A LAND USE PLAN FOR
JACKSON COUNTY,
MICHIGAN

Thesis far tho Dare... 9‘ M. 5.
meme/AN suns COLLEGE
Henry Wéiford Fairchild

1948 ’

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THESIS

This is to certifg that the

thesis entitled

presented by

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

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U 7 Major-professor

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A.LANU USE PLAN 30R JACKSON COUKIY, mICKIGAN

 

by

Henry ailford Feirghild

 

A EEESIS

"

bubmitted to the School of Graduate studies of nichigan
State College of agriculture and applied Science
in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

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Department of Soil Science

1948

TABLE OF COXlENlS

CEIAP‘LER
I. 'JHJJJ lIXOJJLJJJJIJ o o o o o 0

Introduction . . . . . .

Purpose and SCOpe of study .

Location and size of county .

JJIStory o o o o o o o o o 0'.

II. “IYSICAL FLAIDRSS OF 135 COUNTY

Iopography . . . . .
Climate . . . . . . .
Natural vegetation .
Soils . . . . . . . .
bedrock . . . . . . .
Natural land types .
daterloo type . . . .
Springport type . . .
Munith type . . . . .
Concord type . . . .
Parma type . . . . .

Napoleon type . . . .

Leoni type 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

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10
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13
14
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17
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CHAPJ. ER

III.

IV.

SOCIAL n31) nomadic Faifl‘t’ltns or ’13

Population . . . .

Rural farm population .

Rural non-farm non-village population

Other classes of pOpulation .

social-economic use areas

Urban area . . . .

Rural -urban fringe area . .

General farming area .

General farming,

recreation area .

t"

J.J

COUNTY'.

General farming and recreation area

Land values . . .

LAND USE IN JACKSON

COUNIY'.

Agricultural land use .

Summary of general features of

agri cul tural land use

Size of farm . . .
:enency o o o o o

Cropping pregram .

the livestock program .

Agricultural use areas

Relation between natural land type and

type of farming .

government land and

54
34

34

35
37

41

41
42
44
46
58
60

62

CHAPIER
Munith type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parma type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Concord type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
springport type . . . . . . . .1. . . . . .
daterloo type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
napoleon and Lecni Land types . . . . . . .
Review of agricultural land use . . . . . .
Recreational land use . . . . . . . . . . .
Forestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Government land use . . . . . . . . . . . .

v. LAJU {$3 Enobbnnd OE LE4 UUUJJY QIIH rHoiOsnD

SULUJIJQS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ihe swampland problem . . . . . . . . . . .
Frontage development . . . . . . . . . . .
airports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lxcess roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rural-urban fringe . . . . . . . . . . . .
Declining urban population . . . . . . . .
Proposed solution for the rural-urban
fringe and declining urban population . . .
Agricultural problems . . . . . . . . . . .

Soil conservation and soil fertility

problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

64
64
65

65

67

70
71

82

87

87

CHAPTER PnGb
haladjustment in size of farm . . . . . . . 89
Farm land better suited for non
agricultural uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Farm woodlot managenant problem . . . . . . 90

U
.
.
.
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P‘

Individual farm organization prObleL"
Need for social institution improvement . . 91
Recreational problems . . . . . . . . . . . 9a
Eublic administration problems . . . . . . . 95
the land use plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

JJIJjLIO(}RA-L;IJ.Y o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 100

10
11

12

13

1111 OF EIGLHLS

Location of Jackson County, Licnigan . . .

Surface Geology . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Iatural Land Divisions . . . . . . . . . .
Population Trends of Jackson County,

1840 to 1940 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Per Cent Loss of Rural farm EOpUlation
from 1940 to 1945 . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rural Hon—Farm Non-Village Population

per Square mile in 1940 . . . . . . . . .
Per Cent Change in School Census from
1940 to 1947 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fer Gent Increase of Rural Ion-Farm
Ion-Village bopulation since 1920 . . . .
ihe City Fringe area around Jackson City,
gichigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Social-Economic Use areas . . . . . . . .
iotal Property Valuation per Sguare lile
in 1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
total Farmland Value per Square Mile

in 1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Average Size of farm in l9a5 . . . . . . .

29

31

33

39

40
43

Vi

FIGURE ?AGE
14 Change in Size of Farm from 1950 to 1945 . . . 45
15 irends in Land Utilization 1950 to 1945 . . . 47
16 Cropping Program for 1945 . . . . . . . . . . 49
17 Lap Showing iownships Having Higher Per

-Cent Then County average of harms Reporting

All Corn in 1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5O
18 nap Showing iownship Having higher Per

Cent lhan County Average of farms Reporting

All Cats in 1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
19 map Showing townships Having higher Per

Cent than County Average of farms neporting

«heat in 1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
20 nap Chowing gownships having higher rer

Cent ihan County Average of farms Reporting

alfalfa in 1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
21 Lap showing iownships having Higher Ber

Cent .han County average of'Farms Reporting

Clover in 1945 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
22 Distribution of Farms Reporting Corn, Cats,

Jheat, Alfalfa and Clover Timothy in 1945 . . 56
25 Rank Coefficients of Correlations between

Combinations of the Five Leading Crops . . . . 57
24 iypes of Farming by townships in Jackson

County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

FIGURE p333
25 Recreational Land Use . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

26 cJOOlet IVIap o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 7].

27 Preposed Land Use for Jackson County . .

ACKNOJLEDCanjis

Gratitude is expressed to Erofessor J.0. Veatch
and to Dr. C.E. miller of the Soil Ccience Department of lich-
igan State College for their guidance and competent criticism
of this study. .

ihe author is particularly indebted to the many
departments of the hichigan State Government, the Jackson
County Government, ihe Soil Conservation Service, the Farm
management and Geology Departments and to the Conservation
Institute of michigan State College for most of the data for
the study. To numerous unknown farmers interviewed, acknow-
ledgement is given for much valuable information that other-

wise would have escaped the writers notice.

CHAPI‘ER I
ma Pao 1:,th

Introduction

Twenty to fifty thousand years before man settled
Michigan, the glaciers had formed the complexity of land-
forms that early explorers and settlers saw as Wooded
hills and valleys, swamps and lakes. When men settled the
region in the early eighteen hundreds, his pattern of
settlement had already been given in the land acts of 1784,
1785 and 1787 (8) which provided that the North Jest
Territory, of which Michigan was a part, be surveyed into
ranges, townships and sections. this determined the grid
pattern of deveIOpmant for both the city and county,
resulting in the straight roads, the square and rectangular
fields and the square block arrangement of the cities that
is seen today. :hese two factors, glacial fornation and
grid land division, determined to a great measure the land
use patterns that evolved.

Subsistence agriculture was the first land use to
develop after settlements were established in southern
Lichigan. this pattern soon changed into a general agri-
culture pattern which was subsegu3ntly modified by the
development of manufacturing industries and large urban

centers.

 

 

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Before the day of the automobile, the city was the
city and the country was the country; no one had difficulty
in determining the boundary between. The location of the
railroad and the trolley, and the speed bf the horse
controlled the city limits. Since the advent of the auto-
mobile, the city has permeated the country to the extent
that it is difficult to know where the city stops and the
country begins. Rural electrification has made the country
a;more desirable place to live, in some respects, than the
city and has caused intense competition to develOp for the
land lying within driving distance of the cities.

Electricity, the automobile and the tractor have
changed agriculture from a pioneer subsistence type into
two new farm types, the commercial farm which produces most
of the farm products, and the part time farm which provides
homes for workers from town and for people interested in
living on farms but not interested in commercial farming.

The new patterns of urban and agricultural land use
evolved with such a rapidity after 1910, that in 1947,
nineteenth century public administration methods were still

being applied to twentieth century problems.

Purpose and Scope 2; Study

The plan of this study was to select a sample area
from the dairy-general farming region of Southern Michigan

where the pattern of industrial and commercial land use had

3
been superimposed on the agricultural use pattern, to delineate
the land use problems characteristic of the region and to
provide, if possible, logical solutions for the problems.

To attain the objective stated, it was necessary to
obtain basic information about the land, peOple, and the use
of the land by the people; to determine the trends of past
land use and project them into the future; and to evaluate
the land use trends and recommend changes that appeared
desirable.

More specifically, it was planned to:

1. Outline the physical features of the area selected for
study.

2. Make studies of land use for agricultural, forestry,
recreational, and urban develOpment.

3. Delineate the social-economic land use areas.

4. Outline areas having land use problems.

5. take recommendations for changes in land use.

6. Make statistical studies of pOpulation, land values,
and other items necessary to the completion of the study.

Jackson County, Michigan was selected as the locale

of the study.

Jackson County is located in the second tier of
counties from the southern boundary of Michigan, in the

centtral part of the state from east to west. Jackson,

the largest city, and county seat, is situated in the
center of the county seventy-two miles west of Cetroit,
thirty-five miles west of Ann Arbor, thirty-nine miles south
of Lansing, and forty-two miles east of battle Creek. 1
fig. {1) shows the location and size of the county on a Mich-
igan map.

rhe county consists of nineteen townships, made up
of 717 sauare miles, of Which 705 are in land area and the
remaining twelve square miles in water area (26). Jackson
city in 1940 was the 201st largest city in the United States
with a population of almost fifty thousand people, and a land

area of ten and two tenths square miles. (30).

The earliest record of a permanent settlement in the
county was given by Deland (5) as the summer of 1829 when
Horace hlackman settled the west bank of Grand River at the
junction of several Indian trails. Ihe account relates that
he settled there because it was the most likely place for the
county seat to be located. Prescott (20), stated that a
more forbidding site could not have been selected in the whole
state of michigan for a village or city. Shortly after Black-
man made his settlement, other settlers came over the trail
from.nnn Arbor to locate farms and build homes. The county
of Jackson was founded on October twenty-ninth, 1829, and was

attached to flashtenaw for judicial purposes. The next year

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6
Kalamazoo road was built and through the efforts of Black-
man was directed through Grass Lake, Jackson, and Concord.
In 1852 Jackson became a separate county. from 1829 to 1854
the population grew to eighteen hundred and sixty five people,
in 1857 it numbered seven hundred and in 1840 thirteen
thousand, one hundred and thirty people (25).

81013 (2) stated that the natural landscape of the
county was made up of about one-quarter swamp plains and the
rest largely oak openings. mcGee (12) further stated that,
"the oak Openings were largely burr oak (a misnomer) and
that there were no grubs or small timber and no brush... the
only obstacles in the way (of travel) were the marshes and
rivers." McGee went on to describe the natural vegetation,
saying that besides the timber, there were "brakes", a kind
of fern, which grew to two and one half to three feet high,
wild strawberries and many kinds of wild flowers which grew
in great profusion.

Rapid growth of population came in the eighteen-thirties.
ihe Pottewatomee Indians were numerous but offered no serious
resistance to the settlement of the land. Life was rUgged in
the new county for the settlers from the east, food was
scarce during the first few winters but there was no lack of
work. harming soon became the chief occupation of the
settlers, with wheat, hay and cattle the.main farm products.

