This is a series of caches put out by Paldog, Bapman Crew and I for the HNY-13 event. We decided to name the caches after the counties of the great state of Michigan. Hope you enjoy the caches along the Bike Trail.
Macomb County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2010 census recorded its population to be 840,978, making it the third most populous county in the state. Of Michigan's five largest counties, Macomb experienced the most population growth (6.7%) between 2000 and 2010. The county seat is Mt. Clemens. Macomb County is part of the Detroit metropolitan area; the city of Detroit is located south of 8 Mile Road, the county's southern border. Macomb County contains 28 cities, townships and villages, including three of the top ten most populous municipalities in Michigan as of the 2010 census: Warren (#3), Sterling Heights (#4) and Clinton Township (#10). Most of this population is concentrated south of Hall Road (M-59), one of the county's main thoroughfares. The county is named for Alexander Macomb, Jr., an early U.S. Army commander.
History
The Ojibwa lived in the area centuries before European contact. The first European explorers arrived in the area during the 17th century. A Moravian colony was established in the county in the late 18th century. They included French fur trappers and missionaries. In addition to the original French and English, later settlers included Germans, Belgians and others who came directly from Europe. In the 19th century the county received many American migrants from New York and New England who were attracted to the area for land and booming jobs.
Macomb County was formally organized on January 15, 1818 as the third county in the Michigan territory. At that time, it covered a much larger area than it does today. In 1819 and 1820, large portions of the county were removed to form the counties of Oakland, Lapeer, Genesee and St. Clair. The county was named in honor of Detroit-born Alexander Macomb, Jr., a highly decorated veteran of the War of 1812 who became Commanding General of the U.S. Army in 1828.
The county gained fame in the 1980s and '90s as a bellwether of state and national politics. Macomb's large cohort of working-class, socially conservative whites gave it one of the nation's most prominent concentrations of "Reagan Democrats". Outsider candidates with a conservative-populist bent have done well there in the past (e.g. George Wallace in 1968 and Pat Buchanan in 1992).
In May 2008, Macomb County voters approved the inclusion of a County Executive in a new charter to be submitted to the voters by 2010. A charter commission was elected in November 2008 for the purpose of drafting a charter for submission to Governor Granholm, which was submitted and approved and placed on the November 2009 ballot. The Charter passed with a 60.4% to 39.6% margin. Mark Hackel was voted in as the county's first commissioner.
Geography
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 569.78 square miles (1,475.7 km2), of which 480.44 square miles (1,244.3 km2) (or 84.32%) is land and 89.34 square miles (231.4 km2) (or 15.68%) is water.
Lake St. Clair borders the county on the east.
Far northern parts of the county, such as Richmond and Armada, are often considered to be part of Michigan's Thumb region.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 788,149 people, 309,203 households, and 210,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,640 people per square mile (633/km²). There were 320,276 housing units at an average density of 667 per square mile (257/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.66% White, 2.71% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 2.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.1% were of German, 17.1% Polish, 13.6% Italian, 7.5% Irish and 5.5% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 87.6% spoke only English at home; 1.7% spoke Italian, 1.4% Polish, 1.2% Spanish, 1.1% Arabic and 1.1% Syriac.
Two Native American tribes had over 1,000 residents in Macomb County in 2000. The Cherokee tribe counted 1,781 county residents, while 1,038 reported membership in the Chippewa tribe. This is the tribe known as the Ojibwa.
Among Asian ethnic groups, six numbered over 1,000 people in Macomb County. The most numerous were the 5,713 Asian Indians, followed by Filipinos (4,155), Chinese (2,489), Koreans (1,853) Vietnamese (1,557), and Hmong (1,103).
There were 309,203 households out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $52,102, and the median income for a family was $62,816. Males had a median income of $48,303 versus $30,215 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,446. About 4.00% of families and 5.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.00% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those ages 65 or over.
