Watersmeet Township, Michigan

Watersmeet Township, Michigan
—  Township  —
Watersmeet Township, Michigan Location within the state of Michigan
Coordinates: 46°15′32″N 89°15′57″W / 46.25889°N 89.26583°W / 46.25889; -89.26583Coordinates: 46°15′32″N 89°15′57″W / 46.25889°N 89.26583°W / 46.25889; -89.26583
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Gogebic
Area
– Total	277.8 sq mi (719.5 km2)
– Land	254.8 sq mi (659.8 km2)
– Water	23.1 sq mi (59.7 km2)
Elevation	1,736 ft (529 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	1,472
– Density	5.8/sq mi (2.2/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	49969
Area code(s)	906
FIPS code	26-84380[1]
GNIS feature ID	1627220[2]

Watersmeet Township is a civil township of Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,472 at the 2000 census.

The unincorporated community of Watersmeet is within the township on the middle branch of the Ontonagon River near the junction of U.S. Highway 2 and U.S. Highway 45 at 46°16′04″N 89°10′40″W / 46.26778°N 89.17778°W / 46.26778; -89.17778.

In late 2003 and early 2004, the boys' high school basketball team of the K-12 Watersmeet Township School (at the time, 9-12 grade enrollment 78; it has since absorbed 13 of neighboring Marenisco's 60 K-12 students [1] and 2005-2006 enrollment now stands at 96 [2]) was featured in a series of commercials on ESPN. Part of the reason ESPN chose Watersmeet for the commercials was the school's unusual nickname of Nimrods. The tag line of the commercials was "Without sports, who would cheer for the Nimrods?" The ads were so popular that the team, its coach, and octogenarian fan Dale Jenkins, all of whom were featured on the commercials, appeared on The Tonight Show on March 15, 2004.

The township and the Nimrods are the focus of an 8-part documentary, Nimrod Nation, which aired on The Sundance Channel. Filming started in September 2005 and continued until June, 2006. The idea for a series was reportedly formed when actor Robert Redford, one of the channel's owners and a champion of Native American issues, was informed that Watersmeet Township School's student body (and varsity basketball team) was approximately 50 percent Native American in composition. [3]

Other attractions in Watersmeet include the Lac Vieux Desert casino and the nearby Lights of Paulding.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 277.8 square miles (719 km²), of which, 254.8 square miles (660 km²) of it is land and 23.0 square miles (60 km²) of it (8.30%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,472 people, 552 households, and 385 families residing in the township. The population density was 5.8 per square mile (2.2/km²). There were 1,466 housing units at an average density of 5.8 per square mile (2.2/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 79.76% White, 0.14% African American, 17.93% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.02% of the population.

There were 552 households out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.73.

In the township the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 19.4% from 25 to 44, 28.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 121.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.5 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $32,019, and the median income for a family was $36,359. Males had a median income of $31,458 versus $20,588 for females. The per capita income for the township was $17,874. About 6.5% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.6% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

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: Watersmeet Township, Michigan