Kent County, Michigan

Kent County is located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the county had a population of 657,974,[2] making it the fourth most populous county in Michigan, and the largest outside of the Detroit area. Its county seat is Grand Rapids.[3] The county was set off in 1831, and organized in 1836.[1] It is named for New York jurist and legal scholar James Kent,[4] who represented the Michigan Territory in its dispute with Ohio over the Toledo Strip.

Kent County
County
Kent County Courthouse
Kent County Courthouse
Flag of Kent County
Flag
Official seal of Kent County
Seal
Map of Michigan highlighting Kent County
Location within the U.S. state of Michigan
Map of the United States highlighting Michigan
Michigan's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°02′N 85°33′W
Country United States
State Michigan
FoundedMarch 2, 1831 (created)
1836 (organized)[1]
Named forJames Kent
SeatGrand Rapids
Largest cityGrand Rapids
Area
 • Total872 sq mi (2,260 km2)
 • Land847 sq mi (2,190 km2)
 • Water25 sq mi (60 km2)  2.9%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total657,974
 • Density766/sq mi (296/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts2nd, 3rd
Websitewww.accesskent.com

Kent County is part of the Grand Rapids–Kentwood Metropolitan Statistical Area and is West Michigan's economic and manufacturing center. It is home of the Frederik Meijer Gardens, a significant cultural landmark of the Midwest. The Gerald R. Ford International Airport is the county's primary location for regional and international airline traffic.

History

The Grand River runs through the county. On its west bank are burial mounds, remnants of the Hopewell Indians who lived there.[5] The river valley was an important center for the fur trade in the early 19th century. After the War of 1812, Rix Robinson and Louis Campau were the earliest traders in the area.[6] In 1826, Campau established a trading post in Grand Rapids. In 1831, he bought land and platted the town. Campau is considered the town's "father".[7][8][9] One year later, government surveyor Lucius Lyon purchased land north of Campau's property. Campau surveyed and platted the village following Native American trails[8] and Lyon had platted his property in an English grid format, which meant there were two adjoining villages, with different platting formats.[8] Campau later merged the villages under the name of Grand Rapids.[8]

In 1831, it was set off from Kalamazoo County.[10] In 1838, Grand Rapids was incorporated[8] as the county's first village. By the end of the century, stimulated by the construction of several sawmills, the area was a significant center for agriculture, logging, and manufacturing furniture.

Geography
Rockford Dam in Rockford, Michigan

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 872 square miles (2,260 km2), of which 847 square miles (2,190 km2) is land and 25 square miles (65 km2) (2.9%) is water.[11] Kent County's highest point is Fisk Knob Park,[12] in Solon Township, at 1048 feet.[13]

Rivers

Trails

These hiking and biking trails run through the county:

Adjacent counties
13 Mile Road in the rural Courtland Township

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18402,587—
185012,016364.5%
186030,716155.6%
187050,40364.1%
188073,25345.3%
1890109,92250.1%
1900129,71418.0%
1910159,14522.7%
1920183,04115.0%
1930240,51131.4%
1940246,3382.4%
1950288,29217.0%
1960363,18726.0%
1970411,04413.2%
1980444,5068.1%
1990500,63112.6%
2000574,33514.7%
2010602,6224.9%
2020657,9749.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]
1790–1960[15] 1900–1990[16]
1990–2000[17] 2010–2019[2]

As of the 2010 United States Census,[18] there were 602,622 people living in the county. 76.1% were non-Hispanic White, 10.2% Black or African American, 2.4% Asian, 0.7% Native American, 4.5% of some other race and 2.6% of two or more races. 9.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

The Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids

As of the census[19] of 2000, there were 574,335 people, 212,890 households, and 144,126 families living in the county. The current estimated population is 604,323. The population density was 671 inhabitants per square mile (259/km2). There were 224,000 housing units at an average density of 262 per square mile (101/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 83.13% White, 8.93% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 1.86% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.34% from other races, and 2.16% from two or more races. 7.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

19.6% reported being of Dutch ancestry; 14.9% German, 13.1% English, 7.4% Irish, 7.1% Polish and 5.5% American ancestry according to the 2010 American Community Survey.[20] 90.0% spoke only English at home, while 6.0% spoke Spanish.

There were 212,890 households, out of which 35.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% were married couples living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.20.

The age distribution of the county was as follows: 28.30% were under the age of 18, 10.50% from 18 to 24, 31.20% from 25 to 44, 19.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,980, and the median income for a family was $54,770. Males had a median income of $39,878 versus $27,364 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,629. 8.90% of the population and 6.30% of families were below the poverty line. 10.20% of the population under the age of 18 and 7.50% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.