The years 2000-2005 saw the African American population in Macomb County more than double. This growth largely resulted from an exodus of African Americans from Detroit. By 2005 Census estimates for Macomb County showed it was 5.6% African American, meaning that the growth of the African-American population in the county had been well over 100% in the last five years. The percentage of Asians had risen to 2.9%, largely fueled by the exodus of the Detroit Hmong population northward into Warren. The American Community Survey showed 1.5% of Macomb County's population reporting two or more races.
According to the 2006 American Community Survey the average family size is 3.15. The population of 25 and over is 571,463. 86.9% of that population has graduated from high school, 21% of that population has a Bachelor's degree or higher. About 14.3 of that population is disabled. 12.5% of Macomb's population can speak another language at home.
As of 2010 the population of Macomb County was 83.91% Non-Hispanic white, 8.65% Black, 0.31% Native American, 2.98% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.10% Non-Hispanics of some other race, 2.10% Two or more races and 2.27% Hispanic or Latino.
Parks and recreation
Macomb County is home to more than 130 parks covering 12,000 acres (49 km2) managed by the state, regional, county, and local government. There are four major public parks in the County - Freedom Hill County Park, Macomb Orchard Trail, Metro Beach Metropark, and Stony Creek Metropark. The county also has 31 miles of shoreline and over 100 marinas.
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.
In May 2008, Macomb County voters approved the inclusion of a County Executive in a new charter to be submitted to the voters by 2010. A charter commission was elected in November 2008 for the purpose of drafting a charter for submission to Governor Granholm, which was submitted and approved and placed on the November 2009 ballot. The Charter passed with a 60.4% to 39.6% margin. Macomb Intermediate School District is the intermediate school district that serves all the school district based in the County.
Noted people from Macomb County
Actors/Actresses
* Dean Cain, actor, Mount Clemens
* Dave Coulier, actor/comedian, St. Clair Shores
* Adrienne Frantz, actress/singer, Mount Clemens, Michigan
* Faye Grant, actress, St. Clair Shores
* Christopher Howe, actor, Shelby Township
* Kathleen Rose Perkins, actress, New Baltimore
Athletes
* George Herbert Allen,coached in the NFL and USFL, St. Clair Shores
* David Booth, NHL player, Washington
* David Borkowski, MLB Player, Sterling Heights
* Dave Debol, NHL player, St. Clair Shores
* John DiGiorgio, NFL Player, Macomb, Shelby Township
* Denny Felsner, NHL player, Warren
* Derian Hatcher, NHL player, Sterling Heights
* Kevin Hatcher, NHL player, Sterling Heights
* Bryan Herta, race car driver, Warren
* Matt Hunwick, NHL player, Warren
* Craig Krenzel, NFL player, Sterling Heights
* John Mazza, PBA bowler, Shelby Township
* Shirley Muldowney, race car driver, Armada
* Steve Phillips, MLB coach, Warren
* John Smoltz, MLB player, Warren
* Jim Sorgi, NFL player, Fraser
* Matt Taormina, NHL player, Warren
* Michele Van Gorp, WNBA player from Duke University, Warren
* Doug Weight, NHL player, Warren
* Mark Wells, member of the 1980 Olympic hockey team, St. Clair Shores
* Johnny White, race car driver, Warren
* Ernie Whitt, MLB player, Roseville
* Frank Zombo, NFL player, Sterling Heights
* Kyle Cook, NFL player, Macomb Twp.
Musicians
* Kid Rock, Romeo
* Mitch Ryder, Roseville
* Justin Jeffre, (98 Degrees), Mount Clemens
* Uncle Kracker, Harrison Township
* Eminem, Warren
* Proof, Warren
* Fred 'Sonic' Smith, St. Clair Shores
Other
* Joe Cada, professional poker player, Shelby Township
* Dick Enberg, sportscaster, Armada
* Martha Griffiths, Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (1983–1991), Armada
* Alex Groesbeck, politician, Warren
* Butch Hartman, creator of the cartoon show The Fairly OddParents, New Baltimore
* Ian Hornak, Artist, Mount Clemens
* Jerry M. Linenger, NASA astronaut, Eastpointe