Grand Haven, Michigan
Grand Haven, Michigan | |
|---|---|
| Nickname: Coast Guard City U.S.A. | |
 Location of Grand Haven within Michigan | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| County | Ottawa |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Roger Bergman |
| Population (2000) | |
| • City | 11,168 |
| • Metro | 1,306,768 (Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland MSA) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Website | http://www.grandhaven.org |
Grand Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Ottawa County6. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2000 census, Grand Haven population was 11,168. The city is located just north of Grand Haven Charter Township but is politically independent.
History
The city dates its founding to a fur-trading outpost first started by Madeline La Framboise and her husband (which was later taken over by the American Fur Company) called Gabagouache and dating back to at least 1809, although the Ottawa lived in the area much earlier as the river was a major Native American trade route into the interior of Michigan. The city was first called "Grand Haven" in 1835 and the community was incorporated as a city in 1867. The first permanent resident was Presbyterian minister William Ferry, who founded the first area church. Ferry is also the founder of the neighboring town of Ferrysburg. The second church opened 16 years later in 1850. Ferry began the first bank in 1851. Ferry also started a school Ferry Elementry and it is running to this day. Grand Haven developed into a logging, lumber mill and shipping area.
The former Grand Trunk Railway on the waterfront near the river is now a historical museum. The Story and Clark Piano Company built pianos in the city from 1900-1984. The smokestack at the piano factory collapsed in 1998 due to extremely severe weather. The oldest operating business in the city is the Eagle-Ottawa Leather Co. which traces its origin back to the Sheldon Tannery founded in 1838. In August of 2006, Eagle-Ottawa announced it would close all Grand Haven operations in October.
The Grand Haven Lighthouses were first built in 1839 on the south pier marking the channel into the river. The current lighthouses, painted red, were built in 1875 (outer light) and 1905 (inner). They are connected by a lighted catwalk which runs along the pier to the shore.
Notable natives
- Neal Ball, the first player in Major League baseball to execute an unassisted triple play (accomplished in 1909)
Grand Haven Today
The area is now a resort and boating community with a bit of a small town/suburban feel, with a large charter fishing fleet. Grand Haven State Park includes a beach and campground on Lake Michigan, near the pier and lighthouses.
Grand Haven is home to the U.S. Coast Guard's "Group Grand Haven" which coordinates all Lake Michigan Coast Guard activities. The first Coast Guard presence in the city was in 1932. The city hosts the annual Coast Guard Festival which draws U.S. and Canadian vessels along with parades of bands and other activities. The yearly attendance for this event exceeds 100,000 people over the 2 week period of the festival. Grand Haven is also official designated as "Coast Guard City, USA" by an act of Congress signed by President Clinton. The act was Public Law 105-383 enacted by the United States Congress and signed by the president on November 13, 1998.
The Grand Haven Musical Fountain was built on the opposite bank of the Grand River from the city center in 1962. It plays nightly in tourist season and has been repeatedly renovated to remain the world's largest such fountain.
Grand Haven was the first city in the United States to feature a city wide municipal wireless internet service. In 2006 the city started offering a free hour of wireless Internet service every day to residents, businesses and visitors.
US-31 runs through the city as a boulevard. A bypass plan is in the works to alleviate congestion through the city. A drawbridge over the Grand River is at the city's northern border. When the drawbridge is broken, the closest bridge is east of Spring Lake in Eastmanville, Michigan at 68th Ave. and Leonard.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.2 km² (7.4 mi²). 15.0 km² (5.8 mi²) of it is land and 4.1 km² (1.6 mi²) of it (21.62%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 11,168 people, 4,979 households, and 2,892 families residing in the city. The population density was 742.2/km² (1,923.5/mi²). There were 5,532 housing units at an average density of 367.6/km² (952.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.35% White, 0.45% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.58% of the population.
There were 4,979 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,322, and the median income for a family was $50,000. Males had a median income of $34,846 versus $28,472 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,274. About 3.2% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.