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Jenison, Michigan
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Jenison is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is located within Georgetown Charter Township. The population of the CDP was 17,213 as of the 2000 census. The current estimated population for the entire Jenison ZIP code, 49428, is 26,156. The geographical boundaries of the ZIP code are larger than that of the CDP.
Key Information
It is a bedroom community in proximity to Grand Rapids.[4]
History
[edit]The area that Jenison occupies was first inhabited by Peoria and Odawa indigenous peoples, and later populated by white settlers in 1836 as a lumber site along the Grand River.[5] Jenison gained its name from the Jenison family's sawmill, which opened in 1864.[6] A post office called Jenisonville was established in 1872, and the name was changed to Jenison in 1887.[7]
Geography
[edit]According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15 km2), of which 5.8 square miles (15 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (0.85%) is water.
Demographics
[edit]| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 17,211 | [8] | — |
| 2010 | 16,538 | [9] | −3.9% |
| 2020 | 16,640 | 0.6% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[10] | |||

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 17,211 people, 5,975 households, and 4,863 families residing in the community. The population density was 2,940.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,135.4/km2). There were 6,065 housing units at an average density of 1,036.3 per square mile (400.1/km2). The racial makeup of the community was 98.84% White, 0.49% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.77% of the population.
There were 5,975 households, out of which 39.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.5% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.6% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the community, the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.
The median income for a household in the community was $56,426, and the median income for a family was $61,957. Males had a median income of $46,738 versus $28,204 for females. The per capita income for the community was $21,021. About 1.8% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
Major highways
[edit]Major roads
[edit]- Baldwin Street
- Bauer Road
- Cottonwood Drive
- Chicago Drive
- Rosewood Street
Schools
[edit]The majority of the community is located within Jenison Public Schools. A small portion is located within the Hudsonville Public School District.[11] Jenison Christian School, a private school for grades Preschool through 8th grade, is also located in Jenison.[12]
Notable people
[edit]- Caleb Baragar, professional baseball player for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball
- David Brandt, retired player in the National Football League[13]
- Mark Dewey, retired Major League Baseball pitcher[14]
- Kevin DeYoung, pastor, author
- Paul Grasmanis, retired player in the National Football League[15]
- Richard Grenell, diplomat and ambassador
- Benny McCoy, retired Major League Baseball infielder[16]
- Andy Ponstein, ARCA driver[17]
- Glenn Duffie Shriver, convicted of attempted espionage.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Jenison, Michigan
- ^ a b Wise, David. "Mole-in-Training: How China Tried to Infiltrate the CIA." Washingtonian. July 7, 2012. Retrieved on April 24, 2016.
- ^ "ABOUT THE JENISON HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION". jenisonhistory.org. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ^ History of Ottawa County. 1882. p. 98.
- ^ "Ottawa County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ "2000 Census of Population and Housing: Michigan" (PDF). Census.gov. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
- ^ "2010 Census of Population and Housing: Michigan" (PDF). Census.gov. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Ottawa County, MI" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 1 (PDF p. 2/2). Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ "About - Jenison Christian School". www.jenisonchristian.org. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
- ^ "USA Football: It's more than a game". Archived from the original on March 13, 2008. Retrieved March 15, 2008.
