• The Village of Lennon is partially within the township on the western border.
• The City of Swartz Creek is at the southeast corner, and has incorporated land that had been within the township.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 34.2 square miles (89 km²), all land. The south east corner is separated from the rest of the Township by the City of Swartz Creek.

The Central Michigan Railway runs northeast toward Flushing and, ultimately, Saginaw, and southwest through Lennon toward Durand.

In the late 1980s, the township's land was mostly dedicated to farming. A few subdivisions existed on the north and east sides of the township, closer to urban areas, as well as one in the middle of the township. The Village of Lennon and Swartz Creek Meadows, a mobile home park near the village, were the other built-up areas.

Since then, several large farms have been turned into subdivisions, and large houses have been constructed in more rural sections.

Government

Clayton has a Supervisor-Board style township government with elected supervisor, clerk, treasurer and four trustees.

The township and Swartz Creek cooperate in operating the Swartz Creek Area Fire Department, which has one fire station in each of the two municipalities. The Clayton Township Police Department was formed in 2002 after the passage of a public service property tax by residents.

District	Number	Officeholder
U.S. Representative	5	Dale E. Kildee
State Senate	27	John J. Gleason
State Representative	48th	Richard E. Hammel
	49	Jim Ananich
County Commissioner	8th	Ted Henry
School District	Swartz Creek	Multiple: see article
	Flushing	Multiple: see article
Community College	C.S. Mott	Multiple: see article
Polling Locations

Demographics

At the 2000 census^[1], there were 7,546 people, 2,760 households and 2,183 families residing in the township. The population density was 220.3 per square mile (85.1/km²). There were 2,903 housing units at an average density of 84.8 per square mile (32.7/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 95.39% White, 1.13% African American, 0.50% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 1.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.03% of the population.

There were 2,760 households of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.5% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.07.

Age distribution was 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males.

The median household income was $53,062, and the median family income was $58,211. Males had a median income of $42,160 versus $25,354 for females. The per capita income for the township was $23,445. About 4.9% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

The earliest settler in the survey township area occurred in Miller's Settlement which was latter incorporated into the City of Swartz Creek. The Lyon's Settlement, or just Lyons, was first in the current remaining township area in August 1836 and was settled by Isaac Lyons, Sr. and his sons: Isaac, William, Abrams and Daniel along with Jacob H. Coddington and John C. Clement, all of New York. Lyons was located northwest of Miller's Settlement.^[3] Flint Township was organized in 1836 and included the township areas of Burton, Clayton, Flushing, Mt. Morris, Genesee, Thetford, Vienna and Montrose. Clayton Township government was started in 1846.^[4] On November 3, 2009, a successful recall took place removing the township supervisor, Bruce Beatty, and two trustees, Glenn Huffman and Chuck Shinouskis.^[5][6]

Years	Supervisor	Clerk	Treasurer	Justices of the Peace	Constables	Highway Commissioners	Overseers of Highways
1846	Alfred Pond	Francis Brotherton	Theron Wallace	Seth Newell, Isaac Lyons, Caleb Calkins	John Nash, Silas Henry, Elhanan (sic) Fenner	Richard C. Goyer, John C. Clement, Jon Nash	Alfred Richardson, Wright Clement, Albert Granger, Alexander Fenner, William Piper, Bernard Lennon, John Nash, Morgan Champman, Abraham Knight, David Felt[7]
1916	Walter Morrison	Earl West	John Kountz			Albert Lewis	[8]
Years	Supervisor	Clerk	Treasurer	Trustees
2004–2008	Roderick Shumaker	Sally Lurvey	Beth Perkins Patti Mlynek (Interim)	Greg Childers	Glenn Huffman	Roger Meier	John Sayer
2008–2009	Bruce Beatty1. (11/3/2009)[5]	Dennis Milem	Natalie Dennings	Greg Childers	Jennifer Henry2. (5/12/2009)	Glenn Huffman1. (11/3/2009)[5]	Chuck Shinouskis1. (11/3/2009)[5]
2009–2010	Roger Meier 3. (12/10/09)[6]	Dennis Milem	Natalie Dennings	Greg Childers	John Simor3. (7/09/09)	John Sayer3. (12/10/09)[6]	Jane Wracan3. (12/10/09)[6]
2010–2011	Brian Sepanak	Dennis Milem	Natalie Dennings	Greg Childers	Rick Caruso	Chris Gehringer	Tammy Kapraun

1. Recalled. 2. Resigned. 3. Appointed.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Clayton Township, Genesee County, Michigan
3. ^ Hayes, Yutha (1976). Going up the Swartz. Swartz Creek: Bicentennial Commission of Swartz Creek. pp. 28. 
4. ^ Wood, Edwin O. (1916). History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions. Michigan Historical Commission. http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mi/county/lapeer/gen/ch5/pio.html. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Bryn Mickle. Voters recall supervisor and two trustees in Clayton Township. November 03, 2009 (retrieved on 11/16/2009). Flint Journal: (Booth Newspapers), Flint, Michigan.
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "Supervisor gets wish -- a Pay Cut." Page A9. December 13, 2009. Flint Journal: (Booth Newspapers), Flint, Michigan.
7. ^ Wood, Edwin O. (1916). History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions. Michigan Historical Commission. http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mi/county/lapeer/gen/ch5/clayton.html. 
8. ^ Wood, Edwin O. (1916). History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions. Michigan Historical Commission. http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mi/county/lapeer/gen/twpoff.html. 

External links

• Clayton Charter Township
• Swartz Creek Area Fire Department