Greilickville, Michigan

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Greilickville is an unincorporated community in Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a Census-designated place (CDP) used for statistical purposes and has no legal standing as a municipality. The population was 1,415 at the 2000 census.

The area is on Grand Traverse Bay just north of Traverse City and is a part of that city's urban area. The Traverse City Harbor is located in Greilickville. The CDP includes a larger area extending further inland than the settlement concentrated on the waterfront.

The area was first known as "Norristown", after Seth and Albert Norris who opened a gristmill there in about 1853. In the mid-1850s, Bohemian natives Godfrey Greilick and his sons built a small, water-powered sawmill. The Greilick brothers built a steam-powered mill in a few years. Until its destruction by fire in about 1907, the mill was one of the most important on Grand Traverse Bay, cutting eight and one-half million feet of hardwood lumber in 1883. Other industries in the nineteenth century included a brickyard, brewery, and tannery. When the Manistee and Northeastern Railroad entered town in 1892, the station was called "Greilicks" and the surrounding community also took this name. In 1961, when Greilickville's population was about 900, a special election was held in sections 28 and 33 of Elmwood Township, including Greilickville, to deceide a proposal regarding making those areas a home-rule village called Elmwood. The proposal was defeated by a vote of 238 to 88.

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 17.8 km² (6.9 mi²). 11.7 km² (4.5 mi²) of it is land and 6.2 km² (2.4 mi²) of it (34.59%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 1,415 people, 624 households, and 431 families residing in the community. The population density was 121.4/km² (314.4/mi²). There were 677 housing units at an average density of 58.1/km² (150.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the community was 97.95% White, 0.64% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population.

There were 624 households out of which 21.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.67.

In the community the population was spread out with 18.2% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 31.0% from 45 to 64, and 24.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $48,269, and the median income for a family was $51,250. Males had a median income of $45,938 versus $27,938 for females. The per capita income for the community was $30,822. None of the families and 1.2% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 1.8% of those over 64.