- ^ Mark Dewey Statistics - The Baseball Cube
- ^ Grasmanis Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards - databaseFootball.com
- ^ "Benny McCoy Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ Welcome to Andy Ponstein - Home Archived July 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]Jenison, Michigan
View on GrokipediaHistory
Early settlement
Prior to European contact, the area now known as Jenison was inhabited by the Peoria and Odawa (Ottawa) peoples, who utilized the region's rivers, forests, and wetlands for hunting, fishing, and seasonal resource gathering as part of their traditional lifeways.[11][12] These indigenous groups maintained presence in the broader Ottawa County region, which included the Grand River valley, until the early 19th century, when U.S. treaty negotiations began displacing them from southern Michigan lands.[13] European settlement in the Jenison area began in earnest following the 1836 Treaty of Washington, which ceded much of southern Michigan to the United States and opened it for homesteading. Hiram Jenison, arriving from New York via Grandville, became the first permanent settler in what is now Georgetown Township in 1836, acquiring land along the Grand River for lumbering and farming.[14][11] Early pioneers like the Jenison family, George Ketchum, and the Lowing and Haire families established small farms and basic infrastructure, including log cabins, rudimentary roads, and the township's organization in 1840, with Hiram Jenison serving as its first supervisor.[15][6] By the late 1830s, initial land grants under the federal system encouraged further arrivals, focusing on clearing timber and tilling fertile soils for agriculture. The Jenison family operated a sawmill on Buck Creek starting in 1835, stocking it with logs to process local timber.[11][4] The community's naming originated with the Jenison family's economic influence, particularly their establishment of a grist mill in 1864 along Baldwin Street (then known as Jenison Road), which replaced an earlier sawmill on the site and produced flour such as Pride of the Valley to support regional agriculture.[15] This mill, operated by Lucius and Lucius H. Jenison, marked a shift from subsistence farming to small-scale industry, attracting additional workers and families. A post office was founded on January 29, 1872, as Jenisonville to serve the growing cluster of homes and businesses, reflecting the area's emerging identity.[16] The name was shortened to Jenison on October 14, 1887, solidifying the community's association with the founding family.[16] Through the mid-19th century, the Jenison settlement expanded gradually as part of Michigan's broader post-treaty colonization patterns, with early arrivals drawn by cheap land and timber opportunities. By 1880, Georgetown Township's population had reached 1,815 residents, with the Jenison area comprising several hundred inhabitants centered around farms, the sawmill, and mills on Rush Creek.[17] This growth laid the groundwork for the area's transition from frontier outpost to established rural community.[11]Modern development
In the early 20th century, Jenison's economy centered on expanded agriculture, with grain crops and dairy farming becoming prominent as lumbering declined, supported by families like the Jenisons and incoming Dutch immigrants who established farms such as Blissveldt and Cedar Crest.[18] Small industries also emerged, including the L & L Jenison Mill, which produced Pride of the Valley Flour from 1864 until its closure in 1953 and subsequent razing in 1963 after briefly serving as an antique shop.[18] The growth of nearby Grand Rapids after the 1920s significantly influenced Jenison, accelerating its transition from rural outpost to suburban bedroom community through increased commuting and economic ties to the city's expanding furniture and manufacturing sectors.[18] Post-World War II suburbanization transformed Jenison, with significant housing booms in the 1950s and 1970s driven by job opportunities in Grand Rapids' manufacturing industries, including furniture production that employed thousands regionally.[18][19] This period saw rapid residential development, culminating in Jenison's designation as a census-designated place (CDP) by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1980 to better track its growing unincorporated population.[20] Infrastructure improvements, such as the construction of Interstate 196 in the 1960s, facilitated this expansion; the Michigan Highway Department acquired homes in Jenison for the highway's on-ramp, enhancing connectivity to Grand Rapids while reshaping local landscapes.[21] In the 21st century, Jenison integrated more fully into Georgetown Charter Township's services following the township's 1965 charter status, which expanded governance to include libraries, parks, fire rescue, water, and sewer systems by the 2000s.[11] Population surges in the township, from 37,054 residents in 2000 to 54,091 in 2020, reflected regional economic shifts toward diversified manufacturing and services, bolstered by Grand Rapids' resurgence as a midwestern economic hub. Notable milestones include the establishment of the Jenison Historical Association in 2011, which preserves local artifacts and operates the Jenison Historical Museum to document community evolution.[22] Recent commercial expansions, such as the 2025 opening of an 11,000-square-foot retail development at 20th Avenue and Baldwin Street and a $3 million office-warehouse project by Journey Construction Group, underscore ongoing suburban vitality tied to regional growth.[23][24]Geography
Location and terrain
