Clay Township, Michigan

Communities

• Bedore is an unincorporated community located along the southern coast of Harsens Island at .
• Clays Landing is an unincorporated community located at the southern terminus of M-154 on Harsens Island at .
• Forster is an unincorporated community located just west of Bedore at .
• Grand Pointe is an unincorporated community located in the northeastern area of Harsens Island at . The affluent community was settled as early as 1888 by the Grand Pointe Improvement Company, and a post office operated briefly from October 16, 1889 until January 5, 1892.
• Harsens Island is the name of the post office that serves the island and several surrounding islands. Harsens Island was first settled as early as 1779 by James Harsen, who was the area's first white settler. By 1783, Harsen had purchased the entire island from its native Indian population. As late as 1809, the island was also known as James (also Jacob or Jacobus) Island. The post office began operating under the name Sans Souci on April 24, 1900 and was renamed Harsens Island on December 31, 1960. The post office uses the 48028 ZIP Code.
• Maple Leaf is an unincorporated community located on Harsens Island just southwest of the community of Sans Souci at .
• Miller is an unincorporated community located near the southernmost end of Harsens Island at the end of public road access at .
• Muirs is an unincorporated community located along M-154 on Harsens Island at .
• Pearl Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located along the southern end of the mainland at .
• Perch Point is an unincorporated community located along M-29 in the northwestern portion of the township along the border with Ira Township at .
• Pointe aux Tremble is an unincorporated community located along M-29 within the Pearl Beach CDP at . The community was settled in 1904 as a station along the railway about 3.0 mi west of Algonac.
• Riverside is an unincorporated community located in the southern portion of Harsens Island at .
• Roberts Landing is an unincorporated community located along M-29 near Algonac State Park along the border with Cottrellville Township at . The community was named after its first settler, who arrived here in 1830. The Roberts family settled the area as a popular fishing and hunting destination. A post office operated here from April 29, 1869 until December 15, 1895.
• Sans Souci is an unincorporated community located on Harsens Island at .

History

The area was first settled by John Martin in 1805, and the area was originally referred to as Pointe du Chene (Oak Point). In 1826, the area was organized as Plainfield Township, which was named by early settler John K. Smith after his hometown of Plainfield, Vermont. A post office named Plainfield began operating here on April 5, 1826 with Smith serving as the first postmaster. In 1828, the township was reorganized and renamed after attorney and statesman Henry Clay, and the post office was later renamed Clay on December 23, 1835; Smith continued serving as postmaster. The post office was renamed Algonac on August 17, 1843. Algonac incorporated as a village within Clay Township in 1867. The village gained autonomy from the township when it incorporated as a city in 1967.

Historic sites

• Colony Tower Complex
• Harsen House
• LeRoy Smith House
• North Channel Shooting Club
• St. Clair River Informational Designation
• Stewart Farm / Memoir of Aura Stewart
• St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 82.47 sqmi, of which 35.32 sqmi is land and 47.15 sqmi (57.17%) is water.

The township contains a large portion of water that includes areas along the St. Clair River mouth in the northern Anchor Bay area of Lake St. Clair, which contains numerous channels and canals. Directly across the river is the Walpole Island First Nation in Ontario, which is accessible via the Walpole–Algonac Ferry in downtown Algonac.

The St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area and the majority of the St. John's Marsh State Wildlife Area are located within Clay Township. Most of Algonac State Park is located within Clay Township with a small portion extending north into Cottrellville Township.

Islands

• Bruckner Island
• Club Island
• Dickinson Island
• Green Island
• Gull Island
• Harsens Island
• McDonald Island
• Middle Island
• Muscamoot Ridge
• North Island
• Russell Island
• Sand Island
• Strawberry Island

Transportation

Airport

• [[File:Airport Sign.svg|20px|alt=|link=]] Harsens Island Airport (FAA: Z92) is a general aviation public airport located on Harsens Island. The airport began operating in 1994 and contains a single grass runway.