Transportation

Air service

Commercial air service to Grand Rapids is provided by Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR). Previously named Kent County International Airport, it holds Grand Rapids' mark in modern history with the United States' first regularly scheduled airline service, beginning July 31, 1926, between Grand Rapids and Detroit.

Bus service

Public bus transportation is provided by the Interurban Transit Partnership, which brands itself as "The Rapid." Transportation is also provided by the DASH buses: the "Downtown Area Shuttle." These provide transportation to and from the parking lots in the city of Grand Rapids to various designated loading and unloading spots around the city.

Railroad

Amtrak provides direct train service to Chicago from the passenger station via the Pere Marquette line. Freight service is provided by CN, CSX Transportation, and by a local short-line railroad, the Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad.

Highways

County-designated highways

Economy

These corporations are headquartered in Kent County, in the following communities:

Government

The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions—police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc.—are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Elected officials

(information as of 2022 election)

Politics
United States presidential election results for Kent County, Michigan[22]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 165,741 45.78% 187,915 51.91% 8,375 2.31%
2016 148,180 47.66% 138,683 44.61% 24,031 7.73%
2012 155,925 53.00% 133,408 45.35% 4,873 1.66%
2008 148,336 48.83% 149,909 49.34% 5,554 1.83%
2004 171,201 58.85% 116,909 40.19% 2,781 0.96%
2000 148,602 59.37% 95,442 38.13% 6,274 2.51%
1996 121,335 54.32% 85,912 38.46% 16,132 7.22%
1992 115,285 47.53% 82,305 33.93% 44,963 18.54%
1988 131,910 63.77% 73,467 35.52% 1,465 0.71%
1984 137,417 67.03% 66,238 32.31% 1,365 0.67%
1980 112,604 54.59% 72,790 35.29% 20,896 10.13%
1976 126,805 67.22% 59,000 31.28% 2,828 1.50%
1972 104,041 59.30% 67,587 38.52% 3,833 2.18%
1968 85,810 53.68% 61,891 38.72% 12,149 7.60%
1964 66,830 43.41% 86,860 56.42% 269 0.17%
1960 95,477 60.70% 61,313 38.98% 506 0.32%
1956 94,969 65.73% 48,871 33.82% 642 0.44%
1952 79,647 62.07% 47,221 36.80% 1,447 1.13%
1948 53,669 54.33% 43,205 43.74% 1,902 1.93%
1944 54,163 54.65% 43,679 44.07% 1,274 1.29%
1940 53,131 52.05% 48,196 47.22% 749 0.73%
1936 36,633 42.94% 44,823 52.55% 3,848 4.51%
1932 42,186 48.64% 41,601 47.97% 2,936 3.39%
1928 56,573 75.12% 18,229 24.21% 508 0.67%
1924 45,207 76.61% 7,982 13.53% 5,819 9.86%
1920 40,802 70.14% 14,763 25.38% 2,610 4.49%
1916 16,095 42.46% 20,364 53.73% 1,444 3.81%
1912 6,498 20.35% 9,412 29.48% 16,016 50.17%
1908 16,576 55.44% 11,445 38.28% 1,880 6.29%
1904 20,254 71.63% 6,430 22.74% 1,593 5.63%
1900 17,861 54.79% 13,775 42.26% 962 2.95%
1896 17,053 54.34% 13,582 43.28% 749 2.39%
1892 12,388 46.31% 11,533 43.11% 2,829 10.58%
1888 12,811 49.41% 11,864 45.76% 1,254 4.84%
1884 9,007 45.74% 9,639 48.95% 1,045 5.31%

Historically, Kent County, like West Michigan as a whole, was a stronghold for the Republican Party. However, the Democratic Party has received increased support since the 2000s, with Grand Rapids and nearby suburbs supporting the Democratic Party while more rural areas support the Republican Party.[23][24] Grand Rapids also normally sends Democrats to the state legislature.

In 2008, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama narrowly carried the county, receiving 49.34% of its votes to Republican John McCain's 48.83%.[25] It was the first time the county had supported a Democrat for president since 1964, and only the fourth time since 1884. By comparison, George W. Bush had taken almost 59 percent of the county's vote in 2004.

In 2012, the county returned to the Republican camp as Mitt Romney won 53.0% of the vote to Obama's 45.35%.[26] Four years later, Republican Donald Trump won the county with 47.66% of the vote, to 44.61% for his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, while Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party received 4.58%.[27]

In 2020, Joe Biden received nearly 52% of the votes in the county, the largest vote share for a Democratic candidate since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. In comparison, Barack Obama narrowly carried the county by 1,573 votes in 2008.