Jenison is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) located in Ottawa County, Michigan, within Georgetown Charter Township. Its geographic coordinates are approximately 42°54′26″N 85°47′31″W.[25] The community covers a total area of 5.93 square miles, consisting of 5.85 square miles of land and 0.077 square miles of water. Jenison borders Hudsonville to the north and portions of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area, including Grandville, to the east, forming part of the urban-rural transition zone in western Michigan.[26][9] The terrain of Jenison features flat glacial plains characteristic of West Michigan's outwash and lake plain landscapes, shaped by ancient glacial deposits.[27] The average elevation is around 604 feet above sea level.[28] The area lies in close proximity to the Grand River, approximately 2-5 miles to the east in some sections, with parts of the community adjacent to the river's south bank; minor water bodies such as Buck Creek, a 20.3-mile tributary of the Grand River, also traverse the region.[29][30] Soils in Jenison predominantly consist of sandy loams and loamy sands derived from glacial till and outwash deposits, supporting a mix of agricultural, residential, and developed land uses.[31] Original forested areas, typical of the region's glacial terrain, have been significantly reduced due to urban and suburban development, resulting in a blend of open fields, wooded remnants, and built environments.[32]Climate
Jenison experiences a humid continental climate classified as Dfa under the Köppen system, featuring four distinct seasons with warm to hot summers, cold winters, and moderate transitional periods.[33] The region's proximity to Lake Michigan moderates some temperature extremes, contributing to relatively consistent seasonal patterns across West Michigan. The annual mean temperature in Jenison is approximately 49°F, with average highs reaching 82°F during the summer months of June through August and average lows dipping to around 18°F in the winter months of December through February.[34] The highest recorded temperature was 104°F on July 21, 1934, while the lowest was -22°F on January 19, 1994, reflecting the potential for significant thermal variability.[35] Annual precipitation totals average 39 inches, distributed across approximately 130 days with measurable rainfall or liquid equivalent, supporting lush vegetation but also occasional flooding risks.[36] Snowfall averages 75 inches per year, with January typically seeing the peak accumulation of about 20 inches, influenced by lake-effect enhancements from nearby Lake Michigan.[37] In recent decades, climate change has led to increased frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events in Michigan, including more intense storms since 2000, with recent regional data showing a rise in heavy rainfall episodes exceeding 2 inches.[38] These trends, driven by warmer atmospheric moisture capacity, have amplified the variability of Jenison's weather patterns without altering its core classification.[39]Government and administration
Township governance
Jenison is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) located entirely within Georgetown Charter Township in Ottawa County, Michigan, and thus falls under the township's administrative governance without independent municipal status.[11] Georgetown Charter Township itself was organized in 1840 and achieved charter status in 1965, granting it enhanced home rule powers under Michigan law to adopt a charter outlining its organizational structure and operational procedures.[11] The township operates under a board form of government consisting of seven elected officials: a supervisor, clerk, treasurer, and four trustees, all serving staggered four-year terms as prescribed by Michigan election law.[40][41] The supervisor serves as the chief executive officer, presiding over board meetings and representing the township in official capacities. As of November 2025, the township board includes Supervisor Jim Wierenga (elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2024), Clerk Kelly Kuiper, Treasurer Gene DeWitt, and Trustees Amy Grasman, John Schwalm, Kevin Kelly, and Gary Veldink.[40] Board members are elected at-large across the township, including the Jenison area, ensuring representation for the community's interests through regular public meetings held twice monthly.[40] The township board holds authority over key local matters, including enacting and enforcing zoning ordinances, adopting budgets for township-wide services, and passing resolutions to regulate land use and development.[42] Specifically, the board approves zoning maps and regulations via the township's Zoning Ordinance, which governs aspects such as permitted uses, site plans, and special land uses to promote orderly growth while balancing property rights.[42] The Building and Zoning Department, under board oversight, interprets and enforces these rules, reviewing applications for compliance and conducting inspections for new constructions in areas like Jenison.[42] Historically, Georgetown Township transitioned from general law governance—limited to statutory powers under Michigan's Township Act of 1846—to charter township status in 1965, allowing greater flexibility in administration and service provision without needing special legislative approval for local initiatives.[11] This evolution enabled the adoption of tailored ordinances, such as updates to the Zoning Ordinance in the 2010s that refined district boundaries and development standards to accommodate suburban expansion, including in Jenison.[43] The board continues to exercise these powers through committees like the Services Committee, which advises on policy implementation.[44]Public services