In 1845 the first railroad was built connecting Chicago with

ann Arbor, By that time also the road transportation
system.of the county was well established; thus with the
railroad for long hauls to distant large cities, and the
oxen and horses for short hauls to the railroads, commercial
agriculture began in earnest. By the time of the civil war,
the county was producing thousands of bushels of wheat and
hundreds of cattle.

the city of Jackson, early in the history, became
the center of culture and entertainment in south central
hichigan. It was known as the best "show" town in Michigan
with all the large eastern Theatre circuits making regular
appearances there. the first Grange in Michigan was founded
at Grass Lake, and it was "under the oaks" at Jackson on
July six, 1854 that a group of Michigan citizens gathered
and formed the first political party to be called the
Republican party, in the United States. ihe party founded
there on that day was later combined with the party formed

at Bipon, Jisconsin to form the present Republican party (7)..

CHAPTER II
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF 13E COUNIY

Topography
The topography of the county is level to hillywith

the greatest differences in elevation being about one
hundred and fifty feet. fig. (2) shows the surface features
of glacial origin as mapped by Leverett (10).. The county
can be separated roughly into several topographic components.
A moraine runs east and west through the center of the
county, another runs north and south through Sandstone and
Tompkins Townships, and still another through Concord and
Liberty townships. The north-east part of the county con-
sists largely of swampy plains through which are distributed
sand islands. The south-east quarter of the county consists
mainly of a level pitted plain; deeply pitted in the north,
with many potholes, swamps and lakes and less deeply pitted
in the south. the west half of the county consists of, be-
sides moraines, undulating sandy plains through which are
formed broad valleys of swampland along the drainage ways.
Topographic maps of the U.S. Geological Survey have
been completed for the north half of the county and the
townships of Summit, Liberty, Leoni and the western part of

Columbia and napoleon fownships (l5).

FIGURE 2

SURFACE GEOLOGY

After Leverett

      
 
 

 

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10
Ihe greatest part of the county lies between 950
and 1050 feet above mean sea level, the highest point in
the county thus far mapped being 1168 feet at Prospect Hill
in Liberty Township.
Four rivers have their headwaters in the south end
of the county, the Kalamazoo and the Grand flowing north

and west, and the huron and Raisin flowing east.

Climate

Continuous climate records are available for forty
years. The climate is characterized by moderate summer
temperatures and fairly cold winters, the mean average July
temperature as recorded was 75.4 degrees Eahrenheit and the
mean average January temperature 24.? degrees.

The average dates for killing frosts have been: the
last in the spring, May sixth, and the first in the fall,
October eighth; or an average growing season of 155 days.
lhe latest date recorded for frost in the spring was may
twenty-fifth, and earliest in the fall was September nine-
teenth.

The rainfall is fairly well distributed throughout
the growing season, with an average of 15.91 inches out of
39.97 inches of annual precipitation falling between the
first of May and the first of October. An average of 39.4

inches of snow fall occurred in the county, most of it in

11
December, January and hebruary. Precipitation of more
than one-tenth of an inch occurred on an average of 119
days a year. the wind is moderate with an average velocity
‘ of about ten miles per hour and blows from a south-westerly
direction throughout all the year except the months of
February and March when it blows from the northwest. The
maximum wind velocity had never exceeded forty five miles

per hour at the time of the study (3,4).

Natural Vegetation

The natural vegetation of the county in its original
state varied with soil and topography, but in general the
well drained mineral soils supported a growth of oak and
hickory on the more sandy soils, and beech, elm, hard and
soft maple and basswood on the heavier soils. the poorly
drained mineral soils supported elm, ash, soft maple, bass-
wood, swamp white oak, cherry'and butternut. free and growth
on the organic soils consisted of elm, ash, soft maple, tama-
rack, aspen, red osier dogwood. Other vegetation included
elderberry, sedges, bluejoint, dwarf birch, common winter-

berry, kalmia, chokecherry and sphegnun and other mosses (34).

Soils

 

Veatch, lrull and Porter (54), and irull (25) have
described the soils of the county in great detail. it is

sufficient for this study to quote Veatch:

12

"fhe soils of Jackson County differ widely
in texture, structure, chemical composition, fertility,
and moisture--natural factors which bear a relation to
plant growth and consequently to agricultural use.
they also exhibit a lack of uniformity within very short
horizontal distances, a condition common to the State
as a whole.

the surface soils range from loose, incoherent,
nearly pure sand to moderately heavy silt loam and clay
loam. most of the soils, however, are light sandy loams.
The sands comprise less than 5 per cent of the total
area, and soils which have a clay or clay loam texture
in the plow soil are of almost negligible total acreage.
Probably 65 per cent of the land is loamy or free working
under all conditions, about 10 per cent is moderately
heavy, and about 5 per cent is refractory or difficult
to manage because of a high content of clay, extreme
stoniness, susceptibility to blowing, or other unfavor-
able tilth conditions. about 20 per cent consists of
muck and pest, which has its own tilth characteristics.

It is estimated by local standards that 20 per cent
of the soil is comparatively poor in organic matter in
the plow layer, containing 2 per cent or less by weight;
and that about 25 per cent, including muck and peat,
has a high organic matter content. the houmous (humus)
layer in virgin well-drained soils does not exceed 5
inches in thickness, and consequently in the cultivated
there is very little tint or coloring from organic matter
below the depth of 6 or 7 inches. The soils are deep,
however, from the point of view of penetrability, as
the parent soil material is unconsolidated glacial drift
to a depth of several feet.

About 90 per cent of the soils are acid in re-
action in the natural surface horizons and in the plow
soil. It is estimated that about 60 per cent of the
mineral soils are acid to a depth of 56 or more inches,
that 50 or 55 per cent contain sufficient calcium and
magnesium carbonates or other bases at and below a
depth ranging from 24 to 56 inches to give an alkaline
reaction, and that 5 per cent either are nonacid or
limy throughout under natural conditions. The organic
soils comprising about 20 per cent of the area of the
county are mostly neutral or mooerately acid, less than
5 per cent being the extremely acid peat.

13

in the greater part of the county drainage
is naturally fairly good, as the water table is not
high and the slope is sufficient to provide free run
off. it is estimated that 25 per cent of the soils
are characterized either by a high water table or by
permanently swampy conditions and are therefore un-
suitable for agricultural use unless they are ditched
or tiled.

The fertility and productivity of the soils,
according to standards for the southern part of Rich-
igan, are generally medium. Analyses of the predomin-
ant types of mineral sail represented here do not show
any evidence of abnormally high or of unusually small
contents of the mineral constituents ordinarily de-
termined. Probably 10 per cent of the soil, including
the sands, is poor because of low content of plant
nutrients and deficiency of moisture, and a rather
large proportion, including some of‘the mucks or pests,
is poor because of low content of mineral food in
combination with either an excess or deficiency of
water."

Bedrock

The northern half of the county is underlaid with
Parma sandstone, a part of the Saginaw formation. the
remainder of the county is underlaid in bands running from
east to west with Bayport limestone, hichigan shale, lower
Marshall limestone, Coldwater shale and Napoleon sandstone

n

(15). Leverett (11) stated that in the north end of hills-
dale and the southern end of Jackson counties, the bedrock
lay at a about 1100 feet above mean sea level, sloping down-
ward to about 900 feet at Jackson. this slope of the bed-
rock breaks to form a divide in the irish Hills between
nillsdale and Jackson counties, causing all the rivers in

the area to flow in all directions except south.

14
the minerals of the county are few and for the
most part unimportant. Gravel, a little coal and building
stone are the only minerals of any importance.

From a soil point of view, the soils of the south
end of the county are thin glacial drift with many pro-
jections of the bed rock. As one travels north through
the county, the drift becomes thicker and fewer outcrops

of rock are seen.

Naturg; Land gypgg

fig. (5) shows the natural land types as mapped by
the author. a different approach to natural land type
mapping was used in this case than was employed by Veatch
(55), or Schoenmann (22). A separate land type was used
for the naturally wet lands. this was done to point out
the swamp land patterns that were associated with the other
natural land types. from fig. (5), it can readily be seen
that with each of the other natural land divisions there
was a definite associated patern of swampland that in part
determined the land use of that natural land type.

the natural land types as delineated on fig. (5)
were as accurate as could be made from the soil map, the
tOpographic maps and limited personal reconnaissance of the
area. it was felt that the south west quarter of the county

was not mapped very accurately because of a lack of topo-

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16
graphic data. for the purposes of this study, it was
felt that the natural land types as mapped were sufficient-

ly accurate.

Waterloo gypg

The waterloo land is easily recognized by the high
percentage of intricately formed short steep slepes which
gives the landscape the appearance of waves on a sea;
field crops when viewed from above, look like a choppy sea
due to the micro-irregularities of the landforms. Slopes
are steep, many steeper than 15 per cent. the length of
slope varies from six feet to perhaps 200 feet. Slope
covers considerable more than half of the land area of the
land type.

Relief varies from fifty to 150 feet, rising out of
narrow swampy valleys or of numerous lakes and small ponds
of the area. It is on this land type that the highest point
in the county is found.

Soils of this land division are sandier and more
drouthy than on any of the remaining land divisions. Greater
evidences of sheet and gully erosion are also present.
woodlots are commonly found covering both the hills and
valleys, something quite distinct from other land of the

county. natural forest types are oak.and hickory.

17
Bellefodntaine sandy loam soil maces up more than
95 per cent of this land type with Coloma sand and Hills-

dale sandy loam making up the remaining 5 per cent (54).

fipringport Exp;

the Springport natural land division consists of
undulating to hilly fertile loam soils of the Miami and
Hillsdale soil types. Relief differences are never greater
than seventy feet. Slopes are gentle, but locally may be
as steep as 8 to 15 per cent. 11113 are smooth with rounded
crests and valleys. A high prOportion of the Munith land
type is associated with the Springport in broad valleys of
irregular pattern.. the woods that are found on this land
are in the form of small pastured woodlots and are located

on the crests of the undulating hills.

munith 2123

All naturally wet lands consisting of either mineral
or organic soils are included in this group. this land
assumes two patterns in the county: broad valleys of swamp
following the course of the youthful streams and rivers and
irregular shaped patches connected by streams and narrow
swamps. hunith type is commonly found bordering most of
the lakes of the county, making them of little value for

home construction or recreational purposes. Pasco (l9)

18
found that forest and brush was most commonly associated
with the SOllS‘Of this land division.

the soil components of this land consists of about
80 per cent organic soil and the remainder wet mineral
soil. the organic soil includes such types as Rifle peat,
Garlisle muck, houghton much and Greenwood peat. the
mineral soils are brookston loam, and clay loam. hrady
sandy loam, Sawton loamy sand, Uonover loam, Griffin loam
and Genesee sandy loam. nifle peat mahes up about half of
the area of the Lunith type with.houghton muck and Brookston

loam comprising practically all the remainder.

Concord Type

Concord land division is composed of fertile, friable
sandy loam soils underlaid by clay, making them moisture
retentive. Slopes are smooth, ending in rounded crests and
valleys. slopes vary from 8 to 15 per cent aid the relief
differences are not greater than 100 feet.

This land division rises out of the Farms land type
and could be considered as a steeper phase of that type.
nroad valleys of the Munith land division cuts across this
land in broad valleys. inis type is freer of swampland
than other types because of its position in the landscape.