Kent County is one of only thirteen counties in the United States to have voted for Obama in 2008, Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2020.[lower-alpha 1]

Today, the county is considered a bellwether politically.[28] In 2018, Gretchen Whitmer became the first Democratic governor to win the county after James Blanchard's 1986 landslide re-election.[29][30] Also during the same cycle, incumbent Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow narrowly carried the county by 0.3 points, only the second time (following Carl Levin in 2008) since Donald Riegle in 1982 the county supported a Democrat for Senate.[31][32][33]

Despite the county's bellwether status at the federal and state level, it remains very Republican downballot. The GOP still holds most county-level offices, as well as a majority on the county commission.

In the House of Representatives, the bulk of the county has been located in the Michigan's 3rd congressional district since the 1993 redistricting cycle. That district had previously been the 5th congressional district from 1873 to 1993.[34] The current Representative for the district is Democrat Hillary Scholten. In the House, Grand Rapids had been represented by a Republican since 1977, after Richard Vander Veen, first elected in a 1974 special election following the district's long-time Representative Gerald Ford's ascension to Vice President, was ousted by Harold S. Sawyer. Until 2023, the city had been represented by a Republican for all but 35 months since 1913. Underlining how Republican the county has historically been, the Democrats representing Grand Rapids-based districts in the state legislature were typically the only elected Democrats above the county level until 2023.

A sliver of northern and eastern Kent County, including Cedar Springs and Lowell, is in the 2nd congressional district, represented by Republican John Moolenaar.

Communities
U.S. Census data map showing local municipal boundaries within Kent County. Shaded areas represent incorporated cities.
A Public Land Survey System survey of Kent County in 1885, showing 24 named townships and sectional subdivisions

Cities

Villages

Charter townships

Civil townships

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

See also

Notes
  1. The other twelve are Butte County, California; Teton County, Idaho; Kendall County, Illinois; Kent County, Maryland; McLean County, Illinois; Tippecanoe County, Indiana; Leelanau County, Michigan; Carroll County, New Hampshire; Rockingham County, New Hampshire; Marion County, Oregon; Grand County, Utah; and Albany County, Wyoming.

References
  1. Clarke Historical Library. "Bibliography on Kent County". Central Michigan University. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. pp. 173.
  5. Beld, Gordon G. (2012). Grand Times in Grand Rapids: Pieces of Furniture City History. The History Press. pp. 17–19. ISBN 9781609496296 – via Google Books.
  6. Fuller, George Newman (1916). Economic and Social Beginnings of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford. p. 423 – via Internet Archive.
  7. History and Directory of Kent County, Michigan, Containing a History of Each Township, and the City of Grand Rapids; the Name, Location and Postoffice Address of All Residents Outside of the City: A List of Postoffices in the County; a Schedule of Population; and Other Valuable Statistics. Grand Rapids, MI: Daily Eagle Steam Printing House. November 21, 1870. pp. 114–136.
  8. Ellison, Garret (May 22, 2014). "How a feud between the city's founding fathers shaped Monroe Center and downtown Grand Rapids". MLive.
  9. Garret Ellison (August 11, 2013). "History in bronze: Influential figures immortalized at 12 sites so far in Grand Rapids". MLive.
  10. Purkey, Thomas H. (1986). Soil Survey of Kent County, Michigan. United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service. p. 2 – via Google Books.
  11. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  12. "Fisk Knob". Kent County Parks. Grand Valley State University. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016.
  13. Google. "Highest Point in Kent County" (Map). Google Maps. Google.
  14. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  15. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  16. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  17. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  18. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  19. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  20. "2010 Data Release – Data & Documentation – American Community Survey – U.S. Census Bureau". Archived from the original on October 27, 2015.
  21. "Republicans maintain majority on Kent County Board of Commissioners". mlive.com. November 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  22. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  23. Tavernise, Sabrina; Gebeloff, Robert; Lee, Christopher (October 25, 2019). "Are the Suburbs Turning Democratic?". The New York Times. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  24. Burnett, Sara; Eggert, David (March 28, 2019). "Trump's return to west Michigan comes amid Democratic gains". Associated Press. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  25. "State Data". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  26. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - State Data".
  27. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - State Data".
  28. David Wasserman (October 6, 2020), "The 10 Bellwether Counties That Show How Trump Is in Serious Trouble", The New York Times
  29. "2018 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Michigan". Ballotpedia.
  30. "1986 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Michigan". Ballotpedia.
  31. "2018 Senatorial General Election Results - Michigan". Ballotpedia.
  32. "2008 Senatorial General Election Results - Michigan". Ballotpedia.
  33. "1982 Senatorial General Election Results - Michigan". Ballotpedia.
  34. "Voteview | District View". voteview.com. Retrieved October 16, 2020.

Further reading
  • Romig, Walter (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. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0814318386.
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