Emergency services in Jenison are coordinated through the Georgetown Township Fire Department for fire suppression, rescue, and medical response, and the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement.[45][46] The Fire Department operates as a paid on-call agency with over 50 personnel across three strategically located stations, maintaining an ISO Class 4 rating that supports efficient insurance premiums for residents. In response to staffing challenges and EMS response time concerns discussed in an October 2025 emergency meeting, the township approved hiring two additional full-time firefighters; the department will fully assume EMS operations starting April 1, 2026, after the county discontinues its paramedic E-unit.[45][47][48] Police protection is provided via a contract with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, including a dedicated school resource deputy for Jenison Public Schools (available township-wide outside school hours), a full-time traffic safety officer, and 24-hour paramedic E-unit support for medical and enforcement needs until its phase-out in 2026; non-emergency requests are directed to central dispatch at (800) 249-0911, with 911 for emergencies.[46] The Township Department of Public Works manages essential utilities, delivering water and sewer services to over 14,000 households and 40,000 customers without operating its own treatment facilities—water is purchased wholesale from the City of Wyoming (sourced from Lake Michigan), while sewage is treated by the City of Grandville. The system's infrastructure, valued at $175–200 million, supports reliable distribution across Jenison. In July 2025, water rates increased by 55% (from $3.15 to $4.90 per 1,000 gallons) and sewer rates slightly (from $5.00 to $5.05 per 1,000 gallons) to cover rising costs from the City of Wyoming's infrastructure improvements, leading to resident backlash and packed public meetings in September 2025 over the financial impact on households.[49][50][51] Stormwater management efforts focus on preventing illicit discharges and overloads, with the township conducting periodic sump pump inspections to verify connections to sanitary sewers and mitigate groundwater inflow, a initiative ongoing since at least 2020 to reduce treatment costs and environmental risks.[52] Road maintenance is handled through Public Works and dedicated highway funds, encompassing resurfacing, sidewalk improvements, and general upkeep to ensure safe local infrastructure.[49][53] Jenison residents have access to the Georgetown Township Library, a key community resource offering books, digital subscriptions, and programs with hours extended to 8:00 PM Monday through Thursday and 3:00 PM on Saturdays.[54] The GT Connections Senior Center delivers programs for individuals aged 55 and older, including social and educational activities, a daily café lunch service (Tuesday–Friday for $3–$7), and subsidized transportation within and beyond the township for medical, shopping, or recreational trips.[55] Cemetery operations are managed by the township at two sites—Georgetown Cemetery (on 28th Avenue) and Hanley Cemetery (at 4th Avenue and Jackson Street)—providing burial options with perpetual care; fees, effective April 2025, range from $450–$2,200 for graves and $300–$800 for openings, varying by residency status.[56] For fiscal year 2025, the township allocated $3,997,600 to the Fire Department (including $1,850,000 for a new fire truck), $16,378,219 to water and sewer operations, $3,857,000 to highway and street maintenance (with $1,500,000 for resurfacing), $1,743,800 to the library, $440,400 to the senior center, $697,750 to cemeteries, and $2,600,000 to sheriff and E-unit services, reflecting priorities in safety and infrastructure.[53]Demographics
Population trends
Jenison's population, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau's Census Designated Place (CDP) boundaries, has experienced modest fluctuations over the past two decades. According to the 2000 Census, the population stood at 17,211 residents.[57] By the 2010 Census, this number had declined slightly to 16,538, reflecting a decrease of approximately 3.8% over the decade, influenced by broader regional demographic shifts in Ottawa County. The 2020 Census recorded a modest rebound to 16,640, marking a 0.6% increase from 2010 and indicating stabilization amid suburban development patterns. More recent estimates show continued growth, with the American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 data reporting a population of 17,334 as of 2023, representing a roughly 4.2% rise from the 2020 figure over three years.[58] This post-2020 uptick aligns with statewide trends toward suburban areas, partly driven by increased remote work opportunities that have enhanced the appeal of communities like Jenison near Grand Rapids.[59] The population density in 2020 was 2,842 persons per square mile, based on a land area of 5.86 square miles, underscoring Jenison's dense suburban character. Looking ahead, projections suggest steady growth, with estimates indicating a population of around 18,000 by 2030, following Ottawa County's annual growth rate of approximately 0.9%.[60] This outlook is supported by the county's ongoing expansion, attributed to its suburban amenities and proximity to urban employment centers.[61] It is important to distinguish Jenison's CDP boundaries from its primary ZIP code, 49428, which encompasses a larger geographic area including parts of adjacent townships. The CDP serves as a statistical entity defined by the U.S. Census Bureau to represent concentrated populations without incorporated municipal limits, covering about 5.86 square miles of land. In contrast, ZIP code 49428 has an estimated population of 27,793, reflecting broader postal delivery zones that extend beyond the CDP's defined perimeter.[62]| Census Year | Population | Change from Previous Decade |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 17,211 | - |
| 2010 | 16,538 | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 16,640 | +0.6% |
