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Charlevoix, Michigan

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This article is about the city in Michigan. For other uses of “Charlevoix”, see Charlevoix (disambiguation).
Charlevoix, Michigan
City
Location in the state of Michigan
Location in the state of Michigan
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountyCharlevoix
Government
 • MayorNorman (Boogie) Carlson Jr.
Area
 • Total2.1 sq mi (5.6 km2)
 • Land2.0 sq mi (5.3 km2)
 • Water0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation
594 ft (181 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total2,994
 • Density1,468/sq mi (566.7/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
49711, 49720
Area code231
FIPS code26-14780Template:GR
GNIS feature ID0623115Template:GR
Websitehttp://www.cityofcharlevoix.org/

Charlevoix is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,994. It is the county seat of Charlevoix County6.

Charlevoix Township is a separate municipal entity that completely surrounds the city and has 1,697 year round population. Typical of Northern Michigan towns, Charlevoix has a significant seasonal tourist population in the summer.

Transportation

Water

The city is situated between Lake Michigan and the western end of Lake Charlevoix, which drains into Lake Michigan through the short Round Lake/Pine River complex in the heart of downtown Charlevoix. The Charlevoix South Pier Light Station marks the opening of the channel onto Lake Michigan. Charlevoix's Round Lake has been called the best natural harbor on Lake Michigan. The only way to get from Lake Michigan to East Jordan, Michigan, Boyne City, Michigan and other sites on Lake Charlevoix by boat is via Charlevoix. As a result, much commercial, industrial, and recreational boat traffic passes through Charlevoix.

Road

US 31 runs through the city, connecting with M-88 at Eastport, 17 miles to the south at the north end of Torch Lake, and with U.S. Highway 131 at Petoskey, 16 miles to the east on the Little Traverse Bay. M-66 has it northern terminus in the city and connects with M-32 at East Jordan, about 12 miles to the southeast at the end of the south arm of Lake Charlevoix. You can, in fact, take a different, more scenic route to M-32 by crossing the South arm of Lake Charlevoix via the Ironton Ferry.

Rail

Regular intercity passenger train service ended on October 29, 1966 after the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) discontinued Grand Rapids, Michigan - Charlevoix - Bay View, Michigan service. Freight rail service ended between Charlevoix and Williamsburg, Michigan in 1982 after Chessie System abandoned the track. The state of Michigan purchased the track between Charlevoix and Petoskey, Michigan from the Chessie System Railroads and contracted Michigan Northern Railway to operate it. This section of track was removed in the 1990s because of a series of washouts and no rail freight customers in Charlevoix. Sections of this rail line now serve as a bicycle trail. The Charlevoix railroad depot now serves as a museum for the Charlevoix Historical Society.

Air

History

Charlevoix is named after Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, a French explorer who travelled the Great Lakes and was that to have stayed the night on Fisherman's Island one night during a harsh storm. It was during this time that Native Americans were thought to have lived in the Pine River valley.

Soon after its formation in the 1850s, Charlevoix entered into a short lived conflict with Jesse Strang, leader and namesake of the Strangite Mormons, and then king of Beaver Island. Relations between Charlevoix residents and the Strangites were often tense. In 1853, a gunfight broke out between the two groups as the townspeople refused to hand over a man who was called for jury duty on the island, an event known locally as The Battle of Pine River. When Strang was assassinated on June 20, 1856, many believed residents from Charlevoix to be responsible.

Charlevoix was permanently settled in the post-Civil War era. In the 1880s, Several professors from the University of Chicago formed the Chicago Club Summer Home association. It wasn't long before the city became known as a resort destination. With two summer associations (the Chicago Club and the Belvedere Club), a number of extravagant summer hotels, including The Inn and The Beach, and with rail service at two train depots on the Pere Marquette Railway line, (one depot for the Belvedere Club on the south side of Round Lake and one on the north side near the Chicago Club), Charlevoix became known as one of the nation's finest summer communities.

Charlevoix was once a popular destination for many passenger liners, including the Manitou, Alabama, North American, South American, Milwaukee Clipper, Illinois, and others.

During Prohibition, Charlevoix became a popular place for gang members from the Chicago area. The Colonial Club, a restaurant and gambling joint on the city's north side became known as a popular place for the Midwest's most powerful and influential. John Koch, the club's owner, kept automobile license number "2", only second to the governor - a telling sign of his influence.

The converted lumber barge Keuka served as a blind pig and speakeasy and sailed nightly between Boyne City and Charlevoix, hosting its guests in relative comfort. A murder aboard the ship and the pressure of US Treasury Department surveillance, however, forced the owner to scuttle the vessel in Lake Charlevoix.