Woodlots are found on the crests of the many hills; the

19
sidehills are cleared and erosion has become the problem.
hillsdale sandy loam soil comprises practically all the

soil of this land.

Parma Iype

The Parma land type consists of level to gently
undulating fertile sandy loam soil, mostly of the hills-
dale soil series. Relief differences from the valleys to
the crests of the low hills are noc greater than fifty feet.
Broad valleys of the munith land.type are interspersed in
a haphazard pattern through the area.

ihe original vegetation of the karma and Concord
land was oak and hickory. By the time of the study all but
a few hill tops had been cleared for agriculture. Slopes
on the area vary from O to 8 per cent with a few as steep

as 15 per cent.

Napoleon Type

The presence of numerous pits, lakes and depressions,
the sandy and acid character of the soil, and the flat
nature of the topography, characterize this land type. It
is thought that the plains were formed by the outwash from
melting glaciers and the pits in the plains were formed by
chunks of ice sloughed off the glacier and left to later

melt and form holes in the land surface.

ihe soils consists of fox sandy loam and loam.
All are fair to good in fertility and are especially ad-
apted to the production of alfalfa when properly limed.
Hoodlots on this land are larger than for the average of
the county. Usually they are found at the edge of many
swamps that meander through the area and at the edges of

the many depressions.

Leoni Type

The statements made for the Napoleon land type are
equally true in this land division with the exception that
this land differs in relief from.hapoleon. in the latter
case the land is smooth with many depressions. in this
case the land takes on the appearance of a peneplain, with
many flat topped hills of the same elevation with deep

pits between.

CHAPlfi? III
SOCIAL “ED ECONOMIC FEATURJS OF THE COUKTY

Population

According to the United states census of 1940,
Jackson County had a total of 95,108 people, or 152.1
persons per sguare mile of land area. Most of these
people, except for the population within Jackson City,
were of old American stock that had migrated from the east
to Jackson and surrounding counties in the middle eighteen
hundreds (30).

Jackson county has been steadily increasing in
population since its earliest white settler, norace Black-
man, arrived in 1829. Figure (4) shows the increase in
population since 1840 for the entire county, id for the
city of Jackson since 1850. As the figure indicates, the
pOpulation has increased at a decreasing rate since 1910;
increasing 55.8 per cent from nineteen ten to nineteen
twenty, 27.2 per cent from nineteen twenty to nineteen thirty
and only 14.7 per cent from nineteen thirty to nineteen forty.
this repreSents the levelling off of the population in Jack-
son county much as was occurring throughout the entire

nation (61).

 

23
closer examination of Figure (4) shows that
despite the total increase in population for the county,
the city of Jackson lost about 6,000 population from 1930

to 1940, with a corresponding increase in the non-farm
population.

Analyses of the county pOpulation were made to de-
termine where the people lived and the composition of the
population by the following classes: urban, village, rural-
farm, urban-farm, and rural non-village non-farm. The
class, rural non-village non-farm does not appear in any
of the publications of the United States bureau of the
Census, but was determined by the author to point out the
non-farm population not residing in villages. It was cal-
culated by substracting the village pOpulation from the
rural non-farm population of the political unit area in

question, and showed the number of people actually residing

in the country not engaged in agriculture.

Rural-Farm Population

The rural-farm population of the county is dis-
tributed according to the amount of class I and II land
available for agricultural use. Ihaden (23), has shown that
rural-farm pOpulation was based in 1950 upon the prediction

line: for each per cent variation in class I land, there

24
was a variation of .518 plus 5.6 in rural-farm population.
.Applying this eguation to Jackson county, for 1960, showed
that there should have been 16.8 rural-farm people per
square mile; actually there were 18.3. Jhen the prediction
line is applied to any individual township for the 1960
census, the results are of no value, showing that something
besides the amount of Class I land influenced the rural-
farm population. Ihaden(24), in a study of the Lansing
community, showed that the ruralefarm population decreased
directly with the distance from the city. Rank coefficients
of correlation were calculated between the distances of the
townships from.Jackson and their rural-farm populations for
19a0, 1940, and 1945. ihe coefficients of correlation for
these years respectively are:+.34,+372, andwzll. 'lhe co-
efficient for 1940 is the only one with high significance,
indicating that either there is a different relationship
in the Jackson community than was true for the Lansing
community, or else the sample of the Jackson community is not
large enough to show the true relationship between distance
from Jackson and the rural-farm population. ihe latter is
probably true since a large share of the Jackson community
falling in other counties is not included in this study.

the distribution of rural-farm.population assumes a

FIGUAE 5

PER CENT LOSS OF RURAL-FARM POPULATION

25

 

 

9’. ‘-"
' -.‘33’4’ .
‘ ' ' ‘H .

FROM 1940 TO 1945

HE R/ETM

 

 

   
   
  

 

------ -----‘

CONCORD

N14 FOLIO/V

hUUVC> 4R
mm m:

[l

 

 

 

M NELSON EZDUHTY

WHITE--LESS THAN 25 PER CENT LOSS
RED--FROM 25 TO 49 PER CENT LOSS
BUJB-mllORE THAN 50 PER CENT LOSS

  
 

IMMZEFZCM7

‘NUWWle

 

 

 

FIGURE 5 26

RURAL NON-FARM NON-VILLAGE POPULATION
PER SQUARE MILE IN 1940

 

 
 
 
    
 
      
    
  

TOM/WINS

 

SPRIN . RT

vm/mvs

 

 

 

ffR/NGPORT

 

T

GM 5 LAKf

K

  

I
CONCORD ‘.' GRASS [Alrt'

 

C 0N6 ORD

 

PULA

 

i

 

* .0 PM

‘ ,.'
.. '--

M CKSZDN €(ZDUHTY

BLUE--MORE THAN NINETY PERSCNS BER SQUARE MILE

 

 

PINK-«FROM FIFTEEN TO FORT! reasons PER stARE MILE
ORANGE--FROM FIVE TO FOURTEEN masons PER SQIJARE MILE

'HITE-o LESS THAN FIVE PERSONS PER SQUARE MILE

 

..IIII‘ ... v

 

27
haphazard pattern, rigure (5), but in every township the
pattern is easily explained on the basis of either the
amount of class I land, the size of the farm, or the re-
tirement of land from agriculture for'other uses. fig. (6)
shows the per cant change of the rural-farm population from
1940 to 1945. this Figure has a significant bearing on
this study, because it shows the tremendous change that has
taken place in the agricultural population because of the
war. The pattern shows that more farmers have left agri-
culture near Jackson than in the outer townships of the
county. host of the farmers that quit farming are still in
the Jackson community as will be shown later in the study,

most of them working in the shops of Jackson.

Rural Non-Earm.Nop-Village Population

 

An attempt is made to delineate the city fringe area
around Jackson by determining the distribution of the rural
non-farm non-village population by township. To show the
trends in movement and density of the city fringe population,
the figures of the U.S. Bureau of the Census are used. Dis-
tribution of the rural non-farm non-village population was
determined for 1920, 1930 and 1940 (20). figure (7) shows
the distribution of this class of population for 1940. ihe

distributions for 1920 and 1950 have the same pattern, the
I

28
only difference being in the density of pOpulation.
rig. (7) proves conclusively that there is a zone of pop-
ulation concentration of rural non-farm non-villag popula-
tion around Jackson, and that it covers considerable area.
In order to point out more vividly this zone of concentra-
tion of population, a field study was made. an actual
count was taken of new houses built since the michigan State
Highway planning survey was taken in 1940 (17). On twelve
miles of highway 27, north of Jackson, sixty two new houses
had been built, thirty five of them within two miles of the
city limits. Counts along other highways leading out of
Jackson gave simillar results, showing better than census
data the tendency for non-farm homes to be built near a
city.

10 further show the growth of the rural non-farm
non-village pogulatian, Fig. (7) was drawn, showing the per
cent of change in school census from June first, 19a0 to
June first, 1947. A greater per cent increase in school
census was shown in the second tier of townships from Jack-
son than in the townShips bordering the city (21). This
plus the data obtained from.nig. (6), the per ceit loss of
rural-farm population from 1940 to 1945, showed the trend

towards the extension of the fringe area out from the city.

 

 

JRARWL4

PULASK/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIGURE 7 29
PER CENT CHANGE IN SCHOOL CENSUS
FROM 1940 TO 1947
I “‘ ' I“. 352» . AII' fix»
”4 (“43* 'iI - “1"":
.L33‘ L? ”,1; . i.
. '- q‘ l I '
, .,i‘-‘. a" ’ 3
{jag I‘ 51!; 7 .‘v .0.
1 - -- . ... . ..
I I ...---
I . “u
I I
i l BL If N! 1?
: SANDSTONE . i '
I
mm | |, ' I ., am 5 LAN!
: §§§§SSS inf
-—~~———-———-; —————— W50” | {9"
SPRING HARBORI \ :3
, GRASS LA/(t’
i 5U M/T t . ‘
I
I
I
I
I
-- --..'Pu.-gg?- -. '
cart 4
- flit“ 3'1: I is; $.15”

 

 

.141 CKSZDN EZDMYTY

RED--O T0 10

PER CENT LOSS

BUUE--O TO 10 PER CENT INCREASE

WHITE-~11 TO
GREEN—-21 «no

20 PER CENT INCREASE
‘50 PER CENT INCREASE

BLACK--OVER 30 PER CENT INCREASE

30

the figures for Springport township in Eig. (7) were in-
correct because of a school reorganization program, so
they should be disregarded in this study. It is seen in
Fig. (7) that the fringe area has expanded more towards
the north east of the county than any other section.

ihe question might be asked; when did the fringe
area start to develOp? Fig. (8) answers this question by
showing the total pogulatidn growth for three townships
nearest Jackson, the total county, and three townships on
the border of the county. The greatest per cent increase
in population, which is of the class, rural non-farm non-
village pOpulation, was between the years 1920 to 1950 for
the three townships nearest Jackson. the total county pop-
ulation and that for the three outlying townships does not
show the sharp rise of the townships near the city. rig. (8)
also shows that the problem of the rural-urban fringe is
about twenty years old at the time of this study. it might
be suggested at this point that for studies of rural-urban
fringes, it would be desirable if rural non-farm population
now used by the U.S. bureau of the Census be broken down into
village population and rural non-farm.non-village population
when future censuses are taken.

rig. (9) shows the city-rural fringe of Jackson that

for all practical purposes might be considered merely an ex-

 

52
tension of the city beyond the city limits. the boundary
drawn was purely an arbitrary affair since pepulation de-
clines in more or less of a linear curve. :0 delineate a
fringe area, one has to answer the question of how many
people of the rural non-farm non-village type per square
mile it takes to constitute a rural-urban fringe. the

writer could merely hazard a guess as to wnat this pop-
ulation per square mile would be, but for this study, when
the rural-farm population was less than the rural non-farm
non-village it was considered that the fringe area was
reached. Using such a criterion as a basis for outlining
the rural-urban fringe of Jackson county, the townships of
Blackman, Summit, Leoni, and fiapoleon should have been in-
cluded in 1940 and probably henrietta, Sandstone and Spring

Arbor could have been added in 1947.(51).

