Editing Ada Township, Michigan

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Ada Township, Michigan
| settlement_type    = [[Civil township]]
| image_skyline      = Ada Michigan StreetSceneDSCN9716.JPG
| imagesize          = 275
| image_caption      = Unincorporated community of Ada
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = 
| pushpin_map        = Michigan#USA
| pushpin_label_position = right<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_label      = Ada Township
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within the state of Michigan##Location within the United States
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| image_map          = Ada Township, MI location.png
| mapsize            = 250
| map_caption        = Location within [[Kent County, Michigan|Kent County]] (red) and an administered portion of the [[Forest Hills, Michigan|Forest Hills]] CDP (pink)
| coordinates        = {{coord|42|58|31|N|85|29|30|W|region:US-MI|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Michigan|County]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Michigan]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Kent County, Michigan|Kent]]
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = Supervisor
| leader_name        = Ross Leisman
| leader_title1      = [[Municipal clerk|Clerk]]
| leader_name1       = Jacqueline Smith
| established_title  = Organized
| established_date   = 1838
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 96.11
| area_total_sq_mi   = 37.11
| area_land_km2      = 93.34
| area_land_sq_mi    = 36.04
| area_water_km2     = 2.75
| area_water_sq_mi   = 1.07

<!-- Population -->| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 231
| elevation_ft       = 758
| population_total   = 14388
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_density_km2 = 
| population_density_sq_mi = auto

<!-- General information -->| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP Code]]s
| postal_code        = 49301 (Ada)<br>49331 ([[Lowell, Michigan|Lowell]])<br>49525 ([[Grand Rapids, Michigan|Grand Rapids]])<br>49546 ([[Grand Rapids, Michigan|Grand Rapids]])
| area_code          = [[Area code 616|616]]
| website            = {{URL|adamichigan.org/township|Official website}}
| footnotes          = 
| timezone           = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset         = -5
| timezone_DST       = EDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -4
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 26-081-00240<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 1625798<ref>{{gnis|1625798}}</ref>
}}
'''Ada Township''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|d|ə}} {{respell|AY|də}}) is a [[civil township]] of [[Kent County, Michigan|Kent County]] in the U.S. state of [[Michigan]].  The population was 14,388 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile/Ada_township,_Kent_County,_Michigan?g=0600000US2608100240 |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref>

The majority of the township is included in the [[Forest Hills, Michigan|Forest Hills]] census-designated place, which is used only for statistical purposes.  Ada Township is part of the [[Grand Rapids metropolitan area]] and is about {{convert|3.0|mi|km|1}} east of the city of [[Grand Rapids, Michigan|Grand Rapids]].  The township is the corporate home of [[Alticor]] and its subsidiary companies [[Amway North America]] and [[Amway]].

==Communities==
Ada, also known as Ada Village, is an [[Unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] within the township. It is located on [[M-21 (Michigan highway)|M-21]], about {{convert|12|mi}} east of [[Grand Rapids, Michigan|Grand Rapids]].  Ada contains its own post office with the 49301 ZIP Code that serves the majority of the township.  Ada was settled as early as 1821 when [[Rix Robinson]] built a trading post near the area to trade furs with a local [[Odawa|Ottawa]] village.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":12" />  Robinson made the first land purchase here in 1833, and a settlement developed along the [[Thornapple River]]. A post office was established in 1837. Both the township and village settlement were named for Ada Smith, the daughter of the first postmaster. The settlement was given a station on the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad (later part of the [[Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway]]). A [[plat]] was recorded in 1857.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Romig |first1=Walter |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |date=October 1, 1986 |work= |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |isbn=0-8143-1838-X |series=Great Lakes Books Series |location=Detroit, Michigan |type=Paperback |orig-year=1973}}</ref>

[[Forest Hills, Michigan|Forest Hills]] is an unincorporated community and [[census-designated place]] (CDP) that occupies the majority of the township for statistical purposes.  The CDP occupies {{convert|32.99|sqmi|sqkm|2}} (or 88.90%) of the township.  Forest Hills also occupies a large portion of [[Cascade Township, Michigan|Cascade Township]] to the south and is the [[List of census-designated places in Michigan|largest and most-populated CDP]] in the state.

