Cadillac, Michigan
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Cadillac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Wexford County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 10,000. The city is situated at the junction of U.S. Highway 131 and Michigan State Highway 55 The city is between Haring Township on the north and Clam Lake Township on the south. Cadillac became the county seat after the so-called "Battle of Manton" in which a show of force was involved in enforcing a controversial decision to move the county seat from Manton, Michigan.
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Overview
Although European explorers and traders visited the area since the 1700s, permanent white settlement did not begin until much later. Initial settlements were connected with the logging industry. Cadillac was originally called Clam Lake and was incorporated as a village in 1874. It changed its name and incorporated as the city of Cadillac three years later in 1877, named after Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, a Frenchman who made the first permanent settlement at Detroit in 1701. Many early settlers were Swedish and two of Cadillac's sister cities are Mölnlycke, Sweden, and Rovaniemi, Finland. Cadillac was also home to the Michigan Iron Works Company, which manufactured Shay locomotives for a short time in the early 1880s.
The 1,150 acre Lake Cadillac is entirely within the city limits, and some claim it is the largest lake entirely the city limits of any city in the United States. The larger, 2,580 acre Lake Mitchell is nearby on the west side of the city, with 1,760 feet of shoreline within the city's municipal boundary. The lakes were connected by a stream which was replaced in 1873 by the Clam Lake Canal. Lake Cadillac was formerly known as Little Clam Lake, while Lake Mitchell was Big Clam Lake. Lake Mitchell was renamed for George A. Mitchell, a railroad executive in the 1870s. The canal was featured on Ripley's Believe It or Not in the 1970s because in winter the canal freezes before the lakes and then after the lakes freeze, the canal thaws and remains unfrozen for the rest of the winter. Although it is illegal to attempt to use a snowmobile to cross the open water on the canal, some individuals occasionally try to do so.
Since the decline of the logging industry, tourism become the main industry in Cadillac. However, manufacturing now rivals tourism as the main industry in the city. Cadillac has achieved recognition throughout Michigan as a leader in the growth of industrial development. Industries include the manufacture of pleasure boats, automotive parts, water well components, vaccum cleaners, and rubber products. But year-round tourism is still a mainstay of the local economy. In the summer tourists come for the boating, fishing, hiking, mountain biking and camping. In the fall they come for the hunting and color tours. The winter is possibly the busiest season of all as motels are packed with downhill skiers, cross-country skiers, ice-fishers, snow-shoers and most of all snowmobilers. The North American Snowmobile Festival (NASF) is held on frozen Lake Cadillac every winter.
Cadillac sits on the eastern edge of the Manistee National Forest and the surrounding area is heavily wooded with mixed hardwood and conifer forests. The main agricultural industry in the area is Christmas tree farming. In fact, Cadillac was chosen in 1988 to donate the Christmas tree to sit on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C.
Thirsty's, a gas station on M-55 right outside of Cadillac's city limits, was the home of Samantha or "Sam The Bear" from the 1970s through the late 1990s when Sam died of old age. Sam was the only brown bear in captivity in the US, at the time, to hibernate naturally. Sam lived in a large cage in front of the gas station and was lovingly fed ice cream cones by tourists every summer.
Based on a single, limited study involving twenty people, some people have labelled Cadillac as one of three "hot spots" for Lou Gehrig's Disease in the US. However, the study made no attempt ascertain the occurance of the disease in other parts of the state, or elsewhere in the country. The study was designed to examine possible genetic influences on the disease. [1] (http://www.cns.jrn.msu.edu/articles/2003_0314/DISEASE.html) The occurrence of the disease within the city limits of Cadillac is repotedly over 100 times the normal rate. The cause of the abnormally large occurrence of the disease in Cadillac is as of yet unknown.
Geography
MIMap-doton-Cadillac.PNG
Location of Cadillac, Michigan
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.3 km² (8.6 mi²). 17.7 km² (6.8 mi²) of it is land and 4.6 km² (1.8 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 20.70% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 10,000 people, 4,118 households, and 2,577 families residing in the city. The population density is 566.1/km² (1,466.0/mi²). There are 4,466 housing units at an average density of 252.8/km² (654.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 96.55% White, 0.21% Black or African American, 0.92% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 1.38% from two or more races. 1.18% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 4,118 households out of which 32.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% are married couples living together, 14.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% are non-families. 31.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 14.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.37 and the average family size is 2.96.
In the city the population is spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $29,899, and the median income for a family is $36,825. Males have a median income of $29,773 versus $21,283 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,801. 13.7% of the population and 10.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.4% of those under the age of 18 and 13.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Colleges
- Baker College-Cadillac
External links
- City of Cadillac (http://www.cadillac-mi.net/)
- Cadillac Area Home Page (http://www.cadillacmichigan.com/)
- Antique photos and postcards of Cadillac (http://www.cadillacpostcards.com/)