View source for New Buffalo Township, Michigan

{{Use American English|date=January 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = New Buffalo Township, Michigan
|settlement_type          = [[Civil township]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = 
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = 
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               = New Buffalo Township Seal.jpg

<!-- Maps -->
|pushpin_map            =Michigan#USA
|pushpin_label_position =top<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_label          =New Buffalo Township
|pushpin_map_caption    =Location within the state of Michigan
|pushpin_mapsize        =
|image_map                = New Buffalo Township, MI location.png
|mapsize                  = 250
|map_caption              = Location within [[Berrien County, Michigan|Berrien County]] (red) and the administered villages of [[Grand Beach, Michigan|Grand Beach]] and [[Michiana, Michigan|Michiana]] (pink)

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = Country
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Michigan]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Michigan|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Berrien County, Michigan|Berrien]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = Supervisor
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = Established
|established_date         = 1836

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = 
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 52.5
|area_land_km2            = 51.8
|area_water_km2           = 0.6
|area_total_sq_mi         = 
|area_land_sq_mi          = 
|area_water_sq_mi         =

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = <ref name="2020 census">{{cite web |title=New Buffalo township, Berrien County, Michigan - Census Bureau Profile |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/New_Buffalo_township,_Berrien_County,_Michigan?g=060XX00US2602157230 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=18 March 2024}}</ref>
|population_total         = 2455
|population_density_km2   = 
|population_density_sq_mi =

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 199
|elevation_ft             = 653
|coordinates              = {{coord|41|47|18|N|86|45|23|W|region:US-MI|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code|ZIP code(s)]]
|postal_code              = 49117, 49129
|area_code                = [[Area code 269|269]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 26-57230<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1626799<ref>{{gnis|1626799}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|https://newbuffalotownship.org/|Official website}}
|footnotes                = 
}}
'''New Buffalo Township''' is a [[civil township]] of [[Berrien County, Michigan|Berrien County]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Michigan]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the township population was 2,455. It is the southwesternmost township on the [[Lower Peninsula of Michigan]].

==Communities==
*The city of [[New Buffalo, Michigan|New Buffalo]] is within the township, but is administratively autonomous.
*The villages of [[Grand Beach, Michigan|Grand Beach]] and [[Michiana, Michigan|Michiana]] are also within the township.
*The unincorporated community of [[Union Pier, Michigan|Union Pier]] is situated on the boundary between New Buffalo Township and [[Chikaming Township, Michigan|Chikaming Township]].

The township is part of a region sometimes referred to as [[Harbor Country]].

==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2024}}
At the time of the arrival of the first Europeans to the area, French explorer Father [[Jacques Marquette]] in 1675 reported seeing the [[Miami people]] in his travels down the nearby [[St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)|St. Joseph River]]. Four years later, the exploration party of [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle]], reported that the Miami were being displaced by the [[Potawatomi]].

When Berrien County was first established in 1831, New Buffalo was a part of [[Berrien Township, Michigan|Berrien Township]]. New Buffalo Township was established by an act of the state legislature on March 12, 1836. Five days later, the village of New Buffalo was incorporated. The township originally included what are now [[Three Oaks Township, Michigan|Three Oaks Township]] and [[Chikaming Township, Michigan|Chikaming Township]]. Three Oaks and Chikaming were set apart in 1856.

In 1834, one of the first permanent European-American settlers to the area, Captain Wessell Whittaker, ran his schooner ''Post Boy'' aground near what is now the village of [[Grand Beach, Michigan|Grand Beach]]. The captain and crew found shelter a bit south of there at the present-day [[Michigan City, Indiana|Michigan City]], [[Indiana]]. While traveling north to [[St. Joseph, Michigan|St. Joseph]] to report the ship's loss to its underwriters, Whittacker was so struck by the beauty of the area and the natural harbor that he filed claim to a large tract of land around the mouth of the [[Galien River]]. Whittacker named it after his hometown of [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], [[New York (state)|New York]].

After laying out plans for the city and gaining partners to develop the area, the value of land rapidly increased in a period of [[land speculation]]. This lasted until the [[Panic of 1837]], which brought an abrupt end to most speculative land development in the area for several years. Followed soon after by a severe winter in 1841, the area struggled economically. The western terminus of the [[Michigan Central Railroad]] in New Buffalo was completed in 1849. The harbor was improved and the economy flourished briefly until the railroad connection to [[Chicago]] was completed in 1853, after which the use of the harbor for shipping declined.

Around the turn of the century, the area began to be recognized for its vacation and resort potential, resulting in summer cottages, camps and hotels. 1921 saw the opening of the [[Golfmore Hotel]], rated as one of the finest resorts on the [[Great Lakes]]. Unfortunately, the hotel was destroyed by fire in 1936. Like much of the country, the area struggled through the [[Great Depression]], followed by booming growth after [[World War II]].

During the 1970s and 1980s nightclubs just north of the [[Indiana]] state line in New Buffalo Township were popular destinations for young adults from [[Illinois]] and Indiana who were under age 21. Both of those states had minimum drinking ages of 21, whereas Michigan's minimum drinking age was 18.

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the township has a total area of {{convert|52.5|sqkm|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|51.8|sqkm|disp=flip}} is land and {{convert|0.6|sqkm|disp=flip}}, or 1.21%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010">{{Cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/0600000US2602157230| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212154832/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/0600000US2602157230| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): New Buffalo township, Berrien County, Michigan| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| accessdate=January 13, 2014}}</ref>

Due to the [[Lake Michigan]] shoreline on the northwest and the [[Indiana]] border to the south, New Buffalo Township has an irregular triangle shape and is one of the smallest townships in Michigan. Most [[survey township]]s are {{convert|36|sqmi|km2}}. However, the townships along the Michigan side of the Indiana border are truncated so that they are only {{convert|6|mi|0}} wide by about {{convert|3.5|mi}} tall. The village of [[Michiana, Michigan|Michiana]] within New Buffalo Township consists of the partial section 24 of survey township T8S R22E, the westernmost portion of the [[Lower Peninsula of Michigan]]. The rest of the township consists of the several partial and whole sections of T8S R21E as well as the western row of sections from T8S R20E, section 31 of T7S R20E, and section 35 and 36 of T7S R21E.

The [[Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians|Pokagon Indian Reservation]] is located within the township.

==Demographics==
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 2,468 people, 1,093 households, and 718 families residing in the township.  The population density was {{convert|121.9|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 2,139 housing units at an average density of {{convert|105.6|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the township was 93.88% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 3.65% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.16% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.32% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.04% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.28% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.66% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.62% of the population.

There were 1,093 households, out of which 20.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 29.2% 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 2.23 and the average family size was 2.74.

In the township the population was spread out, with 18.0% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 33.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.4 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $46,991, and the median income for a family was $58,333. Males had a median income of $46,411 versus $27,639 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the township was $33,587.  About 3.5% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://newbuffalotownship.org/ New Buffalo Township official website]
*[http://www.harborcountry.org/newbuffalo/index.php New Buffalo History] at Harbor Country Chamber of Commerce website
*[http://history.rays-place.com/mi/berr-newbuffalo.htm Early history of New Buffalo Township, Michigan]

{{Berrien County, Michigan}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Townships in Berrien County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Townships in Michigan]]