Other Classes 9; Population

ihe classes of population, urban, urban farm and
village were not studied in detail in this Study since they
presented no great problems in land use. ihe only one that
did present a problem was the declining urban population.
lhis will be considered farther on in this study under,

"Problems In Land Use."

 

 

     

 

 

FIGURE 9 33
can CITY FdImdm AREA or JACKSON CIEY. MICHIJAN
L l. :L I.
' TOMP/{l/VS : I
I
SPRINJF RT : '
I gammo:
' ‘ : MMDWHUO
I
sfm/vapom I i
.......... 4----- ~
I I
I
' --------- “d
I
O I “ .,
Fuvwww E amMDStONf

'ARMA
§

............ -+--~

Isrwmvc. Afiao:-'

  

  

 

CONCORD

   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

  
 
     

 

      
  
 

 

GRASS ZA/{f

 

I
I .
l
I . . 1
CONCORD ' I g f -------- .-
I§§ I I ‘ 1““M’;
.-----“ _____ L-,,_,__,- ____:__L___ ______ . NAPOLION
. : . H' ' . i 'r____________ ____1\
‘%K E HMAH? I I g :
PUZA I I I I
. HANOVER ' L I B ' 7')’ I BRoam m \ NORVHJ
- I 5 I m 5
i g : cozomnam :
/ I ' i I

 

ubflZHHERflVV' IFQWTEYIUY'

RED--HIGHWAY STRIP DEVELOPMENT

bLACK--URBAN DEVELOPMENT

 

54

II. SOCIAL EC‘NUMIC USE AREAS

Ihe county was divided into five areas, based on
the distribution of the population and the use of land.
rig. (10) Shows the five areas as: urban; rural-urban
fringe; general agricultural; general agricultural govern-
hent land and recreation; and general agriculture and re-

creation.

Urban Area
the urban area consists of all land devoted to in-
tense industrial, commercial or residential use. It covers

only one area in the county, the city of Jackson.

RuralrUrban Fringe Area

this area includes all land devoted to rural non-
farm residence use, mixed commercial and.industrial use,
part time far 3, large commercial farms, and other uses.
Population density and.not use determines the boundary of
this area. About 2,000 people per square mile is the bound-
ary between the urban and the rural-urban fringe areas, and
about 175 people per square mile is ttfi population used to
determine the boundary between the rural-urban fringe area

0"

and the agricultural areas (s7, 28, 29, 31).

Gen er al Fa nn ing Area

ihe general farnnng area represents all the parts of

35
the county devoted solely to agriculture or to servicing
the agricultural population. this includes the small
villages of the area. Other uses of the land are represented

but are of minor importance.

General harming, Government Land and hecreatiog area

 

 

this area represents land uses for private recreation,
public and general agriculture uses. [his area occur*s in
the north east quarter of the county and has several land
types represented. 0n the more fertile land types, the main
use is for agriculture both private and for the prison farms.
the government recreation area, part of the waterloo re-
creation area occur s in fiaterloo, Grass Lake and Leoni
townships, on Junith and waterloo land types. Private re-
creation is found on the borders of the sandy shored lakes
where cottages may be built. Pleasant Lake, Lig and Little
Portage lakes, batteese Lane and.Ulaar Lake are examples of

such lakes (9).

General Farming and hecreation Area

This area covers most of the south east quarter of
the county. lhe difference between this area and the general
farming area of the western half oi‘the county is the presence
of numerous lakes that providef a place for recreational

land. Ularx's Lane, Vandercoon's Lane, Vineyard Laue, Hound

36
FIGURE 10

SOCIAL-ECONOMIC USE AREAS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“ ‘ "‘ . “L I I
l
' TOMP/f/MS E i I
I
SPRING RT : i R/ V'ES : ' i
I IfiPK/NS I I .
I ._ ‘ I : HE R/L'UA I WWI/7100
i I I ,4
S PRINCPORT : I : I! g 4-
I-I ---------- ,--- -------- 4,, ,
I I 1...--- I...
o I 1 I ., I
P/I EMA I SANDSTONE I .
I
PARMA | I GRA SLAM
§ : \ .
------------ -T--~--——--— ' s
ISPR/NG mks - ,
CONCORD I I IGRASS LAKE
I = I 5
I I --.-.J_ ..
ammo“? , E } -------- ..
fi§§ : l Afimuw;
.--.--___ _____ L________ ____I_ NAPOLION
: Immnmwx i ................ 1
P i HANO R I I
UMSK/ . 8mm” . WWI“
:L HANOVIR : § E
I I COLUMB/A :
) I I I
MCKSZDN (,WUHTY
1. GENERAL FARMING AREA
2. RURAL-URBAN FRINGE AREA \

3 . URBAN AREA

4. MIXED GENERAL FARMING} GOVERNMENT, AND
RECREATION AREA

5. MIXED GENERAL FARMING AND RECREATION AREA

67
Lake and Jampler's Lake, pruvides the best recreational
opportunities in the county. hundreds of people have
suumer homes in the area, which provide$ a ready Larket
for the products produced by the farmes. harming covers
all the land except that adjacent to the sandy shored

lakes (9).
III. LAND VALUES

In 1946, according to the figures of the Michigan
State lax Commission, (18) the real equalized land values in
Jackson county varied from a high in Blackman township of
gl45,498.05 per square mile or $226.70 per acre, to a low
in waterloo township of 919,337.97 per square mile or $50.97
per acre. lhese values were for all real preperty in the
townships.

The U.S. Bureau of the Census (27) gave the value at
real farm property in Summit, the highest value township, as
$58,384.80 per square mile or $91.07 per acre, to Jaterloo
townShip, the lowest value township, with a value of
p23,776.00 per square mile or p37.15 per acre.

It is of interest to note that real land values were
higher for 1 non—farm land near Jackson than for": farmland,
and.that they decreased with the distance fnam the city.
Ihere is a high positive correlation between the distance from

. 4 , - -
Jacmson and total equzlizec real preperty value. Lne

38
correlation is+.68 which is hi;hly significant.

Earn land values differ from total real property.
values, in that they apparently are based on two factors;
the amount of class I land available for agricultural use
and the distance from Jackson. figures (11) and (12) show
the total equalized real property valuation per square mile
for all land, and the total property value per Square mile
for farmland respectively. the valuations represented in
the figures do not represent the selling value of land, but
rather the values two different government agencies placed
on the land.

Values for farmland have reached a point in certain
of the townships of the county, where they have forced large
farms to be broken into smaller holdings, as in Sandstone
and Sapoleon townships; or into combinations of small fanns
and large commercial farms as in Summit and Leoni townships.

Property taxes paid in the county, based on the
fifteen mill limitation, vary from a high on farmland of
,l.06 per acre per year to a low in waterloo township of 4.55
an acre per year. this represents a capitalized value at
5 per cent of $21.20 per acre in summit township to pll.OO
per acre in waterloo township. in other words it requires
twice as much return on investment to pay the taxes in Summit

townShip as in daterloo township on the same Rind of land (18).

TOTAL PROPERTY VALUATION PER SQUARE MILE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

IN 1945
"I i I -
ramawmma' ; i I
~.- I '
SPRINGP RT I-‘~ I b I '
I K/NS I RI VES I :
' I ; HE mm I W/WWLOO
I " I
SPR/NGPORT : I
In ---------- 4---—- --- I
I
I 2
| ————————— “d
I
O I
IRARwaa E ISWMDSTONT'
PARMA GRA S LAKE
..- - ;. ....... -... ........... sou
ISPR/NG HARBOR
CONCORD I GRASS LA/rf
. ' I.
I
I - —---
I I’ """"" ‘
: ”one” I
___________ L_________ ___ NAPOLw/v '
: HORTON f‘ Ii“ I' .. -‘. ............. ...
I huuvo /? I; g I
I HANOVIR I L [BL 7‘}’ I 3300mm : NORVfll
- 4- - i h : i :
F i ' :51? : COLUMBIA I
-i ' i :

 

   

 

 

JPIZHHENQVY' LCOWTOYTUN’

PINK-~OVER 200,000 DOLLARS VALUATION PER SQUARE NILE
BLUE-«100.000 TO 200,000 DOLLARS VALUATION
mn--40,ooo TO 100,000'DOLLARS VALUATION
GREEN--LESS THAN 40,000 adLLARs VALUATION

 

by“.

 

FIGURE 12 40

TOTAL FARMLAND VALUE PER SQUARE MILE

 

 

  
   
 
 
 
  
  

 
   

  

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

  
 

 

 

 

IN 1945
f;' *7 I
' TOMP/f/NS. : I
- I
I- '- I I .
I ' ”PK/NS : fill/ES ' I
' “ I . : HE R/EUA .
I. I ’ I
SPRINGPORT I E I I”
.I
~ ---------- I . A _,,»
I u. ----
I Iv . 4
o g I Lt‘ON/ I"
PARMA I SANDS‘TONE in
I ..-
PARMA . 5m . L4!!!
............ -------_-----,,;.LL_ I. &\\
o . '
'I
.0 ...;.. EOE/455 LAKf
su M/T "’1 ”“3 g
I a:1 ‘1, .. 4 ... .mw.—-—--Ir ......... .
g; .0 Wm:
_______ -.E~..__.‘.I NAme/v = "i
I :- —————— ’__'._,_._._; ...... 4| \—-—-—---I
I I
l
' I
' 7'7 BROOKL m \ N0}? ny l
LIB I § E
: COLUMB/A I
' i I

 

 

 

MCKSWN €@UHTY
RED-~0VER 45,000 DOLLARS VALUATION PER SQUARE MILE
WHITE--FROM 35,000 T044,000 DOLLARS PER SQUARE MILE
GREEN--FROII 30,000 T0 34,000 DOLLARS PER SQUARE MILE
BLUE-oBELOW 30,000 DOLLARS VALUATION PER SQUARE MILE

CHAPTER IV
Lid-ID USE Ill JACIISOI'I COUNTY

I. AGRICULTURAL LAND USE

§ug§a£y_9£ General heatuggs Q; Agricultural Land Use

In 1944 the county had four hundred and fifty one
thousand, two hundred acres of total land area. Of this,
81.7 per cent was in farms and 36.1 per cent was in har-
vested cropland. Of the land in crops, corn took up 28.5
per cent; Alfalfa, 18.8 per cent; oats, 15.2 per cent;
wheat, 11.9 per cent; and clover, 11.6 per cent. or the
total farmland in the county; woodland, both pastured and
unpastured, made up 10.7 per cent. There was 9 per cent of
the farm land idle; the remainder was in harvested cropland,
pasture land, fallow cropland, crog failure land, roughland,
swamgy and wasteland, roads, fences, ditches, feedlots and
lhomesteads (27).