==History==
At the turn of the 19th century, the land that would become Ada was a village of the [[Grand River (Michigan)|Grand River]] Band of [[Odawa|Ottawa]], led by Nebawnaygezhick.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=McClurken|first=James|title=People, Our Journey: The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians|publisher=Michigan State University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-87-013856-0|location=East Lansing, MI|pages=12}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite book|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b728095&view=1up&seq=13&skin=2021|title=Collections and Researches Made by the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society|publisher=Thorp & Godfrey|year=1887|volume=11|location=Lansing, MI|pages=193}}</ref>

During the early colonial settlement of Michigan, [[Rix Robinson]], the first permanent colonial settler of Kent County, married Sebequay ("River Woman"), the sister of Nebawnaygezhick, at Ada.<ref name=":12" /> In 1821, Robinson purchased a former [[French-Canadian]] trading post at the junction of the [[Grand River (Michigan)|Grand]] and Thornapple rivers from [[Madeline La Framboise]], on behalf of [[John Jacob Astor]]'s [[American Fur Company]]. Land north of the Grand River was not available for purchase by European-American settlers until after the United States signed the 1836 [[Treaty of Washington (1836)|Treaty of Washington]] with regional tribes. Following the treaty, Robinson purchased hundreds of acres around the mouth of the Thornapple for the Ottawa to continue living on.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=McClurken|first=James M.|title=Our People, Our Journey: The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians|publisher=Michigan State University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-87-013856-0|location=East Lansing, MI|pages=38}}</ref>

[[Lucius Lyon]], an early settler, first visited Robinson's settlement in 1826. Convinced that the land would become valuable, Lyon purchased large tracts from early settlers. He oversaw development of the land, including the construction of a saw mill. Both Lyon and Robinson are considered the founders of Ada.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Ellison |first=Garrett |date=2013-05-19 |title=How Ada became a 'snug little place' instead of the major city in West Michigan |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2013/05/how_ada_became_snug_little_pla.html |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=[[mlive]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="ROMIG2">{{cite book |last1=Romig |first1=Walter |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |date=October 1, 1986 |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |isbn=0-8143-1838-X |series=Great Lakes Books Series |location=Detroit, Michigan |pages=134, 166, 215–216 |type=Paperback |orig-year=1973}}</ref>

There are conflicting reports concerning when the township was organized. Information provided by the township website indicates that Robinson was elected as the township's first supervisor. However, other sources indicate it was organized on April 2, 1838, and that Sydney Smith was elected the first supervisor and that Robinson was the second, elected in 1841 and again in 1844.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} The village was named after Sydney Smith's daughter, Ada Smith, who was the first non-Native American child born in the village.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="ROMIG2"/>

The [[Ada Covered Bridge]] was constructed across the [[Thornapple River|Thornapple]] in 1867. Listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], it is one of the few covered bridges that remain standing in the state.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holst |first=Jan |date=2017-04-26 |title=Ada Covered Bridge celebrates 150 years |url=https://www.mlive.com/ada-cascade/2017/04/ada_covered_bridge_celebrates.html |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=mlive |language=en}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the township has a total area of {{convert|37.11|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|36.04|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|1.06|sqmi|sqkm|2}} (2.86%) is water.<ref name="CENS">{{cite web |date=September 2012 |title=Michigan: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts 2010 Census of Population and Housing |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-24.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019111423/http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-24.pdf |archive-date=2012-10-19 |url-status=live |accessdate=October 1, 2021 |work=[[2010 United States census]] |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |page=27 Michigan |format=PDF}}</ref>

The Grand River and the Thornapple River pass through the township.

===Major highways===
*{{jct|state=MI|MI|21|name1=Fulton Street}} runs west–east through the southern portion of the township.

==Demographics==
===2020 census===
As of the [[2020 United States census]],<ref name ="wwwcensusgov2020">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/adatownshipkentcountymichigan/PST045222|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=May 9, 2024}}</ref> the township had a population of 14,388 people. The racial makeup was 86.3% [[White (U.S. Census)|Non-Hispanic White]], 0.3% [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]], 4.6% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.1% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], and 5.9% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] people of any race were 5.0% of the population.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 9,882 people, 3,263 households, and 2,802 families residing in the township. The population density was {{convert|273.9|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 3,384 housing units at an average density of {{convert|93.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|racial makeup]] of the township was 95.57% White, 0.47% African American, 0.16% Native American, 2.35% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population.

There were 3,263 households, out of which 47.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.7% were [[Marriage in the United States|married couples]] living together, 5.4% had a [[Single mom|female householder]] with no husband present, and 14.1% were non-families. 11.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the township the population was spread out, with 32.6% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males.

The median [[income]] for a household in the township was $83,357, and the median income for a family was $87,972. Males had a median income of $61,795 versus $36,288 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the township was $37,840. About 1.1% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 1.6% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
The [[Forest Hills Public Schools]] district serves most of the township, while [[Lowell Area Schools]] serves a smaller portion in the northeastern section.<ref>{{cite web|last=Michigan Geographic Framework|url=http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/mgdl/pdfmaps/CountySchools/SD_BYCO_esize_KENT%20COUNTY.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820075914/http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/mgdl/pdfmaps/CountySchools/SD_BYCO_esize_KENT%20COUNTY.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-20 |url-status=live|title=Kent County School Districts|date=15 November 2013|accessdate=April 28, 2021}}</ref>

