Fremont, Michigan
Encyclopedia
Fremont is a city in Newaygo County
Newaygo County, Michigan
Newaygo County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Grand Rapids–Wyoming, MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 48,460. The county seat is White Cloud. Newaygo County was either named for an Ojibwe leader who signed the Saginaw...

 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 4,081 at the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...

.

History

The first inhabitants of the Fremont area were native Americans. A group of settlers led by Daniel Weaver first settled in the area in 1855. The Weaver homestead served as the first post office and public school in the area. Shortly after the arrival of this group, in November 1855, Fremont Township was established and named in honor of John C. Fremont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...

, western explorer and Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 candidate for United States President. Weaver and his fellow settlers cleared the dense timber from the area in order to farm. Early in the 1870s, Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

 immigrant families began moving to the Fremont area from Holland
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....

 and Muskegon
Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...

. As a result, Fremont continues to recognize some of its early Dutch heritage in local festivals and pageants.

Due to the rich stands of virgin timber in the area, lumbering soon became a major industry in the town. To facilitate this emerging local industry, a railroad spur was completed, linking Fremont to the national railroad network. The growth of the lumbering industry was slowed in the 1860s by the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. In 1871, Fremont experienced a major forest fire with extensive damage to the area, especially the lumber mills, but the area was able to rebuild and even supplied some of the lumber that helped 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 1876.

Also in the mid 1870s the Gerber family had moved to Fremont and established a cannery, which became a major industry. In the 1890s, the lumbering industry, the source of a major raw material for canning, ran out of trees and the Gerber family turned to processing area farm produce and formed the Fremont Canning Company. In 1928 the Gerber canning plant started to manufacture baby foods. The Fremont Canning Company soon became Gerber Products Company
Gerber Products Company
Gerber Products Company is a purveyor of baby food and baby products. A former American-owned company, Gerber is now a subsidiary of Nestlé, and is currently located in Fremont, Michigan, USA.-History:...

 and Fremont became the home of the world's best known baby food. Gerber now controls over 80% of the U.S. baby food market. The Gerber Fremont plant produces baby food for over 20 foreign countries.

Fremont was also central to the plot of the 1966 Eurospy spy film, Secret Agent Super Dragon
Secret Agent Super Dragon
Secret Agent Super Dragon is a 1966 Italian Eurospy spy film, directed by Giorgio Ferroni and starring Ray Danton as the titular secret agent...

 which was later featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....

(MST3K).

The reel founder was Josh Otto. (True Fact)

Transportation

  • M-82
    M-82 (Michigan highway)
    M-82 is a state trunkline in the Lower Peninsula in the US state of Michigan that travels between Fremont and Howard City. The section between Newaygo and Howard City travels through Fremont and along the southern edge of Manistee National Forest. The current version of M-82 is actually the second...

  • M-120
    M-120 (Michigan highway)
    M-120 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan in the southwest Lower Peninsula. The highway runs northeast from Muskegon to Hesperia. In between, the road passes through suburban Muskegon, forests and farmland...

  • B-31
  • B-35
  • B-86

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 4,224 people, 1,788 households, and 1,140 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 1,268.3 per square mile (489.8/km²). There were 1,943 housing units at an average density of 583.4 per square mile (225.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.59% White, 0.38% African American, 0.50% Native American, 0.99% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.47% 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 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.96% of the population.

There were 1,788 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% 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, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 82.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,246, and the median income for a family was $42,578. Males had a median income of $37,872 versus $23,203 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 $19,475. About 8.8% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

The annual Baby Food Festival
Baby Food Festival
The National Baby Food Festival is a large community festival that takes place around mid-July in Fremont, Michigan, home of the Gerber Products Company. Originally entitled Old Fashioned Days, this celebration celebrated its 20th anniversary as the Baby Food Festival on July 21, 2010...

 takes place in July.

Business

  • Gerber Products Company
    Gerber Products Company
    Gerber Products Company is a purveyor of baby food and baby products. A former American-owned company, Gerber is now a subsidiary of Nestlé, and is currently located in Fremont, Michigan, USA.-History:...

     is located in Fremont. The Gerber Products Company was originally started as the Fremont Canning Company.

Notable people from Fremont

  • Bert Zagers
    Bert Zagers
    Bert Aldon Zagers was an American football player who played running back and defensive back for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League.-Early career:...

    , former running back
    Running back
    A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

     and defensive back
    Defensive back
    In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

     for the Washington Redskins
    Washington Redskins
    The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

     of the National Football League
    National Football League
    The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

    .
  • Joe Berger
    Joe Berger
    Joseph David Berger is an American football center for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan Tech....

    , current center
    Center (American football)
    Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

     for the Miami Dolphins
    Miami Dolphins
    The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

     of the National Football League
    National Football League
    The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

    .
  • Frank Daniel Gerber
    Frank Daniel Gerber
    Frank Daniel Gerber was an American manufacturer of baby food.- Early life :Gerber was born in the town of Douglas in Allegan County, Michigan in 1873. He graduated from Fremont High School of Western Michigan in 1887...

    , founder of the Fremont Canning Company
    Fremont Canning Company
    Fremont Canning Company established the baby food enterprise of Gerber Products Company.-Founders:The company was founded by Frank Daniel Gerber and his father in 1901 in Fremont, Michigan. The canning company began with a ten thousand dollar investment. The firm initially marketed canned peas,...

    , and later the Gerber Products Company
    Gerber Products Company
    Gerber Products Company is a purveyor of baby food and baby products. A former American-owned company, Gerber is now a subsidiary of Nestlé, and is currently located in Fremont, Michigan, USA.-History:...

    .

External links

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