Rudyard Township, Michigan
Encyclopedia
Rudyard Township is a civil township
Civil township
A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

 of Chippewa County
Chippewa County, Michigan
-National protected areas:* Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge* Hiawatha National Forest * Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge-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"....

. As of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

, the township population was 1,315.

Communities

Rudyard is an unincorporated community within the township located on M-48, near I-75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...

. The community was originally named "Pine River", however, because there was already another town in Michigan with that name, it was changed in 1890 to Rudyard. The name was suggested by Fred Underwood, an executive with the Soo Line Railroad
Soo Line Railroad
The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , controlled through the Soo Line Corporation, and one of seven U.S. Class I railroads. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste...

 because of his great admiration for Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...

. The ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 is 49780.

Rudyard Kipling wrote back to Mr. Underwood, in reference to the naming of the towns of Rudyard and Kipling, Michigan, with the following written on the back of a photograph:

KIPLING'S MICHIGAN TWINS

"Wise is the child who knows his sire"

The ancient proverb ran

But wiser far the man who knows

How, where and when his offspring grows

For who the mischief would suppose

I've sons in Michigan?

Yet am I saved from midnight ills

That warp the soul of man

They do not make me walk the floor

Nor hammer on the doctor's door

They deal in wheat and iron-ore

My sons in Michigan

Oh! Tourist in the Pullman car

(By Cook's or Raymond's plan)

Forgive a parent's partial view

But may be you have children too

So let me introduce to you

My sons in Michigan

(Text of Kipling poem from the Michigan Library Bulletin, V.15 No.1, Jan-Feb,
\1924, University of Michigan Libraries.) Content provided by
www.clyde-hendrickson.com I added the poem as it has meaning regarding the
history of the town of Rudyard.

Sports

Their Mascot is the Bulldog and their school colors are Orange and Black. They are currently part of the Straits Area Conference. While Rudyard is a Class C school, the baseball and softball teams were recently moved to Class D.

Rudyard Area Schools is a Class C school system, including the areas of nearby Trout Lake
Trout Lake Township, Michigan
Trout Lake Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 465 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

, Kincheloe
Kincheloe, Michigan
Kincheloe Air Force Base was a U.S. Air Force base during the Cold War. Built in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1943 during World War II, the base was in service until 1977....

, and some of Dafter
Dafter Township, Michigan
Dafter Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,304 at the 2000 census.-Communities:...

.
Cross Country

The school's Cross Country program has achieved a great deal of recent success under the current coach, Alan Jarvie. The Boys' Varsity team won the U.P. Division 2 Championship during their 2009 season, and finished runner-up to Stephenson during the 2010 season. The Girls' Varsity finished runner-up in 2009, and followed with their own U.P. Division 2 Championship in 2010.
Baseball

The Varsity Boys Baseball team recently (2007) made it to the MHSAA Semi-Finals but lost to 6-3 to Reading High School.
Basketball

In 2009, the Varsity Boys Basketball team won districts (St. Ignace and Manistique) and regionals (Houghton and Gwinn), but lost in the quarterfinal game held at LSSU to Suttons Bay.
Football

The Football team for the 09-10 season went "All Conference" with a record of 11-2.

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 township has a total area of 90.1 square miles (233.4 km²), of which, 89.9 square miles (232.8 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (0.18%) 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 1,315 people, 491 households, and 370 families residing in the township. 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 14.6 per square mile (5.6/km²). There were 671 housing units at an average density of 7.5 per square mile (2.9/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 88.97% White, 0.30% African American, 5.48% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.23% 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 4.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.13% of the population.

There were 491 households out of which 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% 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, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.6% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the township the population was spread out with 30.7% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $37,000, and the median income for a family was $41,875. Males had a median income of $34,375 versus $20,893 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 township was $15,941. About 5.7% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.

External links

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