[[Forest Hills Central High School]] and [[Forest Hills Eastern High School]] are located in Ada Township.<ref>"[http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st26_mi/cousub/cs2608100240_ada/DC10BLK_CS2608100240_002.pdf 2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Ada township, MI] (Part 2) ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150411102527/http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st26_mi/cousub/cs2608100240_ada/DC10BLK_CS2608100240_002.pdf Archive]). [[U.S. Census Bureau]]. Retrieved on April 6, 2015. [http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st26_mi/cousub/cs2608100240_ada/DC10BLK_CS2608100240_001.pdf See Part 1 of Ada Township] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150411093653/http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st26_mi/cousub/cs2608100240_ada/DC10BLK_CS2608100240_001.pdf Archive]), [http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st26_mi/cousub/cs2608100240_ada/DC10BLK_CS2608100240_000.pdf See Overall] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150411091434/http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st26_mi/cousub/cs2608100240_ada/DC10BLK_CS2608100240_000.pdf Archive])</ref><ref>"[http://www.fhps.net/centralhs/contact-us/ Contact Us]." Forest Hills Central High School. Retrieved on April 6, 2015. "Central High School 5901 Hall Street SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546"</ref>  The Grand Rapids Supplemental School is a part-time Japanese school (''[[hoshū jugyō kō]]'') that holds its classes at Forest Hills Central High School.<ref name=NAList>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20140330155208/http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/clarinet/002/006/001/002/002.htm List of supplementary lessons in North America (as of April 15, 2013)]. Retrieved on May 5, 2014. "Forest Hills Central High School 5901 Hall St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 U.S.A."</ref>

== Notable people ==

* [[Kreigh Collins (cartoonist)|Kreigh Collins]] (1908–1974) – cartoonist
* [[Dick DeVos]] (born 1955) – businessman
* [[Helen DeVos]] (1927–2017) – businesswoman
* [[Richard DeVos]] (1926–2018) – co-founder of [[Amway]] and owner of the [[Orlando Magic]]
* [[Kevin Grady]] (born 1986) – [[college football]] player
* [[Adam Grinwis]] (born 1992) – professional soccer player
* [[Lauren Kozal]] (born 2000) – professional soccer player
* [[Kirk O'Bee]] (born 1977) – professional [[Road bicycle racing|road racing cyclist]]
* [[Steve Pestka]] (born 1951) – politician
* [[Rix Robinson]] (1789–1875) – first settler of Kent County, [[American pioneer|pioneer]], [[fur trade]]r, and politician
* [[Jay Van Andel]] (1924–2004) – co-founder of Amway
* [[Barton H. Watson]] (1960–2004) – founder of CyberNET Engineering and [[Mail and wire fraud|mail fraudster]]
* [[Kathleen Weathers]] – president of the [[Ecological Society of America]] and [[Ecology|ecologist]]

==Images==
<gallery widths="220px" heights="125px" perrow="4">
File:Ada Michigan Covered Bridge downstream underside DSCN9708.JPG|{{center|[[Ada Covered Bridge]]}}
File:Ada MI GrandRiver DSCN9684.JPG|{{center|[[Grand River (Michigan)|Grand River]] passing through the township}}
File:Ada Michigan ThornappleRiver Dam DSCN9695.JPG|{{center|Dam along the [[Thornapple River]]}}
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050424084341/http://skywalker.cochise.edu/vondesti/family/rix.htm Information on Rix Robinson]
* [http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty&cc=micounty&idno=bad0957.0001.001&q1=Ada+Robinson&frm=frameset&view=image&seq=24 ''History and Directory of Kent County, Michigan'']. Dillenback and Leavitt. Grand Rapids, Mich.,: Daily Eagle Steam Printing House, 1870 p.&nbsp;20
* [http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;q1=Ada%20Township;rgn=full%20text;cite1=Kent%20County;cite1restrict=title;idno=ARX2230.0001.001;didno=ARX2230.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000227 ''Grand Rapids and Kent County, Michigan'']. Chicago [Ill.] : Robert O. Law Company, 1918. pp.&nbsp;219++
* [http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty&cc=micounty&idno=bad0958.0001.001&q1=Ada+Township&frm=frameset&view=image&seq=486 ''History of Kent County, Michigan'']. Leeson, M. A. Chicago: C. C. Chapman & co. 1881. p.&nbsp;487+
* Wildes, Kirsten L. (Fall 2024). "False Claims and Place Names: Ada, Michigan". ''Chronicle''. 16-17. Lansing, Michigan: [[Historical Society of Michigan]]

== External links ==
{{Wikivoyage|Ada (Michigan)}}
{{Commons category}}
* [http://adamichigan.org/community Ada Township official website]
* [http://www.adabusinessassociation.com Ada Business Association]
* [http://www.adahistoricalsociety.org Ada Historical Society]
* [http://www.fhps.net Forest Hills Public Schools]

{{Cities of Kent County, Michigan}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Townships in Michigan]]
[[Category:Townships in Kent County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Grand Rapids metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1858]]
[[Category:1858 establishments in Michigan]]