Kalamazoo Township, Michigan

Kalamazoo Township, Michigan

Kalamazoo Charter Township is a charter township of Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,918 in the 2010 census.

The cities of Kalamazoo and Parchment are adjacent to the township and have annexed much land that was formerly within the township, such that the township now consists of two non-contiguous sections of land and one small section that is connected by a narrow point across Riverview Dr. Two census-designated places (CDPs) are within the township: Eastwood and Westwood. These are defined for statistical purposes and do not have any legal status as municipalities. However, both have an identity as communities, although the areas defined by the CDPs may not precisely correspond to local use of the terms. The CDPs can include nearby areas that locals might not consider as part of the community with the same name.

Kalamazoo Township was initially organized under the name of Arcadia Township by an act of the Territorial Legislature on July 30, 1830. A separate act on the same day organized the government of Kalamazoo County. Initially Arcadia Township consisted of all eight of the northern tier of townships in Kalamazoo County. In June 1832, Richland Township was set off, consisting of Richland, Ross, Charleston, and Comstock townships. On March 2, 1836, Arcadia Township was renamed as Kalamazoo Township, the same day that the village of Bronson was renamed as Kalamazoo. On March 11, 1837, Cooper Township was set off, consisting of Cooper and Alamo townships. On March 22, 1839, Oshtemo Township was set off from Kalamazoo.