Washtenaw County, Michigan

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Washtenaw County, Michigan
Seal
Location in the state of Michigan
Michigan's location in the U.S.
Founded	1826 [1]
Seat	Ann Arbor
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	722.53 sq mi (1,871 km²) 709.94 sq mi (1,839 km²) 12.59 sq mi (33 km²), 1.74%
Population  - (2020)  - Density	372,258 456/sq mi (176/km²)
Website	www.ewashtenaw.org

Washtenaw County ( /ˈwɒʃtɪnɔː/) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 372,258. Its county seat is Ann Arbor. The United States Office of Management and Budget defines the county as part of the Detroit–Warren–Flint Combined Statistical Area. The county is home to the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, and Washtenaw Community College.

History

The earliest histories mention trade conducted in the area at the Potawatomi Trail and Pontiac Trail crossings of the Huron River by French traders, and later English then American settlers. The first successful settlement was established at the present site of Ypsilanti about 1809 by French traders.

In 1822, the Legislative Council of the Michigan Territory government defined the boundaries of the county; however, it was deemed to be a part of Wayne County. Washtenaw was established as a separate county by an act of the Michigan Territorial Legislature in 1826. It was attached for administrative purposes to Wayne County until {before 1829} when county government was seated. Ingham and other counties were formed from portions of territorial Washtenaw County.

Swamps were drained and farms were tiled to lower the water table. The swamp northwest of the I-94 and US-23 intersection, and areas within Waterloo Recreation Area still appear as they did to early settlers. As productive farms became established, the local deer herds grew. In the 1820s and 1830s, the events surrounding the independence of Greece from Turkey inspired construction of Greek Revival buildings, and the names of townships, towns, and children.

The "frostbitten constitutional convention" was held at Ann Arbor, the county seat, in 1835. Following resolution of the Toledo War (1835-1836), in which Michigan Territory gave up its claim to the Toledo strip in exchange for most of the Upper Peninsula, Michigan became a state on January 26, 1837. The University of Michigan, founded at Detroit in 1817, was then moved by the state to Ann Arbor in 1839 as a consolation for the city not being named the new state capital, as it had hoped. The University subsequently became and remains the largest employer in the county.

In 1849, the Michigan State Normal School (now Eastern Michigan University) was established in Washtenaw's oldest settlement, the city of Ypsilanti.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 722.53 square miles (1,871.3 km²), of which 709.94 square miles (1,838.7 km²) (or 98.26%) is land and 12.59 square miles (32.6 km²) (or 1.74%) is water.

Transportation

Interstate 94 Business Route Ann Arbor Washtenaw Avenue

Interstates

• I-94
• I-94 Business Loop is a route traveling through downtown Ann Arbor.

US highways

• US-12 Michigan Avenue a/k/a Chicago Road
• 
  BUS US 12 is a loop traveling through downtown Ypsilanti
• US-23
• 
  BUS US 23 is a loop route traveling through downtown Ann Arbor.

Michigan state trunklines

• M-14
• M-17
• M-52
• M-153

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1830	4,042		—
1840	23,571		483.2%
1850	28,567		21.2%
1860	35,686		24.9%
1870	41,434		16.1%
1880	41,848		1.0%
1890	42,210		0.9%
1900	47,761		13.2%
1910	44,714		−6.4%
1920	49,520		10.7%
1930	65,530		32.3%
1940	80,810		23.3%
1950	134,606		66.6%
1960	172,440		28.1%
1970	234,103		35.8%
1980	264,748		13.1%
1990	282,937		6.9%
2000	322,895		14.1%
2010	344,791		6.8%

As of the census of 2000, there were 322,895 people, 125,327 households, and 73,692 families residing in the county. The population density was 455 people per square mile (176/km²). There were 131,069 housing units at an average density of 185 per square mile (71/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.40% White, 12.29% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 6.30% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.04% from other races, and 2.57% from two or more races. 2.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.4% were of German, 9.0% English, 8.4% Irish, 5.3% Polish and 5.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 87.1% spoke only English at home; 2.7% spoke Spanish and 1.7% Chinese or Mandarin.

By 2005 non-Hispanic whites were 74.5% of the county population; African-Americans 12.2%; Native Americans 0.4%; Asians 7.8%; and Hispanic or Latinos 3.1% of the population.

There were 125,327 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.40% were married couples living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.20% were non-families. 29.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.10% under the age of 18, 17.10% from 18 to 24, 32.10% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 8.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,990, and the median income for a family was $70,393 (these figures had risen to $59,887 and $80,779 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $49,304 versus $33,598 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,173. About 5.10% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.60% of those under age 18 and 5.80% of those age 65 or over.

Cities, villages, and townships

Washtenaw County was formed from a portion of Wayne County. It is one of many Michigan counties which has a name not borne by any other county in the United States. As the population increased, townships were formed. Amongst the townships, communities have grown from hamlets into villages and cities. Some of the townships have elected to incorporate as charter townships.

Cities	Villages	Charter Townships	Townships
Ann Arbor Chelsea Milan Saline Ypsilanti	Barton Hills Dexter Manchester	Ann Arbor Charter Township Augusta Charter Township Pittsfield Charter Township Superior Charter Township York Charter Township Ypsilanti Charter Township	Bridgewater Township Dexter Township Freedom Township Lima Township Lodi Township Lyndon Township Manchester Township	Northfield Township Salem Township Saline Township Scio Township Sharon Township Sylvan Township Webster Township

There are also a number of unincorporated communities, such as Bridgewater, Dixboro, Delhi Mills, Geddes, Mooreville, Salem, Stoney Creek, Whittaker, Whitmore Lake, and Willis.

