Meridian Charter Township, Michigan

Meridian Charter Township is a charter township of Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population of 43,916.

The township is named after the Michigan meridian, which comprises the eastern border of the township. The township contains the unincorporated communities of Haslett and Okemos. Bordering East Lansing to the west, Meridian Charter Township is the third-largest municipality within the Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area.

Meridian Township was first settled by pioneers in 1836. In November 1836, Obed Marshall purchased 180 acres (73 ha) of land near present-day Haslett. The earliest settlers located at Pine Lake (now Lake Lansing) and made use of the numerous stands of pines to build their cabin. The lake was later the site of a Spiritualist Meeting Camp led by John Haslett. During the late 19th century, the lake became known as a local vacation area served by an "interurban trolley" which ran from the City of Lansing to the resort on the south side of the lake. An amusement park was introduced and enjoyed immense popularity into the mid-20th century. Currently, the Village of Haslett is located at the south side of Lake Lansing.

The first settlers near the current Village of Okemos (to the south of the former Pine Lake) were Sanford Marsh and his wife who built their cabin in 1839. They were soon followed by Joseph Kilbourne, who took out land for his brother-in-law, Freeman Bray.

It was Bray who platted out the southeast corner of his land and sold the lots to newcomers traveling into the mid-state wilderness. The village was first known as Hamilton.

A post-office called Sanford was established in the spring of 1840. Joseph H. Kilbourne was the first postmaster.

A local Native American, Chief John Okemos, was well known throughout the area. The village area was one of his primary camping areas and he traveled frequently between the village and another campsite near present-day Portland, Michigan. In 1857, the Michigan Legislature changed the name of the village officially to Okemos to honor the old chief.

The Township is rich with history and one resident, Joseph Kilbourne, had a major role in the decision in 1847 to relocate the state capitol from Detroit to Lansing (then Lansing Township). A local organization, the Friends of Historic Meridian, has an archive of local historic information and also maintains the historic buildings in the Meridian Historical Village.