Grand Beach, Michigan

Grand Beach is a village located in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 221.

Contents

1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 History 4 External links

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.2 km² (0.9 mi²). 2.2 km² (0.9 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 221 people, 108 households, and 69 families residing in the village. The population density is 99.2/km² (257.6/mi²). There are 340 housing units at an average density of 152.6/km² (396.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the village is 98.19% White, 1.36% African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. 0.00% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 108 households out of which 13.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% are married couples living together, 2.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% are non-families. 30.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 16.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.05 and the average family size is 2.54.

In the village the population is spread out with 13.1% under the age of 18, 2.7% from 18 to 24, 14.5% from 25 to 44, 42.5% from 45 to 64, and 27.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 56 years. For every 100 females there are 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the village is $61,875, and the median income for a family is $103,369. Males have a median income of $86,188 versus $36,875 for females. The per capita income for the village is $51,788. 1.8% of the population and 0.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 0.0% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

History

Grand Beach was founded by the Grand Beach Company around 1903. It was conceived of partially as a short-stay resort. People would take the Michigan Central to Grand Beach station, rent small cottages for a day or two, eat in the dining hall (located at the corner of Lakeview and Whitewood), and enjoy bathing and golfing.

The beach has always been important to the people of Grand Beach. An entertainment pier was built out into Lake Michigan and offered dining and even dancing in the 1920s. The pier had long since disappeared, though its supporting posts are sometimes visible when the lake levels are low. The Golfmore Hotel was built as a luxury hotel just across the creek in Michiana Shores, Indiana. A footbridge over the creek linked the hotel to the pier area. The hotel was an important part of the social life of the beach in the 1920s, even in the winter when it hosted ski jumping events. The hotel burned down around 1939.

The public golf course has been an integral part of village life at Grand Beach since its establishment. At one time there were 36 holes, but for many decades the course has been a charming 9-hole course that runs from the club house down to the village gate and back. In the 1950s the village hall moved from the old dining hall structure on the lake to the newly built golf club house / community center.

Lake levels have had an impact on the focus of village social activities. In the early 1950s and during much of the 1970s lake levels were high and beach frontage minimal. From the mid-80s the beach has been wider and more people have thus been able to enjoy it.

Three Frank Lloyd Wright homes were built in Grand Beach. One of them, the Ernest Vosburgh Summer House (built in 1916) on Ravine Road near Crescent and Royal still retains much of its original design.

The 1950s brought relative decline as all of Southwest Michigan was bypassed by Chicagoans in favor of more exotic resorts. However, beginning in the 1980s Grand Beach and nearby New Buffalo has undergone a renaissance as a charming, unpretentious, yet accessible resort area. The former Forest Beach YMCA camp was developed as a gated community with multi-million dollar homes, thus giving the area a slightly more upscale image.

In recent decades Grand Beach has probably been most famous because of its association with Chicago's Daley family.

External links

• Village of Grand Beach Home Page (http://www.grandbeach.org)