Cass County, Michigan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cass County
U.S. county
Cass County Courthouse in Cassopolis
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Michigan
Michigan's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Michigan
Founded	1829
Named for	Lewis Cass
Seat	Cassopolis
Largest city	Dowagiac
Area
• Total	508 sq mi (1,320 km2)
• Land	490 sq mi (1,300 km2)
• Water	18 sq mi (50 km2)  3.6%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	51,589
• Density	105/sq mi (41/km2)
Congressional district	6th

Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 51,589. Its county seat is Cassopolis.

Cass County is included in the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area which has a total population of 316,663 and is considered part of the Michiana region.

History

The county is named for Lewis Cass, the Michigan Territorial Governor at the time the county was created in 1829. Cass later served as the United States Secretary of War under President Andrew Jackson, thus making a case for including Cass County as one of Michigan's "cabinet counties".

Cass County was not as heavily forested and had more fertile prairie land than other nearby areas of Michigan, and thus during early settlement it grew more rapidly in population. As early as 1830, a carding mill was started in the county on Dowagiac Creek, a branch of the St. Joseph River. Although the Sauk Trail (Chicago Road) passed through the southern part of the county, early settlement did not come primarily from eastern Michigan. Instead, settlers from Ohio and Indiana who had heard of the prairie lands came to occupy them, reaching the Michigan Territory over a branch of the Chicago Road leading from Fort Wayne, Indiana. The population of Cass County was over 3,000 by 1834.

Among the most prominent early settlers of Cass County were Baldwin Jenkins and Uzziel Putnam, who both came from Ohio by way of the Carey Mission in Berrien County. Jenkins had been born at Fort Jenkins in Green County, Pennsylvania, and had migrated to Tennessee, but then left that state to avoid the presence of slavery. Putnam, who had lived in Massachusetts and New York, came to Cass from Erie County, Ohio, by way of Fort Wayne. These settlers, and their families, established the nucleus of the village of Pokagon on Pokagon Prairie in 1825. The next year, a settlement was made on Beardsley’s Prairie, where the village of Edwardsburg was laid out in 1831.

The village of Cassopolis was platted in 1831 and intended as the county seat, although no settlers yet lived there, because it was the geographical center of the county.

Black settlers

After 1840, the black population of Cass County grew rapidly as families were attracted by white defiance of discriminatory laws, by numerous highly supportive Quakers, and by low-priced land. Free and runaway blacks found Cass County a haven. Their good fortune attracted the attention of southern slaveholders. In 1847 and 1849, planters from Bourbon and Boone Counties in northern Kentucky led raids into Cass County to recapture runaway slaves. They were "surrounded by crowds of angry farmers armed with clubs, scythes, and other farm implements", resisting their attempt.

The raids failed to accomplish their objective but strengthened Southern demands for passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which was a step on the way to the Civil War.

Cass County became known early on for the anti-slavery attitudes of its population. Pennsylvania Quakers made a settlement in Penn Township in 1829, which later became a prominent station on the Underground Railroad. One established Underground Railroad route ran from Niles through Cassopolis, Schoolcraft, Climax, and Battle Creek, and thence along the old Territorial Road.

Historical markers

There are 26 historical sites located in Cass County as of December, 2009.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 508 square miles (1,320 km²), of which 490 square miles (1,300 km²) is land and 18 square miles (47 km²) (3.6%) is water. It is the smallest county in Michigan by total area.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

• Van Buren County (north)
• St. Joseph County (east)
• Berrien County (west)
• Elkhart County, Indiana (southeast)
• St. Joseph County, Indiana (southwest)

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 52,293 people living in the county. 88.9% were White, 5.4% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 1.1% of some other race and 3.0% of two or more races. 3.0% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 25.9% were of German, 10.0% English, 9.6% Irish, 8.1% American and 5.7% Polish ancestry.

As of the 2000 census, there were 51,104 people, 19,676 households, and 14,304 families living in the county. The population density was 104 people per square mile (40/km²). There were 23,884 housing units at an average density of 48 per square mile (19/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.19% White, 6.12% Black or African American, 0.82% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.17% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. 2.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 26.6% were of German, 11.1% American, 10.3% Irish, 10.1% English and 5.0% Polish ancestry, 96.4% spoke English and 2.0% Spanish as their first language.

There were 19,676 households, out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.20% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were not family units. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.50% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,264, and the median income for a family was $46,901. Males had a median income of $35,546 versus $24,526 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,474. About 6.80% of families and 9.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.60% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Dowagiac
• Niles

Villages

• Cassopolis (county seat)
• Edwardsburg
• Marcellus
• Vandalia

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Education

Higher Education

Cass County is home to Southwestern Michigan College. The college is a public two-year institution of higher education, the college is part of the Michigan community college system. The college is the largest employer in Cass County.

Libraries

Cass County has several library system which operate in the county. The Cass District Library is the largest library in the county, have branch located in 4 cities around the county. Cass District Library is the library system which services Calvin, Howard, Jefferson, LaGrange, Mason, Milton, Newberg, Ontwa, Penn, Pokagon, Porter and Volinia Townships.

The Dowagiac District Library serves the City of Dowagiac, Wayne Township, and portions of Silver Creek, Keeler, and Bainbridge townships. Marcellus Township also operates their own library apart from the Cass District library to service the residence of the village of Marcellus and the Township of Marcellus.

Southwestern Michigan College operates the Fred Mathews Library on its Campus in Dowagiac.

Images for kids

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  Dowagiac Depot

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  Lake Driskel in Jones, an unincorporated community in Cass County

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  U.S. Census data map showing local municipal boundaries within Cass County. Shaded areas represent incorporated cities.

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  The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians reservation within Cass County with underlying local municipal boundaries