Ferries

• Champion's Auto Ferry is a commercial ferry service that provides passenger and automobile transportation from the mainland to Harsens Island.
• Russell Island Ferry transports only passengers to Russell Island, which does not allow automobile traffic. The mainland ferry terminal is located in the city of Algonac. The service consists of a single ferry, the Pride of Lake Huron, which was built in 1948.

Major highways

• curves through the township along the coastline of the North Channel and St. Clair River.
• is a located entirely on Harsens Island and is accessible via ferry service from M-29.
• [[File:USBR 20.svg|20px]] U.S. Bicycle Route 20 runs through portions of the township and also runs conterminous at some points with the Bridge to Bay Trail.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,822 people, 3,934 households, and 2,844 families residing in the township. The population density was 277.0 PD/sqmi. There were 5,325 housing units at an average density of 150.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the township was 97.92% White, 0.20% African American, 0.68% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.85% of the population.

There were 3,934 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the township the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.2 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $55,059, and the median income for a family was $63,182. Males had a median income of $48,053 versus $31,923 for females. The per capita income for the township was $27,169. About 2.3% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

Sources

References

1. [[Michigan Townships Association]]. (2025). "Clay Township, St. Clair County, Michigan".
2. [[United States Census Bureau]]. (August 12, 2023). "Clay township, St. Clair County, Michigan".
3. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
4. {{GNIS. 1626090
5. {{GNIS. 1624378. Bedore, Michigan
6. {{GNIS. 1624457. Clays Landing, Michigan
7. {{GNIS. 1624546. Forster, Michigan
8. {{GNIS. 1624574. Grand Pointe, Michigan
9. "48028 ZIP Code map".
10. UnitedStatesZipCodes.org. (2022). "ZIP Code 48028: Harsens Island".
11. {{GNIS. 1624704. Maple Leaf, Michigan
12. {{GNIS. 1624743. Miller, Michigan
13. {{GNIS. 1624771. Muirs, Michigan
14. {{GNIS. 1624814. Pearl Beach, Michigan
15. {{GNIS. 1624817. Perch Point, Michigan
16. {{GNIS. 1624836. Pointe aux Tremble, Michigan
17. {{GNIS. 1624861. Riverside, Michigan
18. {{GNIS. 1624867. Roberts Landing, Michigan
19. {{GNIS. 1624914. Sans Souci, Michigan
20. St. Clair County MPC. "Blueway of St. Clair: Harsen House".
21. [[Michigan Department of Natural Resources]]. "Historical Marker - L1488B - North Channel Shooting Club (Marker ID#:L1488B)".
22. MichMarkers.com. (2023). "St. Clair River: Registered Site S0124".
23. MichMarkers.com. (2023). "Stewart Farm / Memoir of Aura Stewart: Registered Site L2128".
24. (September 2012). "Michigan: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts 2010 Census of Population and Housing". [[United States Census Bureau]].
25. [[Michigan Department of Natural Resources]]. (May 2006). "St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area".
26. [[Michigan Department of Natural Resources]]. (May 2006). "St. John's Marsh State Wildlife Area".
27. {{GNIS. 1624421. Brucker Island
28. {{GNIS. 1624460. Club Island
29. {{GNIS. 1624491. Dickinson Island
30. {{GNIS. 1624580. Green Island
31. {{GNIS. 1624585. Gull Island
32. {{GNIS. 1624592. Harsens Island
33. {{GNIS. 1624718. McDonald Island
34. {{GNIS. 1624737. Middle Island
35. {{GNIS. 1624773. Muscamoot Ridge
36. {{GNIS. 1624788. North Island
37. {{GNIS. 1624875. Russell Island
38. {{GNIS. 1624910. Sand Island
39. {{GNIS. 1624961. Strawberry Island
40. AirNav, LLC.. (2023). "Harsens Island Airport".
41. Champion's Auto Ferry. (2023). "Welcome to Champion's Auto Ferry".
42. [[Bowling Green State University]]. "Historical Collections of the Great Lakes: Pride of Lake Huron".
43. Bridge to Bay Trail. (2023). "Bridge to Bay Trail: Trail Map".