The figures above are for the county as a whole and
Show nothing of the internal structure of agricultural land
use within the county. In order to do this, it was necessary
to make a census study of the townships. It would have been
more desirable to mane the study on the basis of the natural
land.types, but since it would have been necessary to make
a new census of agricultUre by natural lend ty es, it was not

attempted.

hm;

Lhe average size of farm in the county in lgie was
164.6 acres, a rise of 22.6 acres per farm since 1369,
26.6 acres since 1964, and 10.1 acres since 1960. figure (16)
shows the distribution by township of the size of farm in
1944 I27).

ihaden (24) has stated that tie size of farm is a
function of distance from a metropolitan center. The
writer, in an attenpt to find if this were true for the
county, ranhed the townships according to their average dis-
tances from Jackson and correlated these distances with the
size of farm. The results were not significant. It is not
known whether or not a large enough sample of the Jacksnn
community was included in the study to compare directly these
figures with those of inaden. In a general way although no
linear pattern existed, farms do apgear to grow larger as
distance increases from the city. in this connection, it is
noted that the trend in rural-urban development influences
the average size of fern. ihere aypears to be stages in the
change in size of farm near a city. first there is a change
toward smaller land units as the rural-urban growth Starts;
this trend continues until the size of land unit became

smaller than three acres and is no longer cansidered a farm

RVERAEL‘J SIZE OF FARR; III

 

RED- -bELO‘I'I' lOO ACRES

ORAIIGE--lOl to 120 ACRES

GREEN--l21 to 140 ACRES
DROI'JN--ll+l to 160 ACRES

YELLO {I- -OVLUR 160 AC RES

1945

43

..l...‘ )I.

44

for census purposes. ihe retiregent of land from agri-
culture raises the average size of the regaining fares.
'pparently this trend runs in cycles, with ohe average size
of farm changing between censuses to a greater degree than
would seem logical. In Jackson county, Sumnit township was
in a stage Where the smaller land holdings had retired from
agricultural use by 1944. Sandstone tOWnship, on the other
hand, was in the first stage of rural-urban fringe develop-
ment with many snall land.holdings, bringing the average
size of farm down. On the basis of past census figures, it
can be predicted that Henrietta and Leoni townships will go
through the small farm stage, and will eventually have a
larger average size of farms ihis is important to know when
planning agricultural extension work in any township. If
it is known that the small farms will disappear and a non-
farm population will replace the farmers, then a realistic
progran can be initiated that will plan for such a happening.

In 1944 the average size of farm varied from ninety-
six acres in Sandstcme township, to 184 in waterloo townsnip.
figure (14) shows the change in size of farm from laao to
1945. rhe trend towards larger farms is noued in all but

several townships affected by "rurban" influences. (27).

'i’enai'l 0y

tenancy varied from 0 per cent in Llacknan township,

 

FI3UAE 14 p 45

CHANGE IN SIZE OF FARM FROM 1930 TO 1945

L A A L A A

I

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46
to 28.5 per cent in Grass Lake rownsnip in 1944. ihaden
(23), has Shown that the per cent of farm tenancy increases
directly with distance from a metropolitan community
center. A rank coefficient of correlation was made by town-
ship betw en distance from Jachson and the per cent of
tenancy; a coefficient of+t6l was found, indicating that the
Jackson community is like the Lansing conmunity in this re-

SLJeCto

Croppigg_2rpgmag,

As shown before, 81.? per cent of the land of the
county was in ferns in 1944, and 56.1 per cent of the land
was in harvested cropland. fig. (15) shows the analysis by
township of the per cent of land in farms and the per cent of
cropland harvested. It would appear from this figure that
the per cent of land in farms is a cenbined function of the
natural land type and the distance from an urban center. Nor
example, Grass Lake and Waterloo townships have a small per
cent of land in farms because of the presence of a great
amount of the Waterloo Land type. On the_other hand Sandstone,
Spring Arbor and Summit townships had a a aller amount of
land in farms than the cornty average because of the "rurban"
influence which removed land from agriculture. it appears

that the per cent of land in ferns is a better criterion than

FIEUAE 15 A7

TRENDS IN LAND UTILIZATION
1930 TO 1945

 

 

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M CMSZDN CZDUHTY

PER CENT TOTAL LAND IN FARMS

 

 

- PER GENT TOTAL LAND IN HARVESTED CROPS

48

the size of farm.for determining the stage of "rurban"
development of a township, if the total anount of land
originally available for agriculture is known.

a further examination of the cropland harvested
shows considerable difference between townships in the crops
grown. rig. (16) shows the comparison by township of the
five leading crOps: corn, oats, wheat, alfalfa and clover.
It is of interest to note that the county has no outstanding
cash crOp, the five crops mentioned making up, in most town-
ships, over 90 per cent of the cropland harvested. hurther
analysis, figs. (17)t0 (21) Show that in general corn is
grown more in the southwest half of the county, if the county
were split by a diagonal from northwest to southeast. Oats
generally occupy greater importance in the south half of the
county. Jheat is grown more in the western two tiers of town-
ships. Alfalfa largely occupies the southeast half of the
county and appears to occupy more the napoleon land type than
any other land type. Clover on the other hand is of most
importance in the north central section and north west quarter

t‘ .3

of the county (27, 2-

U '
m

, ‘9).
'Ihe above analysis indicates the per cent of total

land used by the various agricultural crop enterprises for

1944, but the question could be asked: did all farmers grow

all crops? To answer this question, an analysis was made to

FIGURE 16 49

CROPPING PROGRAM FOR 1945

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I__ . PER CENT HARVESTED CROPLAND IN CORN

 

 

 

PER CENT HARVESTED CROPLAND IN OATS

 

. .’ PER CENT HARVESTAD DROPLAND IN WHEAI

 

PER CENT HARVESTED CROPLAND IN ALFALFA

 

 

PER EEN‘T‘ HARVES‘T‘ED CROPTAND TN mnvmya

FIGURE 17

50

LIIAP SHOWING TOI'IL'CSHIES i‘la’IIL-ég} HIGI-Ind Enid CENT

THAN COUNTY AVWGE OF FARIIIS REFOIRTIN'} ALL CORE-I IN 1945

 

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FIGURE 18

MAP SHOWING TOfihSHIPS HAVING HIGHER PER CENT

51

THAN COUNTY AVERAGE OF FAKAS RSPORTING ALL OATS IN 1945

 

 

  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

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FIGURE 19 53

MAP SHOWING 'I‘OINNSHIPS HAVING HIGHER PER CENT
‘ THAN COUNTY AVERAGE OF FARMS REPORTING WHEAT IN 1945

 

 

  
  
 
 
     

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

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FIGURE 20

MAP SHOWING TOWNSHIPS HAVING HIGHMH PER CENT

53

THAN COUNTY AVERAGE OF FARMS REPOd‘I‘ING ALFALFA IN 1945

   

 

 

  
 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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JAI CKSZDN EMIHTY

2m coum AVERAGE or mus REPORTING CLOVER IR 1945

FIGURE 21

MAP SHOWING TOWNSHIPS HAVING HIGHER PER CENT

 

 

 

 

   
 

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M CKSZDN fiflWh’TY

5

()1

find the percentages of farmers reporting various crops

to see if this would help in outlining agricultural land
use areas. fig. (22) shows the distribution of farms re-
porting various crops. For example, corn was reported by
92.9 per cent of the farmers of Eulaski township and only
by 54.7 per cent of Summit township farmers. by following
through these figures, definite use areas appear (27).

To understand further the cropping pattern of the
county, the writer decided to correlate various items to de-
termine the patterns of cropping by a statistical method.
Fig. (23) shows the rank coefficient of correlation between
several of the major crops. ihe correlations show that
toanships having a high per cent of farms re;orting corn also
tend to have a high per cent of farms reporting oats, wheat
and alfalfa, but have no relation to the farms reporting clover.
it is of interest to note the slight negative correlation
between the per cent of farms regnrting alfalfa and of those
reporting clover.

On the basis of t ese correlations it would appear
that rotations seem to be about the same thrdughout the
county; corn, oats, wheat and alfalfa being the main rotation.
the significant differences between townships lies in the per

cent of farms reporting this type of rOtation in each township.

FIGURE

22 56

PER CENT OF FARMS REPOEKING CORN, OATS, WHEAT,

ALFALFA AND CLOVER-lIMOth IN 1945.

  

 

 

 

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PUM 3

62 I 52:
SPRING ‘ RT 63 = 49 : V
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90 ‘, 63
73 I 38. 51
o 58 : 3 '
PA RMA g: E SAA/DSTONifi,1

    

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37 D2M$%7A%i80:

 
    

 
  

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67 63
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* Numbers read from top to bottom: per cent farms

reporting corn, oats, wheat, alfalfa and clover-

timothy respectively.

«it'll-v: .,

Fraser 23

nA.K COLFFICIgflES OF COAnnnAEIdn

r» -r- : --

W‘ m”: .n ' ;“Tr*
VF .Lhu fix/la LJJI'SJJLLV‘J'

Corn and oats

Corn and wheat
Corn and clover
Corn and alfalfa
Oats and wheat
Cats and clover
Oats and alfalfa
wheat and clover
wheat and alfalfa
Glover and alfalfa

57

;-n4, - cm s. .v' ~
D...J_¢l_;ngi. Vii;l).LJ.‘\nn.aL~J‘-'D

CAGES

plus
plus
flus
}lus
plus
plus
plus
plus
plus
minus

** - Highly significant correlation

* - significant correlation

n.s.- hon-significant correlation

.81**
,72k*
.29 n.s.
~39 *
.79**
.25 n.s.

37*

0:2 rins-

.39 n.s.

.12

.1. S o

58

In one case, as in Pulaski township, there is a high per-
centage of farms reporting this rotation, whereas in summit
township 8 little over half as many report the rotation, in-
dicating a different type of farhiorganization in Summit
toanship. ihe correlations between grain crops and clover
are non-significant which allowed a rotation of corn, oats,
wheat and clover, but indicates that there is no definite
pattern to this relatiinship, clover apparently being grown
independently of other crops or in combination with crops
other than corn, oats, wheat, or alfalfa.

Other crops reported by over 20 per cent of the farms
of at least one township are field beans, red clover seed,
potatoes and fruit. ihe acreages of these crops are not

important in more than one or two cases.

ghguglygstock Program
To differentiate types of farming areas, it was

necessary to make a fairly complete analysis of the live-
stock progran, since livestock of some kind was found on
practically every farm in the county. Uattle is the most
important form.of livestock with 81.1 per cent of all farms
in the county reporting this form. Of all cattle, dairy
cattle are of much greater importance than beef as dairy

cattle are reported by 77.5 per cent of all farms. no

59
figures were given in the 19e5 census of agriculture for
beef cattle but by elimination it was seen that beef cattle
assume no great inportance in the total cattle prOgran.
rhe animal next in importance to cattle is poultry, being
reported on 76.6 per cent of the farms. horses and colts
are next with 58.4 per cent; hOgs follow with 47.5 per cent
and sheep are last with only 20.4 per cent of all farms
reporting this form of livestock (27).

It was found that the sheep area of the county con-
fines itself to the southern tier of townships and the town-
ships oi‘Henrietta and Jaterloo in the northeast part of
the county. hogs roughly follow the section of the county
in which corn is grown, namely, the southwest half below a
diagonal between the northwest corner of the southeast corner
of the county. cattle follow the grains and hays; Grass Lake
township in the east is the best dairy cattle township,
followed closely by hives in the north and Columbia and
Liberty in the south. closely following these townships are
the entire two west tiers of townships in the wheat and
corn region. Poultry tends to follow the corn and snall
grain regions and the s aller ferns. lhus it is found that
the western half of the county plus the townships of

henrietta dnd Leoni report the bulk of the chickens.

