Beaverton, Michigan

Beaverton, Michigan
City
Location of Beaverton, Michigan Location of Beaverton, Michigan
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Gladwin
Area
• Total	1.31 sq mi (3.39 km2)
• Land	1.03 sq mi (2.67 km2)
• Water	0.28 sq mi (0.73 km2)
Elevation	719 ft (219 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	1,071
• Estimate (2012)	1,061
• Density	1,039.8/sq mi (401.5/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	48612
Area code(s)	989
FIPS code	26-06660
GNIS feature ID	0620961

Beaverton is a city in Gladwin County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,071 at the 2010 census.

The city is adjacent to Beaverton Township and incorporates some land formerly in the township.

Recent Photos

• P8274862-s.jpg

  Downtown Beaverton, MI looking west at the south side of Brown Street from M-18.

• P8274980-s.jpg

  Downtown Beaverton, MI looking east at the north side of Brown Street from Pierson Street.

History

Beaverton was first settled by lumbermen circa 1863 and was first known as Grand Forks, after the confluence of the Tobacco and Cedar rivers. It has been continuously settled since 1875. The town was founded in 1890 by the Donald Gunn Ross & Sons lumber company, from Beaverton, Ontario. Donald Ross became the first postmaster on February 17, 1891. Romig cites the city clerk of Beaverton that it incorporated as a village in 1901. However, Powers gives the date as 1896. It incorporated as a city in 1903, with William Ross as the first mayor. Powers gives the first settler's name as Marvil Secord, originally from Brantford, Ontario, and who is also recognized as the first permanent settler in Gladwin County. Beaverton is known as the Plastic Thermoforming capital of the world. It was a station on the Toledo-Ludington line of the Pere Marquette Railroad.