Also see: Official Washtenaw County website page listing localities

Government

Washtenaw County Court House, sculpture by Carleton W. Angell

Washtenaw County Clerk building

Elected officials

• Prosecuting Attorney: Eli Savit (Democrat)
• Sheriff: Jerry Clayton (Democrat)
• County Clerk/Register of Deeds: Lawrence Kestenbaum (Democrat)
• County Treasurer: Catherine McClary (Democrat)
• Water Resources Commissioner: Evan Pratt (Democrat)

The Board of Commissioners has nine members, elected from single member districts, on a partisan ballot, in November of even-numbered years. The term is two years. Information as of May 2017.

District	Commissioner	Party	Positions
1	Jason Maciejewski	Democrat	Working Session Committee Chair
2	Susan Shink	Democrat	Board Chair
3	Shannon Beeman	Democrat
4	Caroline Sanders	Democrat
5	Justin Hodge	Democrat	Ways & Means Chair
6	Ricky Jefferson	Democrat
7	Andy LaBarre	Democrat	Vice Chair of the Board
8	Jason Morgan	Democrat
9	Katie Scott	Democrat

Politics

United States presidential election results for Washtenaw County, Michigan

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	56,241	25.93%	157,136	72.44%	3,554	1.64%
2016	50,631	26.64%	128,483	67.59%	10,965	5.77%
2012	56,412	31.28%	120,890	67.04%	3,035	1.68%
2008	53,946	28.76%	130,578	69.62%	3,024	1.61%
2004	61,455	35.47%	109,953	63.46%	1,856	1.07%
2000	52,459	36.19%	86,647	59.78%	5,834	4.03%
1996	40,097	32.33%	73,106	58.94%	10,825	8.73%
1992	41,386	30.11%	73,325	53.34%	22,755	16.55%
1988	55,029	46.67%	61,799	52.41%	1,092	0.93%
1984	58,736	51.27%	55,084	48.08%	749	0.65%
1980	48,699	41.92%	51,013	43.91%	16,467	14.17%
1976	56,807	50.86%	50,917	45.59%	3,965	3.55%
1972	50,535	46.98%	55,350	51.45%	1,690	1.57%
1968	36,432	46.82%	33,073	42.50%	8,309	10.68%
1964	25,595	37.70%	42,089	62.00%	206	0.30%
1960	39,632	60.99%	25,129	38.67%	225	0.35%
1956	38,911	66.88%	19,124	32.87%	141	0.24%
1952	35,826	66.64%	17,671	32.87%	262	0.49%
1948	24,588	63.75%	12,721	32.98%	1,258	3.26%
1944	24,740	62.00%	14,922	37.39%	244	0.61%
1940	21,664	64.25%	11,802	35.00%	253	0.75%
1936	14,986	50.78%	13,589	46.05%	935	3.17%
1932	15,368	52.81%	12,552	43.13%	1,180	4.05%
1928	19,676	78.41%	5,308	21.15%	109	0.43%
1924	14,326	72.24%	3,603	18.17%	1,901	9.59%
1920	14,082	74.46%	4,468	23.63%	362	1.91%
1916	6,505	54.09%	5,279	43.90%	242	2.01%
1912	2,495	23.64%	4,164	39.45%	3,897	36.92%
1908	5,845	54.58%	4,441	41.47%	423	3.95%
1904	6,566	62.04%	3,779	35.71%	238	2.25%
1900	5,369	50.10%	5,072	47.33%	275	2.57%
1896	5,671	49.73%	5,348	46.90%	384	3.37%
1892	4,362	41.99%	5,508	53.02%	518	4.99%
1888	4,549	42.96%	5,482	51.78%	557	5.26%
1884	4,049	40.53%	5,315	53.20%	626	6.27%

Since 1988, when Michael Dukakis won it, the county has been a Democratic stronghold in local & national elections due to the presence of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan. In the 2020 United States presidential election it gave 72.4% of the vote to Democratic nominee Joe Biden, the highest ever margin for a Democrat in the county, the third-highest margin for any candidate in the county's history, and the highest in the state at the time as well. Between 1960 and 1988 it was generally a swing county: 1992 was the first time it voted for the same party as it did in the last election since 1960. Despite its modern-day Democratic strength, it was reliably Republican at the presidential level from 1896 to 1960, only voting Democratic once in that span in 1912 when the Republican vote was split. George McGovern's win over Richard Nixon in the county in 1972 despite the latter winning nationally by a landslide was a sign of the county's shift towards supporting the Democratic Party, though Michigander Gerald R. Ford won it in 1976 & Ronald Reagan won it in 1984 among his national landslide, being the most recent Republican to win the county.

Government services

Parks and recreation

Washtenaw county operates 10 parks, and 1 recreation center (gymnasium). These parks include one with a water sprinkler area for children to splash through, one park with a substantial water park component, and one golf course. The recreation center has a swimming pool, indoor track, basketball courts, complete set of resistance machines, a weight room, and several multipurpose rooms.

Washtenaw county is in the process of acquiring land for natural preservation. The program started in 2001 and will end in 2011. Eight parcels of land had been purchased as of July 2007. These parcels are of special ecological, recreational, and educational benefits. They are preserved in a natural unimproved state and are open to the public during daylight hours.

Wireless communication

In partnership with private enterprise, the county maintains a wireless network which is currently available to approximately 50% of county residents. The is the Wireless Washtenaw Project. The stated aim of this project is to one day provide wireless access to 100% of all county residents.

Miscellaneous

The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

See also

• USS Washtenaw County (LST-1166)
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Washtenaw County, Michigan

External links

• Dexter District Library
• Washtenaw County Government
• Past and present of Washtenaw County, Michigan by Samuel W. Beakes Chicago: The S.J. Clarke publishing co., 1906.
• Washtenaw Community Cafe An online discussion group for the county of Washtenaw.
• Ypsilanti Historical Society