467:, was first put up for sale in 1920. Marion and his wife Ella Auther used earnings from commissions on the lots they sold at Idlewild to make a down payment on the village's 200 acre lake. By 1921, the Authers purchased most of the Brooking Lumber Company's parcels but still lacked enough money to finalize the deal. Wilbur Lemon, a white businessman from Chicago, Illinois and one of the founders of the Idlewild Resort Company, aided them by purchasing the last remaining Brookings parcel. This allowed the Authers to launch their new resort and rename it Woodland Park. The area experienced a relative decline after the
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397:(also known as "Woodland Park Resort") is an unincorporated community in the northern part of the township, situated mostly between sections three and four on the north side of Woodland Lake (also known as Brookings or Crooked Lake), although settlement extends around the south side of the lake into sections nine and ten. It is at
539:
In the township the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 21.0% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over,
535:
living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.85.
503:
of 2000, there were 590 people, 262 households, and 162 families residing in the township. The population density was 16.9 inhabitants per square mile (6.5/km). There were 782 housing units at an average density of 22.4 per square mile (8.6/km). The racial makeup of the township was 72.71%
459:
the community as an all black resort town in 1923. Woodland Park began when the
Brookings Lumber Company sold the remnants of its old lumbering village in Newaygo County. The site, 15 miles south of
543:
The median income for a household in the township was $ 22,917, and the median income for a family was $ 26,625. Males had a median income of $ 24,792 versus $ 18,125 for females. The
666:
730:
Nancy
Derringer, 'Michigan Live,' Updated January 20, 2019; Posted July 18, 2013, "Once a gem of West Michigan, African-American resort community Idlewild seeks new identity"
471:
opened previously all-white resort facilities to
African-Americans. The area last had its passenger rail access to Grand Rapids and other mid-western cities in 1966 when the
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49309 also includes the
Woodland Park area. The community is approximately four square miles and contains a few hundred small parcels; however many of them are undeveloped.
782:
491:, the township has a total area of 35.8 square miles (93 km), of which 34.9 square miles (90 km) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km) (2.59%) is water.
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387:. It was established in 1882 under the name of Otia, after Otia Dingman who operated a hotel here. It was also for a time known as Dingman. The
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There were 262 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were
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December 1966, Chesapeake and Ohio
Railway/Baltimore and Ohio Railroad section, freight only status
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for the township was $ 13,526. About 16.0% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the
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Chesapeake and Ohio
Railway/Baltimore and Ohio Railroad timetable, April 1966, Table F
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Merrill Township, Michigan
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Woodland Park, Michigan
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https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/woodland-park-michigan-1921/
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Stephen J. Stephens, 'Black Past,' February 4, 2014, "Woodland Park, Michigan"
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Brohman, Michigan
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terminated service through nearby Bitely and other towns on the route from
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https://www.mlive.com/business/2013/07/once_a_gem_african-american_re.html
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49309 5-Digit ZCTA, 493 3-Digit ZCTA - Reference Map - American FactFinder
1119:‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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for the community (which also serves the surrounding area) is 49312.
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and about two and a half miles northwest of
Brohman. The Bitely
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704:Frederick Jones, Sr., Steven (March–April 2012).
706:Woodland Park: Newaygo County's Hidden Black Gem
439:African-American realtors Marion E. Arthur of
106:Merrill Township, Michigan (the United States)
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340:in the eastern part of the township, between
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862:Map of Michigan highlighting Newaygo County
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528:of any race were 3.22% of the population.
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1159:Townships in Newaygo County, Michigan
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73:Location within the state of Michigan
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204:34.9 sq mi (90.4 km)
196:35.8 sq mi (92.8 km)
25:Township in Michigan, United States
791:Municipalities and communities of
14:
669:, U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 census
212:0.9 sq mi (2.4 km)
321:. The population was 741 at the
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752:Official Guide of the Railways,
1164:Grand Rapids metropolitan area
1:
473:Chesapeake & Ohio Railway
379:, about eight miles north of
109:Show map of the United States
576:United States Census Bureau
489:United States Census Bureau
428:, about two miles south of
383:and about 15 miles west of
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100:Merrill Township, Michigan
67:Merrill Township, Michigan
32:Merrill Township, Michigan
15:
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794:Newaygo County, Michigan
469:Civil Rights Act of 1964
338:unincorporated community
220:850 ft (259 m)
16:Not to be confused with
679:Romig, Walter (1986) .
540:there were 97.7 males.
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463:and 37 miles north of
241:21/sq mi (8.0/km)
1169:Townships in Michigan
861:
608:"Explore Census Data"
572:"U.S. Census website"
416:43.71444°N 85.86139°W
363:43.68528°N 85.81556°W
264: • Summer (
138:43.70083°N 85.84972°W
1137:United States portal
681:Michigan Place Names
644:Michigan Place Names
238: • Density
76:Show map of Michigan
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119:Coordinates:
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615:. Retrieved
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579:. Retrieved
549:poverty line
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498:
495:Demographics
486:
465:Grand Rapids
438:
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302:
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22:
1055:Big Prairie
1042:communities
935:Big Prairie
849:White Cloud
816:White Cloud
809:County seat
581:January 31,
518:other races
419: /
381:White Cloud
366: /
336:is a small
329:Communities
323:2020 census
141: /
1153:Categories
555:References
499:As of the
407:85°51′41″W
404:43°42′52″N
385:Big Rapids
354:85°48′56″W
351:43°41′07″N
315:U.S. state
293:feature ID
225:Population
129:85°50′59″W
1115:Footnotes
1101:Woodville
1091:Riverview
1070:Brunswick
940:Bridgeton
912:townships
617:April 28,
508:, 20.00%
483:Geography
441:Cleveland
281:FIPS code
247:Time zone
217:Elevation
126:43°42′3″N
980:Goodwell
975:Garfield
900:Sheridan
892:township
879:Hesperia
522:Hispanic
512:, 1.86%
461:Idlewild
453:Illinois
434:ZIP code
389:ZIP code
342:sections
319:Michigan
285:26-53160
170:Michigan
40:Township
1106:Wooster
1065:Brohman
1020:Sherman
1015:Norwich
1005:Merrill
1000:Lincoln
970:Everett
920:Ashland
890:Charter
871:Village
844:Newaygo
834:Fremont
646:, p. 80
457:platted
449:Chicago
334:Brohman
313:in the
296:1626728
182:Newaygo
155:Country
1086:Lilley
1076:Croton
1060:Bitely
1030:Wilcox
1010:Monroe
995:Lilley
965:Ensley
960:Denver
955:Dayton
950:Croton
945:Brooks
930:Beaver
925:Barton
826:Cities
687:
526:Latino
501:census
430:Bitely
177:County
1050:Aetna
985:Grant
910:Civil
839:Grant
506:White
375:, on
305:is a
275:(EDT)
273:UTC-4
252:UTC-5
165:State
1025:Troy
990:Home
685:ISBN
619:2024
583:2008
445:Ohio
377:M-37
291:GNIS
188:Area
524:or
317:of
309:of
266:DST
233:741
1155::
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563:^
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1072:‡
881:‡
784:e
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254:(
20:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.