 

v I [till 1’1.I

 

 

60

Agricultural Use Areas

Using the crops, livestock and other data collected,
the author attempted to group townships into homogeneous
agricultural use areas. no attempt was made to correlate
agricultural land use with land type at this stage of the
study. rig. (24) is the result of such a breakdown and shows
the rather arbitrary use areas, each of which shows de-
finite tendencies toward a certain type of farming. lo
justify such a grouping, townships were ranked according to
per cent of farms reporting corn, oats, wheat and alfalfa;
an average was taken of these ranks and correlated with
the average ranks of townships reporting all livestock,
cattle, hogs, sheep and poultry. A high positive correla-
tion of .81 was found. In simpler terms this means that
townships having a high per cent of farms reporting the
crops, corn, oats, wheat, and alfalfa also have a high per-
centage of farms reporting the various livestock. ihis
merely bears out in a statistical way the common observa-
tion that the type of livestock is determined by the type
of crOp.

commercial crop farms were found following two
patterns in the county; small truck farms were found near
the city while the large commercial truck farms were found

on the drained organic soils.

FIGURE 24

TYPES OF FAREING bi TOWNSHIP IN JACKSON COUNTY

wii
1.
1'.

o

o
.‘(
'-.

_ V

r.
l v
v

V'A‘

J ’I ' K
" 5" ."ju ‘ ‘
‘4 i .v' I ~_
g"}'.ftd."" 5 <
4‘ " ¢ 3
[19$1 ' 'fl 1“ V 3'-

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A . .'... ' Ii: 3-3,‘ '-'€é-,
r 442,, “53"“ ' ' .2" ”41‘4““

M CKSZDN (MWNTY

GREEN-~DAIRY, POULTRY AND HOGS

05'
1‘

BROWN--DAIRY. POULTRX. HOGS AND SHEEP
dED--DAIRY AND POULTRY
BLUE--PART TIME FARMING

 

62
One of the important factors in this study is that,
like all parts of the Gray Brown forest soils region, there
is considerable latitude possible in the type of farming.
This accounts for the writers observation that note types
f farming from fox and fur farms on the one hand to sub-
sistence farms on the other. This fact considerably in-
creases the difficulty of delineating agricultural land

11 se areas.

Relation between Iatural Land Type and gype,gf_rarrdng
Pasco (19) snows that there is a direct relation-
ship between the soil type and the crops grown. veatch (36)
points out that there is a definite relationship between
soil type and natural land type, therefore it is possible
to use the work of Pasco to point out the crop programs
likely to be found on the natural land types. bombining
this with the fact brought out by the author of a high
positive correlation between crops and livestock grown
makes it possible to associate agricultural land uses with

natural land types.

Munith Type
Munith type is made up of over 80 per cent organic
soils (34). Using Pasco's data, predictions were made as

to the use of land in this land type. Pasco found the

 

. ,-.oil‘:).‘ .

I‘ll-r

63
organic soils, hifle peat and oarlisle muck high in bruSh,
pasture and hay, with a small per cent of the type in cul-
tivated crOps. Looking at the natural land division map,
rig. (3) one sees that in the western half of the county
the Swampland occurs mainly in small bodies incorporated in
other land types. In this area the Kunith tyEE is utilized
differently than in the northeast guarter of the county
where it occurs as huge swales and swamps. In the wesu part
of the county Junith land type tends to augment a livestock
program by offering a place to produce hay and pasture.

In the northeast part of the county some of this land is
utilized as rented pasture or is cut for wild hay, but it
offers a more difficult problem in utilization because there
is not enough of other land types present on which to grow
grains and tame hay to support a heavy liveStock population.
lhe livestock grown consists of sheep and cattle. hogs and
poultry are not adapted to this land type, other than in a
few small areas that have been drained and which support
grain crops. lhis land is not adapted to dairy cattle

other than for summer pasturage (l9).

Perms Type
Perms type is made up almost exclusively of the.more

level portions of hillsdale sandy loam, therefore any state-

 

III. II I .I 1.

 

 

II. to, h

64
ments made about this soil type are equally true for the
land type. Pasco (19) found hillsdale sandy loam to be
associated with high acreages of clover, wheat, corn and
oats. Orchard fruit was reported and alfalfa was important
but assumed a lesser role than clover.

ri'he crops grown indi cate that this is a live stock
land type and since the topography is relatively level the
livestock is restricted to cattle, hogs and poultry with

very few sheep.

Concord '_I_‘_yp__e_

The soil of Uoncord land type is made up of the more
hilly phases of hillsdale sandy loan with small inclusions
of Bellefontaine sandy loam and Fox loam. rfhe crop adapta-
tions for this land type are the same as for the Parma type,
the only difference being in amount of the crops grown.
from observations made by the writer more of this land type
is in timber and pasture than is true of the Parma type.

'i‘he livestock grown, includes all the major types, with

particular emphasis on sheep on the rougher hills.

§pringport Tip;
The soil consists of Miami and hillsdale loans, of
both the undulating and hilly phases. In general the land

is not hilly enough at any point to affect the type of farm-

 

..JLK‘ YA .

 

 

65
ing. lasco found the soil types included in this natural
land type grow corn, oats, wheat, alfalfa, and clover.
Lesser amounts of barley and beans are also grown. All the

major livestock types except sheep are raised.

waterloo Type

the soil consists of Bellefontaine sandy loam, with
minor inclusions of Coloma sand and fox types. hccording
to the work of Easco, hellefontaine sandy loam most often
supports crops of rye, alfalfa, oats, orchards. A very
high per cent of idle land is reported.

The sandy nature of the soils in this natural land
type, combined with the rough topography, makes it the
poorest actual or potential natural land type for agri-
culture. ihe Munith could be drained and made into fair
agricultural 1315., but not so with this land. the live-
stock program.on this land type is of low intensity due to
the poor inherent fertility-of the soil. Dairy cattle
and sheep are the two most important forms of livestock.

In general, this land does not support a very
thrifty agriculture, the buildings are run down and un-

painted. kany of the fields and farms of the area are idle.

Kapoleon And Leoni_Land.Types

 

 

for loam and box sandy loan with minor inclusions of

DC»
of the Elainfield types, make up these nature; land types.
lhe major crops reported by Easco are corn, oats, alfalfa
and truck crops. ihe crops of lesser inportance are
wheat, clover and rye. Dairy cattle is the main form of

livestock, with hogs, poultry and sheep of minor importance.

Review f flgricultural_;§ng_bse

 

A review was made to check the findings of Pasco in
regard to crops grown on the various soil types as applied
to the natural land types oi‘the county, with the findings
of the lv45 census of agriculture (27). born, socording
to Pasco (19), was found in greatest frequency on the soil
types making up all the natural land types, except those
of the Waterloo and Aunith types. Census figures, when
plotted on a map, indicate a similtar pattern to that drawn
from Pasco's data. similarly, the patterns drawn from
census data and from Pasco check closely for all other
crops of the county. Corn is found to be grown most ex-
tensively in the south west portion of the county, dimin-
ishing in anount as one goes northeast; wheat production
is confined to the west two tiers of townships, oats
follow the pattern of corn, alfalfa is found in greatest
acreage in the south east quarter of the county and on the

clay land of Hives township in the north. Clover is found

67
mainly in the western half of the county. idle land is
found in greatest amount in Leoni, waterloo and Liberty
townships; and forest land is well distributed through
out the county, with the highest intensity in the south
east and north east portions.

Since it is possible to determine type of farming
areas with fair accuracy from census data, it is felt
that census data could play a more important part in plan-
ning if care is exercised in selecting the townships for
study. If townsnips are selected on the basis of their
natural land type and diatance from town, data can be ob-
tained for natural land types for the past as well as.the
present. Much time and effort in making field studies could

be saved in this way.
II. RhGhaAIIJNAL LAND USE

There were in 1947, fourteen county parks, three
city parks, one state park and one state recreational area
in the county. fig. (25) shovs the locations of the parks,
recreational area, and all lakes having seasonal dwellings
in 1947 (9, 16, 17).

A part oi‘the Waterloo recreation area, found in
Grass Lake, Waterloo and Leoni townships, constitutes the

largest body of recreational land. A state park is operated

68

in connection with the recreation area. at the time of
the study, the area was in the process of development and
much of the land had little or no improvements made upon
it. host of the land in the recreation area is of the
munith or Haterloo land types, making it of little recre-
ational value for the host part except for some hunting,
camping or hiking. At the edge of the lakes however, there
are a few good sites for group recreation. fortage Lake,
for eiample, offers camping, swimming and a picnic ground.
Good fishing is to be had in many of the lakes of the area.

“ampler's Lake state park, 671 acres of woods and
natural scenery, located between uampler's Lake and Round
Lake, offers the best beach and group facilities including
a campground and trailer park, in the county (16).

County parks are Operated at Clark's Lek , clear
Lake, Gillett's Lake, Grass Lake, Little wolf Lake, kinard
hills, Round Lake, Sparks, Springport, Swains Lake, Vander-
cook Lake, and vineyard Lake. three city parks are operated;
Sharp, Loomis and Lorthlawn. all the parks offer picnicking
and playground facilities, and some of them, swimning and
camping (19).

Some of the chief recreational assets of the county
are the sandy-shored lakes scattered throughout the southern

and eastern parts of the county. wherever a sandy-shored

FIGURE. 25 69

RECREATIONAL LAND USE

 

 

 

 

 

 

       
  

 

 

 

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A LAKE HAVING SEASONAL RASIDENCES

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70
lake is found, cottages are also found. most of the he?
sirable cottage lakes had been developed or overdeveloped
at the time Of the study.

There are many lakes in the county with little re-
creational value. ihese lakes are surrounded with swamp-
land and.have beaches of organic soil, making them of no
use for building or swimming purposes. they are of value
for trapping, fishing and hunting, however. there are
several of these lakes that could be changed into excellent
swimming and cottage development lakes by the addition of
small dams at the outlets of the lakes. As an example,
brill Lake could be improved by such a dam, resulting in a

sandy-shored lake of high recreational value.
III. FORESERY LAND USE

There are no accurate figures relating to the ex-
tensiveness of forest land in Jackson county, but probably
such land did not exceed 10 per cent of the total land of
the county. fig. (26) shows the location of the wnodlots
in 1956, no more recent data being obtainable. It can be
seen that most of the woonlands Of the county are of the
farm woodlot type, and they tend to follow the courses of
hilltops, rivers and swamps. For this reasen, the north

eastern and the southern parts of'the county have the most

71
woodlands (1). According to the census (2?), a little
over half of the farm w;odlands are paStured. the re-
mainder are in second growth unpastured timber found
mainly along the rivers of the county. there is a con-
siderable amount of marketable timber in the county part-
icularly in the eastern half. huch of the timber is in
danger of extinction because of pasturing and failure to

have sufficient reproduction stock.
IV. GOVERthNl LAKD USE

rhere are two main areas of government land in the
county, the portion of the waterloo recreation area lying
in the county and the Southern michigan Prison farms. ihe
Waterloo recreation land was discussed under recreational
land use so need not be discussed here. The land belonging
to the Southern kichigan Prison is for the most part de-
voted tO agriculture. there are slightly over six thousand
acres in the farms of the prison (14). All the government

land is concentrated in the northeast part of the county.

