| Grand Haven, Michigan |
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It is located at the mouth of the Grand River and the river provides a haven from Lake Michigan which explains the name of the city. Several marinas along the river serve as man-made harbors. The city dates its founding to a fur-trading outpost of the American Fur Company called Gabagouache and dating back to at least 1809, although the Ottawa lived in the area much earlier as it was a major Native American trade route on the largest river into the interior of Michigan. The city was first called Grand Haven in 1835 and it was incorporated as a city in 1867. The first permanent resident was Presbyterian minister, William Ferry who founded the first area church; Ferry is also the founder of the neighboring town of Ferrysburg . The second church opened 16 years later in 1850. Ferry also began the first bank in 1851. Grand Haven developed into an logging, lumber mill and shipping area. The area is now a resort and boating community, with a large Charter Fishing fleet. Grand Haven State Park includes a beach and campground in the downtown area. The Grand Haven Lighthouse s were first built in 1839 on the south pier marking the channel into the river. The current lighthouses, painted red, were built in 1875 (outer light) and 1905 (inner). They are connected by a lighted catwalk which runs along the pier to the shore. Grand Haven is home to the U.S. Coast Guard 's Group Grand Haven which coordinates all Lake Michigan Coast Guard activities. The first Coast Guard presence in the city was in 1932. The city hosts the annual Coast Guard Festival which draws U.S. and Canadian vessels along with parades of bands and other activities. The yearly attendance for this event exceeds 100,000 people over the 2 week period of the festival. Grand Haven is also official designated as Coast Guard City USA by an act of Congress signed by President Clinton. The act was Public Law 105-383 enacted by the United States Congress and signed by the President on November 13, 1998. The former Grand Trunk Railway on the waterfront near the river is now a historical museum. The Story And Clark Piano Company built Piano s in the city from 1900-1984. The oldest business in the city is the Eagle-Ottawa Leather Co. which traces its origin back to the Sheldon Tannery founded in 1838. The lighted musical fountain was built on the opposite bank of the Grand River from the city in 1962. It plays nightly in tourist season and was once the world's largest such fountain. It covers nearly the area of a football field. US-31 runs through the city as a Boulevard . A bypass plan is in the works to alleviate congestion through the city. A Drawbridge over the Grand River is at the city's northern border. When the drawbridge is broken, the closest bridge is east of Spring Lake in Eastmanville, Michigan at 68th Ave. and Leonard. GEOGRAPHY According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 19.2 Km&2 (7.4 Mi&2 ). 15.0 km&2 (5.8 mi&2) of it is land and 4.1 km&2 (1.6 mi&2) of it is water. The total area is 21.62% water. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census 2 of 2000, there were 11,168 people, 4,979 households, and 2,892 families residing in the city. The Population Density was 742.2/km&2 (1,923.5/mi&2). There were 5,532 housing units at an average density of 367.6/km&2 (952.8/mi&2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.35% White , 0.45% African American , 0.56% Native American , 0.87% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 0.40% from Other Races , and 1.35% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,979 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were Married Couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.81. In the city the population was spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,322, and the median income for a family was $50,000. Males had a median income of $34,846 versus $28,472 for females. The Per Capita Income for the city was $22,274. 4.5% of the population and 3.2% of families were below the Poverty Line . 3.8% of those under the age of 18 and 3.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. WIFI COVERAGE From the press release dated "GRAND HAVEN, Mich. - July 29 , 2004 ": Heralding in a new era of city-wide WiFi Internet access, Grand Haven, Mich., Mayor Roger Bergman today announced the completion and full operation of the nation's first city-wide WiFi broadband network. Other cities have announced intent to build similar networks or have announced partial deployments; in contrast, the Grand Haven implementation, by Ottawa Wireless Inc., is the first full and complete city-wide WiFi deployment in the country. WiFi - External Links |
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