November 18, 1958, Charlevoix City Hall served as a makeshift morgue for the bodies of crewmen of the SS Carl D. Bradley after the lake freighter foundered in Lake Michigan during a severe storm. The USCG Cutter Sundew, stationed at Charlevoix, was one of the first vessels to arrive at the search area and played a pivotal role in that night's rescue.

The City of Charlevoix suffered economically from the 1950s to the 1980s as the manufacturing base largely evaporated, the train lines to the city ceased operating, and the larger tourist hotels fell out of business, leaving many empty buildings. The city has recovered from this slump via many redevelopment projects that have improved the downtown area. The 1980s also brought many condominium developments in the area.

Charlevoix was home to Michigan's first nuclear power plant, Big Rock Point, which operated from 1962 to 1997.

Another major employer in the Charlevoix area has been the Medusa cement plant, located south of town off of US-31 near Fisherman's Island State Park. In the late 1990s the cement plant was bought out by Cemex, a transnational company from Mexico. In 2000 Cemex sold the plant to St Marys Cement Group. The cement plant is a frequent port of call for the oldest freighter on the great lakes, St. Marys Challenger.

After the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey, who spent her summers in Charlevoix and had won a pageant in the town, Charlevoix became a regular haven for tabloid photographers, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Ramsey family. John Ramsey, JonBenet's father and husband of the late Patsy Ramsey, still resides in Charlevoix. The murdered Richard Loeb's family owned a summer estate in Charlevoix in the 1920s.

For a list of historical landmarks, see Charlevoix County.[2]

Tourism

Charlevoix bills itself as "Charlevoix the Beautiful" on its promotional literature and on municipal signs around the city. This moniker was also the name of a book by prominent local "stone house" architect Earl Young [1] [2] [3] .

Nearby Northern Michigan tourist destinations are:

Common annual festivals in Charlevoix are:

  • Venetian festival
  • Apple Festival
  • Waterfront art fair

Media and Culture

Charlevoix is primarily served by four newspapers: the Charlevoix Courier, the Petoskey News Review, the Traverse City Record-Eagle, and the Detroit Free Press. Most television and radio stations are based in Traverse City and serve all of the Northern Michigan region including Charlevoix.

Charlevoix has one movie tri-plex theater and no big box shopping outlets except for Kmart, so many locals and visitors go to Petoskey or Traverse City for these amenities. There is a community pool on the north side of town and a bowling alley on the south side near the Charlevoix Airport. Typical of small towns, High school athletic events are an integral part of Charlevoix's culture. During the winter, the town's basketball team draws much of the locals' attention. Recently a state park was built on the south side of town with the help of donations.

Several notable golf courses are built around Charlevoix: Belvedere, Charlevoix Country Club, Dunmaglas, Antrim Dells, and the nine-hole Charlevoix Municipal Golf Course, which was once eighteen holes as part of the C&O club.

The Charlevoix Community Skatepark opened in 2006. The park is supervised and helmets are required. Skateboards, Inline Skates and BMX bikes are allowed.

Skiing in the area is common winter sport in Northern Michigan, with the closest resort being Boyne Mountain near Boyne City.

Charlevoix used to be a "one stoplight town" until it got a second stopllight in the 1980s at the intersection of M-66 and US-31.

Notable Charlevoixians

Geography

Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there were 2,994 people, 1,375 households, and 812 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,465.8 per square mile (566.7/km²). There were 2,096 housing units at an average density of 1,026.2/sq mi (396.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.92% White, 0.27% African American, 2.84% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.43% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.24% of the population.

There were 1,375 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,284, and the median income for a family was $42,853. Males had a median income of $31,544 versus $24,375 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,319. About 3.7% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

Current Issues

Charlevoix, like many Michigan resort towns, is suffering from a real estate slump as a result of decreased revenue in Detroit auto manufacturers.

Charlevoix has recently begun to contend with the prospect of urban sprawl. Following the construction of a K-mart plaza development in the 1990s, many businesses and the post office moved to this area. There was significant controversy in the 1990s over the decision to extend water pipes into rural farmland south of Charlevoix in order to build a new Charlevoix High School. [6] [7] [8] In the early 2000s, Charlevoix successfully fought off a bid by Walmart to open a store along this new water pipeline on the south edge of town. [9] [10]

From 2006 – 2008, Charlevoix has offered to host the LaSalle-Griffon Project, a project that seeks to the ruins of a shipwreck that may be Le Griffon. [11]

Notes

  1. ^ Pellston Regional Airport
  2. ^ Michigan Historical Markers
  3. ^ Diocese of Gaylord.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charlevoix,_Michigan&oldid=190982512"