Chesterfield Township, Michigan

Chesterfield Charter Township is a charter township of Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 37,405. The 2008 census estimate places the population at 44,612. The township was organized in 1842, formed out of a portion of Macomb Township. The Township is part of Metro Detroit.

Communities

 * Chesterfield is a name place along M-59 & M-3. Latitude: 42.6628105 Longitude: -82.8424208
 * Milton is a ghost town that was once a station on the Grand Trunk Railroad at 42.68917°N, -82.82194°W. The first post office in the township was established here in 1837 in the house of Robert O. Milton, with the name of "New Haven Post Office". This was moved to New Haven and Alfred D. Rice established another post office in Milton. That post office closed at some point and another was reopened in January 1856 with Edmund Matthews as postmaster. This office operated until July 1904. Milton was home to a school, three churches, a doctor, a blacksmith, and a couple of saloons. The last saloon survived until 2004 when it was torn down, at that time it was known as the "Teddy Bear Bar." The school, known as Milton School, was incorporated into another building which was torn down in 2002.
 * The city of New Baltimore, on the eastern side of the township, incorporates land that was formerly part of the township.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 30.7 square miles (79.4 km²), of which, 27.9 square miles (72.2 km²) of it is land and 2.8 square miles (7.2 km²) of it (9.07%) is water.

Chesterfield Township is bordered on the north by Lenox Township and the village of New Haven; on the east by Ira Township and New Baltimore; on the southeast by Anchor Bay, which is a part of Lake Saint Clair; on the south by Harrison Township; and on the west by Macomb Township.

In the first decade of the 21st century, much of Chesterfield Township is dominated by subdivisions, shopping developments, and an increasingly heterogeneous ethnic demographic, in contrast to previous decades when the community was considerably more rural and Caucasian. The far northern end of the township is still largely rural. Anchor Bay influences the southeastern part of the community, where many pleasure boats, docks, and marine-related businesses can be found.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 37,405 people, 13,347 households, and 10,076 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,341.7 per square mile (518.0/km²). There were 13,967 housing units at an average density of 501.0 per square mile (193.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 93.43% White, 2.97% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.87% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.52% of the population.

There were 13,347 households out of which 43.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.1% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the township the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 36.4% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $61,630, and the median income for a family was $69,554. Males had a median income of $50,834 versus $30,275 for females. The per capita income for the township was $24,410. About 3.9% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Chesterfield Township is covered by two primary and secondary school districts, the Anchor Bay School District, and L’Anse Creuse Public Schools.

Government
The township is governed by a board of trustees and a township supervisor.

Business
Chesterfield Township was home to Lionel, LLC; maker of Lionel Trains. In 2002 they moved their company out of the United States to China.