 

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CHAPIER V

LAND USE PROBLEMS OF lhfl GOUNIY HIIH PROPOth

SOLUllONS

Introductlgn

The problems Of Jackson county are many, diverse
and so interrelated that it is impossible to discuss the
solution of one problem without considering Others.

for the purpose Of discussion, the problems in the
county are separated into two categories; problems affect-
ing other areas in the state besides Jackson county, re-
quiring State aid to solve, and problems that are the
obligation of the county, township, city or local community.
ihe proposed solutions are given for each problem as it is
presented. lhe writer feels the proposed solutions are the
same solutions that would be presented by any group of
civic minded people studying the same problem with the same
evidence at hand. since there is a great deal Of differ-
ence between likely action by politicans, and logical plan-
ning, certain prOposals are presented that could be carried
out, and at the same time others are offered as an ideal in
planning at which to aim. no attempt is made to evaluate
the cost of the proposals put forth, the political expediency

e
or the ligdi¢hood of adoption.

-._'-- 3—m/fi

 

.7
I.--

73
Since so many of the questions of land use are
debatable, no attempt is made to offer "only" solutions.
neither are all the possible land use questions covered;

only those pertinent at the time of the study or likely

to become important in the near future are included.

The Swampland Iroblem

 

 

About 25 per ent of the total land in the county
is in the munith land type (34). this land, in the virgin
state, served as a natural water control system, storing
water during the flood period in the spring and releasing
the water during the dry summer months.

At an early period, it was decided that the swamps
and marshes should be drained for agricultural purposes.
Drainage projects were started, huge ditches were dug and
much of the swampland was drained long in advance of the
need of the land for agriculture. 'lhiS drainage had an
immediate effect Of increasing the spring flood flow of the
rivers flowing through the swamps and decreasing the summer
flow. when downriver population increased to the point that

pollution problems developed, ch: drainage of the swanplands
had detrimental effects nOt only from the floods produced in
the spring, but also from the lowered water levels in the

summer. It is well known, that to care for the sewage of a

74
city the size of Grand Rapids, a good flOWIOf water is
needed throughout all the year in the rivers to keep
dangerous contamination from assuming a strong enOUgh con-
centration to endanger public health and the growth of fish.
Drainage of the Swamplands of the upriver counties, of which
Jackson is one, has contributed a great deal to the pollu-
tion problems of the rest of the state.

Agriculture has added another problem to the initial
one of drainage of the swamplands. modern agricultural
methods are such that they tend to increase both the flood
and the pollution problems caused by drainage. it is con-
sidered good practice to control the water level on the muck
farms of the Munith natural land type. this is done by
means of large pumps that pUmp the water Off the fields in
the spring thus adding water to the already swollen rivers,
and by pumping water onto the fields in the summer months
using water badly needed for pollution.ccntrol downstream.
Since little of the land in Jackson county was under culti-
vation at the time of the investigation, this was not a
serious problem. In the future if the trend to cultivate
this type of land continues, a serious problem will certainly
arise.

Another problem to take into account when considering

75
drainage of the Swamplands in the problem.of controlling
lake levels within Jackson county. although this problem
was of no great importance at the time of the study, it is
almost certain to arise if the clearing of swampland for
use by agriculture is continued. many of the lakes border
on swamps. In this way their water levels depend directly
on the water levels in the sw mps. ihe lowering of lake
levels will have the immediate effect of ruining bathing
beaches and home sites along the shores. Portage Lake,
brill Lake and Goose Lake are examples of lakes that will
be ruined by the drainage of the swamps at their edges (15).

the solution to this problem of public water control
is no simple matter. A solution will be given here, but
that will eventually happen depends on the court of public
opinion. At the time of the investigation there were
several agencies working on both sides of the question.
Some desired water control by the use of law. at the same
time Others were giving directions for the.more effiCient
drainage of the swamps.

It is the writers belief that a Study group should
be appointed by the governor of hichigan to make a survey
of michigan rivers affected by flood and pollution control
problems, and to make recommendations as to the proper

solution in each case. -he writer feels that the wise

J...

(1"

76
thing to do would be for the state to enlarge the Jaterloo
recreation area in Jackson county to tare in the remaining
large areas of swampland in the north east quarter of the
county. the renaining areas of the county are smaller and
less likely to be efficiently drained. It is thought that
to leave these in private hands will not add greatly to the

flood and pollution control problems.

Erontage Development

Another problem that probably only the state can
solve, is that of overcrowding the state and federal high-
ways with all manner of homes, commercial establishments
and businesses that require entrance to the highways.
Along U.S. highway 127 north of Jackson, there were, on
July 15, 1947, over one hundred and eighty entrances to the
highway. ihis is an average of over fifteen entrances per
mile. ihis fact did.not point out the problem as vividly
as it existed because over half of all these driveways were
found less than two miles from the city limits. Over forty
driveways per mile were found in this area. On highway 112
running east and west the situation was even worse. As any
motorist knows, driving along a highway with a driveway to
a home, factory or store every few rods, does not provide

ideal driving conditions. hot only does travel become un-

77
safe, but it is slowed down 50 per cent or more. With the
state spending between $75,000 and p200,000 per gile to
build highways, it hardly seems logical that such a system
should be allowed to continue; public safety and economy
of public funds both demand the end of this practice.

ihe writer proposes that the State highways be zoned
against future invasions by residences and commercial
places. Such zoning would allow public entrance to the
State highways every half mile, and would state that the
county be given a number of years to provide other reads
for the people now living on the highways, down to a
minimum of perhaps five entrances per mile in farming ter-
ritory where it WJUld be impractical to provide other roads.

Under such a system the State highways could become
real highways and not residential and commercial streets.
Average speed could be increased resulting in less need for
additional highways and the accident rate certainly would
decrease.

Such a plan is not likely to be accepted immediately
by the public even if the cold facts of possible dollars
saved were presented. If, however, such a plan were adopted,
in a few years, residential and commercial develOpments
would center along the county highways, and the State and

Federal highways would be left ungolested by local traffic.

 

78
Such a plan would require approximately 100 miles of
county roads to be provided for the people now living
along State and Federal highways. mhe eXpenditure for
100 miles of county road undoubtedly would be less than
that of'rebuilding or rewidening the fifty miles of State
highways. Such action will have to be taken if building

is allowed to continue along the highways.

Airports

A minor problem existed at the time of the study
which may become a major problem in a few years: that of
providing adeguate air facilities for the Jackson city
community. Jhen the study was made, Reynolds airport
covered one and one half Square miles, one and one-half
miles long by one mile wide. Zhis was adequate in 1947,
but there is a question as to whether it will be in 1957.

The writer recommends that the county take immediate
steps to get an Option on all of sections 29 and 50 and
the north half of sections 51 and 52 of blackman township
for a future airport. Present use could be continued on
this land until needed but this would save many headaches

and thousands of dollars in a few years.

nxcess noads

In certain rural sections of the county there are

79
too many roads. Lookiig on any map one can see examples
of roads a few rods from each other running parallel.

On many such roads no residences exist; therefore such
roads could well be eliminated. this would be political
suicide for a road commissioner to attempt but co non
sense dictates such action from the point of view of sav-
ing in road costs. lrobably twmity miles or more of such

roads exist.
V . RL lhi-L’fibxii JRIN 33

One of the major problems facing Jackson county is
the future direction and control of the population. nor
several miles in every direction from the city of Jackson,
there have sprung up all kinds of homes, businesses, and
industries. ihis type of development has become known to
the sociologist as the "city fringe". as wolfanger (56)
puts it:

"ihe struggle for land reaches its highest in-
tensity in the unincorporated urban-rural fringe which
surrounds both our Small and large cities. ihis fringe
develops a great variety of land uses that presently
become all entangled without apparent order or plan;
truck, fruit, and poultry farms; string-along-the-
road homes; areas of city dwellings of big and little
houses. . . Lhe crowding and struggle for land is
creating serious problems in many fields-~good water,
proper sewage disposal, fire protection, police pro-
tection, enough light, air and space. . . a long and
growing list."

80
when this study was made in July of l947, the

fringe area of the county included alnDSt all the town-
ships of Leoni, dumnit and blacKnan; and was rapidly ex-
panding into sandstone, spring arbor, Rives and henrietta;
and there was evidence of further expansion in the re-
maining townships.

Ihe problem oi'the city fringe is one with which
the people of the county have had no previous experience on
which to base intelligent future action. It is for this
reason that such development was allowed to arise in the
first place.

If the problem of the city fringe is to be efficient-
ly handled in the future, the development of the fringe
area must be understood. rirey (a) has given a picture of
the development of the fringe area of Flint, hichigan. He
states that the population of that area is made up of several
kinds of peOple: workers seeking cheap land with low taxes,
business men seeking a place in the country where ”gentle-
man farming“ can be carried on, part-time farmers and
drifters. Firey goes on to characterize the features of a
city fringe as having a high rate of population turnover, 8
high rate of home ownership, a high proportion of young
adults having many children, a heavy dependence upon in-

dustrial shop work in the city, inadequate social life and

.I'd‘il.

El
organizational facilities for the people, and part-time
farming or gardening on the part of host farms. he
further states that the fringe area is a problem area
because it removes land from agriculture, encourages un-
coordinated, unguided settlement, increases taxes beyond
the tax-carrying capacity of farmers and shop workers in
the area, boosts land values to a point where agriculture
can no longer be profitabldy continued, allows a mixture
of land uses to becone started, and develops honoqeneous
shall communities that make attractive communities on one
hand and shack towns on the other.

what is true in the case of Flint is also true for
the city fringe of Jackson. ho detailed study such as
Eirey carried on for Flint was attempted, but from observ-
ing the area the same type of development had apparently
taken place. The studies that were made regarding the

population bore this out.

Declining Urban Eggplation

Q

Not only has increasinQ pogulation become a problem,
but also decreasing population. Jackson city population
declined by several thousand between the years of lQQO to
1940. this has caused serious city finance problems to

arise. a fifteen mill limitation on taxes was in force

prt‘. . .

82
through voters' franchise; therefore, with the exodus of
several thousand taxpayers, the only method of raising
enough taxes to operate the city was to increase real and
personal property valuation. this started a vicious circle:
rising valuations caused more people to move, which in
turn raised valuations. Naturally this cycle could not
continue indefinitely; therefore property tax increases
were discontinued and the services offered.thioughout the
city suffered. Io complicate matters further, the people
living outside the incorporated limits of Jackson city
asked for more services in the forms of such items as better
streets and more parking facilities in the downtown section.

Jackson faces the problem of either increasing tax
revenue by expanding the city limits to include suburban
communities, receiving aid from state or county sources, or
continuing to reduce still further the services and facili-
ties necessary for smooth functioning of an industrial city

community.

Proposed Solution t

 

the Rural-Urban fringe and Declining
Urban Population Problem

To offer a solution for the rural-urban fringe
problem, a total land use plan for the county is given.

Zhe plan is laid particularly around the solution to the

83
rural-urban fringe problem but also includes problems of
agriculture, recreation and other activities.

The writer proposes that the following be done:

1. increase the size of the city of Jackson to include
its suburban communities.

