Douglas, Michigan
Encyclopedia
Douglas is a city in Allegan County
Allegan County, Michigan
-Interstates:* I-196* I-196 Business Loop serves the city of Holland.-US highways:* US-31* US-131-Michigan State Trunklines:* M-40* M-89* M-179* M-222-Allegan County Intercounty Highways:* A-2* A-37* A-42* A-45-Demographics:...

 in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. The population was 1,214 at the 2000 census. The city is surrounded by Saugatuck Township
Saugatuck Township, Michigan
Saugatuck Township is a civil township of Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,590 at the 2000 census. The 2008 population estimate is 3,065...

 and the city of Saugatuck
Saugatuck, Michigan
Saugatuck is a city in Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 925 at the 2010 census. The city is within Saugatuck Township, but is administratively autonomous....

 is adjacent on the north.

On December 13, 2004, residents voted to adopt a charter changing the status of the village into a city form of government. Under Michigan law, cities are independent entities whereas villages are part of the township. The official name is City of the Village of Douglas.

Douglas, originally known as Dudleyville, was first settled in 1851 as a lumber mill town. In 1861, residents changed the name to Douglas. Reportedly the name was chosen to honor the American statesman Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...

, but other reports indicate that a relative of the original owner of the land also suggested the name because he came from Douglas
Douglas, Isle of Man
right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...

, the capital of the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

. Douglas was incorporated as a village in 1870.

Area sawmills provided much of the lumber used to rebuild Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 after the Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...

 of 1871. After most of the harvestable trees in the area were cleared by the lumber industry, the area became a center for growing and shipping fruit, especially peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...

es. Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

 and resorts also became an important part of the area economy.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), of which, 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (6.91%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 1,214 people, 587 households, and 284 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 691.6 per square mile (266.3/km²). There were 853 housing units at an average density of 486.0 per square mile (187.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.87% White, 0.58% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.74% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.64% of the population.

There were 587 households out of which 18.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were non-families. 43.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.91 and the average family size was 2.60.

In the city the population was spread out with 16.1% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 30.7% from 45 to 64, and 25.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,250, and the median income for a family was $49,750. Males had a median income of $38,750 versus $28,906 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $26,517. About 8.7% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Other notable residents

  • George Washington Maher - early 20th century Prairie School
    Prairie School
    Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...

     style Architect
    Architect
    An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...


External links

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