Orion Charter Township (/ˈɒriən/ ORR-ee-ən) is a charter township of Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 39,816 as on July 1, 2019.[3]

Orion Township, Michigan
Charter township
Charter Township of Orion
Village of Lake Orion within Orion Township
Location within Oakland County (red) and the administered village of Lake Orion (pink)
Orion Township Location within the state of Michigan
Coordinates: 42°45′56″N 83°16′01″W
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Oakland
Established	1835
Government
• Supervisor	Chris Barnett
Area
• Charter township	35.9 sq mi (93.1 km2)
• Land	33.4 sq mi (86.4 km2)
• Water	2.6 sq mi (6.7 km2)
Elevation	1,004 ft (306 m)
Population  (2010)
• Charter township	35,394
• Density	990/sq mi (380/km2)
• Metro	4,296,250 (Metro Detroit)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	48348, 48359–48362
Area code(s)	248 and 947
FIPS code	26-61100[1]
GNIS feature ID	1626859[2]
Website	Official website

The official motto of the township and village is "Where living is a vacation".[4] "Lake Orion" is often used to describe both the village and the township. The township hosts General Motors' Orion Assembly plant which produces small cars.

Communities

• Lake Orion is an incorporated village located within Orion Township.

The Township has three unincorporated communities:

• Eames began as a station on the railroad in 1874. It was given a post office in 1883.[5]
• Lake Orion Heights is located between Lake Orion, Square Lake and Elkhorn Lake(42°46′13″N 83°15′51″W Elevation: 1007 ft./307 m.).[6]
• Gingellville, also Gingleville, is located at Baldwin and Gregory Roads (42°43′18″N 83°18′28″W Elevation: 1017 ft./310 m.).[7]

Former places include:

• Rudds Mill (also known as Rudds Station) is located at Kern and Clarkston Roads (42°46′04″N 83°13′06″W Elevation: 945 ft./288 m.).[8]
• Cole was a station on the Pontiac, Oxford and Northern Railroad. It had a post office from 1884 until 1907.[9]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 35.9 square miles (93 km²), of which 33.3 square miles (86 km²) is land and 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), or 7.18%, is water.

Orion Township Is bordered to the east by Oakland Township, to the west by Independence Township, to the south by Auburn Hills and to the north by Oxford Township.

Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 33,463 people, 12,246 households, and 8,976 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,003.3 per square mile (387.4/km²). There were 12,837 housing units at an average density of 384.9 per square mile (148.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 95.42% White, 1.26% African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.18% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.61% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.56% of the population.

There were 12,246 households, out of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the township the population was spread out, with 28.5% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 36.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $71,844, and the median income for a family was $83,514. Males had a median income of $61,562 versus $36,481 for females. The per capita income for the township was $30,299. About 2.0% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 and over.

Education

The majority of students attend Lake Orion Community Schools. A small portion is in the Pontiac School District. Another portion of students also attend Clarkston, Rochester and Oxford Community School Districts.[10]

St. Joseph Catholic School is located in the township.[11][12]

Notable people

This list includes people from Orion Township and the Village of Lake Orion

• Scott Amedure, The Jenny Jones Show murder victim[13]
• Matthew Blackmer, American pair skater[14]
• Christopher Bowman, U.S. Winter Olympian, National Champion, World Medalist champion figure skater {Sparks, Encyclopædia Britannica. March, 2008}
• William Broomfield, former congressman^{[citation needed]}
• Pat Caputo, sportswriter for The Oakland Press, radio personality at WXYT-FM^{[citation needed]}
• Rolla C. Carpenter, engineer, academic, writer^{[citation needed]}
• Dave Collins, former professional baseball player, former coach at Lake Orion High School^{[citation needed]}
• Barbara Ann Crancer, associate circuit court judge, daughter of Jimmy Hoffa^{[citation needed]}
• Matthew Dear, musician[15]
• Andrew J. Feustel, NASA astronaut[16]
• Frontier Ruckus, art-folk band^{[citation needed]}
• Tom Gillis, professional golfer[17]
• Jeff Heath, professional football player
• Frederick Henderson, former CEO of General Motors[18]
• James P. Hoffa, current International Brotherhood of Teamsters President, son of Jimmy Hoffa[19]
• Jimmy Hoffa (family summer home), former International Brotherhood of Teamsters President[20]
• Zak Keasey, former professional football player^{[citation needed]}
• Mickey Lolich, former professional baseball player and donut shop owner^{[citation needed]}
• James Marcinkowski, politician, attorney, former CIA case officer^{[citation needed]}
• Chris "Hot Wings" Michels, syndicated radio show host^{[citation needed]}
• Jamie Milam, professional hockey player[21]
• Troy Milam, professional hockey player[22]
• Frank Novak, former NFL coach^{[citation needed]}
• Raymond Plouhar, staff sergeant, USMC[23]
• William Edmund Scripps, newspaper magnate[24]
• Rich Strenger, lawyer, former professional football player[25]
• Rod Taylor, former professional hockey player
• Ron Tripp, World Sambo and Judo champion; President of USA Judo^{[citation needed]}
• Cynthia Watros, actress[26]
• Mike Weger, business owner, former professional football player^{[citation needed]}
• Louis George Carpenter, College Professor, Dean of Engineering & Physics at Colorado State University ^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of cities, villages, and townships in Michigan

References

• Romig, Walter (October 1, 1986) [1973]. Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities. Great Lakes Books Series (Paperback). Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1838-X.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orion Township, Michigan.

• Official website
• Orion Township Public Library
• Lake Orion Community Information Network