Date	Brief summary of the history of Beaverton, Michigan
Circa 1889	Donald Ross and George Dietz, both 17 years old, are sent by Donald Gunn Ross from Hatton Township, Clare County to scout a location for a "Sapless Paving Block" mill. The pair finds the perfect location at the confluence of the three branches of the Tobacco and Cedar rivers. The place eventually was to become Beaverton.
1890	Donald Gunn Ross and his sons establish a mill on the flats where the Cedar River joins the Tobacco Rivers—they called the place Cedarville. The Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad builds a line from Coleman to the Ross Mill at Cedarville. Their incentive was a contract with Ross Bros. to ship at least eight carloads of finished lumber product per day. The F&PM Railroad refused to call the place Cedarville because that name is already taken by several other stations. The new name of Grand Forks was assigned by the new station manager for the place beginning in September 1890.
February 1891	After several attempts to find a name acceptable to the Post Office, the name Beaverton was finally assigned to the place.
1894	The Village of Beaverton is organized and chartered by the County Board.
July 26, 1895	The Beaverton Clarion begins publishing under the pen of W. Walter Dann and Son. The first issue reports that three flourishing churches in the city were Methodist, Presbyterian and Latter Day Saints. The last two were in the process of building houses of worship.
August 4, 1899	Beaverton's first electrical plant supplied street lights and illumination for the businesses and many residences in Beaverton.
Spring 1900	The Ross Bros. opened a new bandsaw mill just east and south of the Pearson Street Bridge.
June 5, 1901	Will Arnell Jr., on a violent, drunken spree, engages in a gun battle on Brown Street with Sam Dopp. Upon subduing Mr. Arnell with two shots to the stomach, Sam Dopp and others entered the Commercial House Hotel managed by Arnell, and found Reah Arnell, Will's 5 year old daughter, dead of gunshot wounds, May Arnell, Will's wife, was shot and died the next day. Also injured were Will's invalid mother, shot in the arm by Arnell, Frank Arnell, brother of Will, shot in the arm, and Velma Ross, injured by shattered glass from a stray bullet that entered her bedroom. Mabel Arnell, Will's sister, was shot at twice, but not injured. Will Arnell Jr. was sentenced to 15 years in Jackson Prison for manslaughter.
1902	Waterworks installed to provide water for fighting fires and flushing toilets, not for human consumption. The electrical generating plant was also moved to the Ross dam.
1903	Ross Bros. open the Beaverton Elevator, a modern, high-capacity grain handling facility on Pearson Street with the railroad on the north. The Niggeman family's Bank of Beaverton built a new facility - known today as the Trumpeter Building and used since the summer of 2003 as the Beaverton Centennial Museum.
March 13, 1903	The Village of Beaverton becomes the City of Beaverton, chartered by act of the State Legislature.
November 1908	Beaverton opens a new three-story school building at the corner of Tonkin and Ross - the spot across from the Dairy Bar where the gymnasium and cafeteria of the primary building now stands.
September 23, 1909	Beaverton’s entire main commercial district is damaged, and much of it destroyed, by a fire and explosion. The next night the destruction of the Passenger Depot and the Ross Mercantile company buildings was completed when fire rekindled - they had already been damaged beyond repair. Three weeks later the Commercial House Hotel, badly damaged by the explosion, burned to the ground.
1919	Ronald Ross begins construction of the new concrete dam to replace the previous wooden one. That dam went into full production in 1921.
June 14, 1925	American Legion Memorial dedicated, including a speech by the governor. The monument by Helmut Von Zengen was cast of pigmented concrete and stood near Brown Machine's main entrance until it was moved to its current location in Ross Lake Park.
September 1929	Miss Beaverton, Loraine Budge, named Miss Michigan at the Miss America Pageant at Baltimore, Maryland.
1929–1964	Consolidation of the Beaverton City schools and those of the surrounding townships, including the "Brush College" school in Arthur Township, Clare County, made Beaverton one of the largest school districts in the state (area covered).
October 1930	After over 20 years of exploration, the first oil well was brought in near Beaverton. Two years later the Buckeye field was developed, and Gladwin County became the largest oil-producing area in Michigan for a brief time. Beaverton businesses servicing the needs of the oil industry survived the depression; oil payrolls and royalties assured the survival of many Beaverton retail businesses.
1935	The Beaverton Elevator burned to the ground. The only surviving section was a new concrete addition on the west end of the structure. A new elevator was built west of that addition on the property that once held the Ross Bros. Mercantile and passenger depot.
1936	New High School opened behind the original 1908 building on Tonkin Street.
1939	One of Beaverton's first landmarks, the original Opera House, by 1939 the main sales room of the W. H. Hall & Son Lumber Company, was destroyed by fire.
1940	The Gem Theater opened
1943	Rail service to Beaverton discontinued and the tracks removed for use in the war effort.
Spring 1945	The 1908 school building that had been the source of so much early pride in the city destroyed by an early morning fire.
1954	New elementary building opened west of Tonkin Street.
1965	New High School opened on South M-18 on the south edge of the City
1975	Beaverton's landmark, the former Pierce Hotel, known for most of its existence as Muscle Shoals Hotel, destroyed by fire. The Beaverton Library, located in the building, was also lost.
1985	New middle school opened; an addition to the north side of the high school.
1985	Beaverton Dam refurbished and placed back in service by the City of Beaverton.
1998	Beaverton's newest high school opened in 1998 on Crockett Road south of the city. A major facilities improvement project also added classrooms to the 1936 building and the 1954 building.
2002	New stainless steel, variable pitch turbines installed by the City of Beaverton at the dam, allowing the production of significantly more electricity, even during times of reduced water flow. The revenues allow the city to maintain the dam and Ross Lake as permanent features of the city.
2003	Beaverton celebrates the centennial of its founding with a temporary museum, parade, fireworks and the publication of "Beaverton: A Century in the Making" - a 340 page history of the area.
2009	Reconstruction of the Beaverton Hydro-Electric dam is undertaken to replace crumbling concrete, failing gates, and general structural repairs. It is funded by a combination of local revenues, a $750,000 grant from stimulus money, and a $1.1 million USDA loan. This combination allowed ALL of the weaknesses to be repaired at one time instead of spreading the repairs over a 10- or 15-year period.
October 17, 2015	79 years after its 1936 dedication as Beaverton's new High School, the building on the corner of M-18 and Tonkin streets is rededicated as the "Beaverton Activity Center" (B.A.C.) after a $1.3 million makeover. It was made possible after a local fund drive far exceeded a very ambitious goal, qualifying the project for additional grants from several philanthropic organizations. The facility includes a new home for the Beaverton branch of the Gladwin County District Library, a Physical Therapy facility for Mid-Michigan Medical Center which also serves as a fitness room, meeting rooms, display galleries for historical and artistic exhibitions, an updated and improved stage and gymnasium, and areas for programming of many types of community activities and events.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.31 square miles (3.39 km²), of which 1.03 square miles (2.67 km²) is land and 0.28 square miles (0.73 km²) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1910	418		—
1920	549		31.3%
1930	528		−3.8%
1940	641		21.4%
1950	794		23.9%
1960	926		16.6%
1970	954		3.0%
1980	1,025		7.4%
1990	1,150		12.2%
2000	1,106		−3.8%
2010	1,071		−3.2%
Est. 2014	1,060		−1.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,071 people, 462 households, and 258 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,039.8 inhabitants per square mile (401.5/km²). There were 537 housing units at an average density of 521.4 per square mile (201.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.7% White, 0.4% African American, 0.7% Native American, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population.

There were 462 households of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.2% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.2% were non-families. 40.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.13.

The median age in the city was 36.2 years. 27.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.9% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 17.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,106 people, 496 households, and 291 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,017.6 per square mile (391.8/km²). There were 546 housing units at an average density of 502.3 per square mile (193.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.02% White, 0.99% African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.

There were 496 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 39.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $20,625, and the median income for a family was $27,813. Males had a median income of $29,722 versus $18,558 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,125. About 18.1% of families and 21.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.9% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

• M-18

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Beaverton has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Further reading

• Romig, Walter, L.H.D. Michigan Place Names. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1986.
• Powers, Perry Francis. A history of northern Michigan and its people. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1912. [1] [2] [3]
• Frei, Robert W. and the Beaverton Centennial Committee. Beaverton: A Century in the Making. Beaverton: Beaverton Centennial Committee, 2003

External links

• City of Beaverton
• County of Gladwin
• Beaverton Historical Society
• Gladwin County Historical Society
• Gladwin County Economic Development Corp.
• Gladwin County Record & Beaverton Clarion
• Gladwin County Chamber of Commerce