Mackinac Island, Michigan:
This article is about a city in Michigan. For the island of the same name, see Mackinac Island. Mackinac Island is a city located on Mackinac Island and Round Island in Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total year-round population of 523, although there are thousands more during the summer tourist season. From 1818 to 1882 the city was the county seat of Michilimackinac (later Mackinac) county.
A unique ordinance prohibits the use of any motorized vehicles on the island. The most common means of travel are foot, bicycle, and horseback. Certain enumerated exceptions include emergency vehicles, electric wheelchairs for persons with disabilities, snowmobiles in winter, and golf carts for course use only.
Mackinac Island is home to the Grand Hotel where the 1980 movie Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour was filmed. That film presents a rare exception in which motorized vehicles were allowed on the island.
[edit] Boating
Mackinac Island is the destination of both the annual Chicago to Mackinac Sailboat Race, run by the Chicago Yacht Club and the annual Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race sponsored by the Bayview Yacht Club of Detroit, Michigan.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.6 square miles (14.5 km²), of which, 4.4 square miles (11.3 km²) of it is land and 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²) of it (21.86%) is water. Interestingly, the City of Mackinac Island not only exists on the island of the same name, but also takes in the entirety of nearby Round Island, situated in the Straits of Mackinac immediately to the south. Round Island is currently uninhabited and is owned by the U.S. Forest Service in its entirety, and is managed as part of the Hiawatha National Forest.
The Michigan Legislature created the City of Mackinac Island in 1899 via L.A. 437 of 1899 as a "special charter city." At that time, all of nearby Round Island was included in the corporate limits, although for reasons not currently clear. While all of Mackinac Island, the landform, is located within the corporate limits of the City of Mackinac Island, 82 percent of the island's landmass is owned by the State of Michigan and managed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission (MISPC), so that the City itself has direct jurisdiction over only 18 percent of the island, the remainder being under direct control of the Commission. The City and the Commission do, however, work together on the many issues affecting both the City and the State Park, such as the longtime ban on most motorized vehicles on the island.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 523 people, 252 households, and 143 families residing in the city. The population density was 119.8 people per square mile (46.2/km²). There were 565 housing units at an average density of 129.4 per square mile (49.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.72% White, 18.36% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 5.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population.
There were 252 households out of which 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.9% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.69.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,964, and the median income for a family was $50,536. Males had a median income of $39,219 versus $25,313 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,965. About 1.4% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
The island is served by the Mackinac Island Public School.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 45°50′57″N 84°37′08″W / 45.84917, -84.61889
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