If such a prOposal were carried out, Jackson would
be extended south to include Southland and Woodland; east,
Vandercook Lake and hichigan tenter; north, about one and
one half miles to Southern hichigan Prison and west two
miles past heynolds airport. It 13.not known how much this
would increase the population of Jackson, but probably by
about ten thousand persons or more.

Such a plan would not help city finances of Jackson
to any great extent since so much area would come under city
control that is now under county control. It would however
bring all the urban land in Jackson county under one govern-
ment for future direction and control and would provide un-
developed land for future development. Such a move in con-
nection with a county zoning ordinance and minimum building
construction ordinance would eliminate haphazard development
in the future around the edges of the city.

An alternate plan in place of expansion of the city
limits would be to adopt a county zoning ordinance with

essentially the same provisions as would be provided in the

84
city of Jackson, such a plan to be adminiStered by the
county. ihis was being done in Southland, Woodland, Van-
dercook Lake and Michigan Center in respect to sewage dis-
posal at the time of the study.

2. Pass zoning and minimum construction ordinances.
ihe following zoning classes with minimum construc-
tion for each class are given:
Residence Land-~all land used for homes not includ-
ing seasonal dwellings.
Urban--minimum width of lot: fifty feet.
a. Small homes--not less than three hundred and
fifty square feet.
b. Hedium homes--not less than eight hundred square
feet.
0. Large homes--not less than twelve hundred square
feet.
Rural-~minimum distance between dwellings: two
hundred feet.
Other specifications same as for urban.

C mgercial Land-~all land set aside for commercial

 

establishments, i.e. beer gardens, gas stations, stores,
restaurants, tourists courts, banks, garages, theaters, etc.
minimum construction: all buildings should be of sound con-

struction with solid foundations, safe sewage disposal,

85
pollution control and fire protection. minimum width
of lot: fifty feet.
Industrial Land--all land used for public utilities,
manufacturing, railroads, shOps, etc. dame construction
and lot specifications as for commercial land.

Agricultural Land--all land used for the production

 

of farm products.

farm--any parcel or parcels of land of more than
twenty acres which provide more than 50 per cent of the in-
come of one family.

Minimum construction: no dwelling shall be built of
less than three hundred and fifty square feet of floor area.

Part-time farm--any parcel of land of from one to
twenty acres in size which provides part of tie income of
one family. Same specifications.

Private Recreational Land--all land used for outdoor
recreation not in public ownership, i.e., golf course,
summer cottages, skeet ranges, archery ranges, hunting and
fiShing clubs, boat houses, bathhouses, etc.

Seasonal Dwelling--not less than two hundred square

 

feet of floor space.
A. Seasonal dwellings must be one hundred feet apart
unless public sewage disposal system is installed when fifty

feet apart will be allowed. All seasonal dwellings must

 

4!»)!!!

r. «I! I ...]!fifl

 

 

86
have sanitary sewage diSposal systais of either public
disposal system type of septic tank type. In either case
there must be adequate treatment of sewage before dumping
into a stream of lake. minimum lot: fifty feet.

B. All other recreational buildings must provide for
safe sewage and waste disposal and adequate fire protection.

minimum lot: fifty feet.

Government Land--nuildings on township, county, state

 

and Federal land shall provide for fire protection and safe
sewage disposal and shall not permit other uses detrimental
to the health, welfare or morals of the people. Specifica-
tions are the same as for commercial land.

miscellaneous Land--land that does not fall into any
other class shall be termed miscellaneous land and snall
conform to the general rule oi’not harming the health,
welfare or morals of the people. Specifications are the
same as for commercial land.

5. Luild new county roads.

Several new county roads should be built northeast
of Jackson to open up the waterloo Land type for rural
residence use. Ehis land offers ideal topography for
residential use if adequate roads were provided. fhis land
type offers no better use since it is too rough for most

kinds of agriculture and is not close enough to water at

most places to be classed as recreational land.

VI. nGRI SLiURAL PROLLEQS

Soil gonservation and Soil fertility Eroblems

Serious sheet and gully erosion is in evidence on
practically all of the undulating and hilly land. Soil
fertility problems exist wherever agriculture is practiced.

Jo simple solution is seen for these problems. lhe
need for education in proper land use is evident, but the
methods of educating are not so obvious. In 1940 the
amount of commercial fertilizer used in the county in tons
per acre was so small in several of the agricultural town-
ships as to be negligible (28). Lo figures were available
for the anount of lime used, but the need for lime is seen
on much of the land of the county.

lhe writer saw the solution to the problem of soil
conservation and soil fertility as an educational process
and not in subsidy or force of law. lhe writer also felt
that the past education had not solved these problems.

Jith the increase in investment to start farming and
the increase in the complexity of farming operations, the
operators of'large farms will become more aware of con-
servation and fertility factors in farm management because
natural economic selection will eventually eliminate those

farmers not capable of competing in a highly commercialized

88
agriculture. In this way a part of the problem will solve
itself. ihere will renain hundreds of small farms, managed
by factory workers, subsistence type farmcrs and other
classes of people living on farms either having other
sources of income or willing to accept a low standard of
living. rhese are the peOple who will need education in
soil conservation and soil fertility; these also are the
people most difficult to educate. as any agricultural ex-
tension worker knog? the person who receives the educating
is the one wno needs it least.

the author feels that three programs are needed to
educate people to solve these problems. One is an adult
education program much more intensive than has been attempt-
ed by the extension service of the U.o.b.A., with classroom
discussion and training, followed by on-the-farm training.
ihis would inuOCtrinate many farmers with correct methods on
their own ferns.

Lhe second program needed is the intensification of
the young people's programs to include more adequate training
on the farm. the writer is convinced that 4-H club work
fairs and exhilits and omith-nughes class room training are
of no value unless application of correct methods can be

made on the home farm under the direct supervision of a

89
qualified person.

The third educational program needed is a better
mass education program to mold public opinion in the use
of the natural resources, particularly the soil. Only
after public opinion has become favorable to the use of
subsidization or force by law can these same two methods
be used to direct land use.

Ehe need i: seen for conservation courses in the
public schools plus campaigns of the press and radio to
bring about favorable opinion towards control of farm land

misuse.

Size 9_. m

A

 

In the county are several thousands of acres of land
that went out of agricultural production during the depression
of the thirties because of the wrong size of farm. lhiS
land fell mostly on the waterloo Land type land of daterloo,
Grass Lake, leoni and Liberty townships. lhe farms of this
area were too shell for the lay of the land.

At the present rate of land valuation in Jackson
county, it is difficult to encourage farmers to invest money
in large farms which are needed on this land type if success-
ful farming operations are to be carried on. Since practic-

ally all Jaterloo type is sloping land, grass will have to

Alli..

 

90

be the main crop; ranching, therefore, is recommended.
lhe only way this could be accomplished is for the land
to sell at less than p50.00 per acre. since the average
price paid for the Jaterloo Recreation area in the county
was slightly over p30.00 per acre (35), it is doubtful if
land could be purchased cheaply enough for ranch purposes.

ihe only alternatives to changing the size of farm
to ranch size on the Waterloo land type is use it for rural

residence or government use.

Farm Land Letter Suited For Eon-egricultural Uses

ihere were several hundred acres of farmland in the
northeast part of the county better suited to government
ownership land than to agriculture. this land consists

of organic soils needed for the protection of tne public

water supply.

harm fioodlot management Problems

host of the woodlands of the county are of the farm
woodlot type. according to census figures (27), about
half are pastured. many of the woodlots are mature with
little or no reproductive stock.

Either the woodlots should be left alone and allowed

to grow free from pasturing or else they should be cut and

91
the land put into pasture land. ihe writer sees a need
for better marketing methods of local timber to make wood
production on the farm a steady and paying business. Ed-
ucation of the farmers and introduction of co—operative
marketing methods could go a long way in helping the farmer

to produce better timber.

Individual Farm Qgganization Problems

Some problems are present to some degree on every
farm. Ihese depend upon man and not upon land. they con-
sist of such items as having insufficient animal units and
mechanical equipment on the farm, having too little capital
or too little labor to utilize the land efficiently.
however this type of problem is beyond the scope of this

thesis.

Need for Social Institution Improvement

In Jackson county there is a need for additional
social institution improvement. In July of 1947, there
were still eighty-four school districts with less than
fifty pupils on the school census (21). Many of these
schools had less than twenty students, causing high operat-

ing costs per student. Many were lacking important sub-

92
jects in the curriculum. Although this problem existed
at the time of the study, ii;was rapidly being remedied
and should not exist in several years.

Other needs in the rural areas are better medical
service, organized libraries and community recreation
centers. These will come if the farm population can be
stabilized to develop tight community organizations. ihis
can partially be accomplished by stabilizing population

movement by zoning.

VII. RdCREATION PROBLEMS

The most urgent recreation needs of the county are
for organized community recreation centers and more water
frontage, for public parks and summer residences.

lhe development of community recreation centers is
a problem that can only be solved in the communities
themselves. It is up to local leaders to develOp a means
of providing them.

Suitable water frontage is inadequate for local
needs. In the writers opinion the only available means of
increasing this is with dams to raise the water level of
the mud-shored lakes to a point where sandy beaches and
shores can be had. brill Lake, a mud-shored lake is a

good example of this. ihe topographic map of the area

95
shows that the constructimn of a five foot dam at the
outlet of the lake would provide sandy shores and beaches,

thus making it desirable for home-building (15).
VIII. FUEL C ADXINISIRATION PROLLEJS

Even more important than the physical problems of
haphazard rural non-farm development, soil erosion and
water level control is the problem of inefficient public
administration.

At the time of the investigation there were nine-
teen township governments, one city government, one county
government and several village governments in operation.
many of the functions of each overlapped and some functions
were lacking.

the need is seen for county and township reorganiza-
tion along natural social economic community boundary lines.
If this were done, Jackson County would increase in size
to cover all the Jackson city community. ihis would ex-
tend the county several miles in every direction beyond
its present boundaries. lhis large city community could
then be broken down into its town communities. School
districts should be organized along these town community

boundary lines. lhis would break Jackson county into

94
about fifteen town communities. Such a system would
make it easier to administer local government without
the overlapping of functions so prevalent under the
political township system.

If Jackson county were reorganized into a large
city 00mmunity segregated into about fifteen smaller town
communities, future direction of land use would be easier
since the pepulation of each town community would be more
or less homogeneous in occupation and thinking. communities
would be more strongly knit because of higher interests in
government than under the present township system where a
man trades in one town and votes in another. ihis tighter
social organization would result in closer social control
of government, hence more interest and ccmtrol of future

land use.
IX. 133 LASD USE ELAN

to present a more integrated view of the total land
use plan fer Jackson County, the writer summarizes the
proposed solutions to the various problems on a land use
map, rig. (27). and makes recommendations as follows:

It is recommended that:

l. the Governor appoint a board to study water

95
level control in hichigan rivers.

2. the swampland in the munith area of Jackson
county be purchased by the state government as a water
control project.

5. all state and nederal highways be zoned to
permit right of entrance every half mile except in rural
farm areas.

4. the county be given a period of time to con-
struct other roads for people now living on the state and
Iederal highways, eliminating present entrances in crowded
areas.

5. sections 29 and 50 and the north half of sec-
tions 31 and 52, sleekman township, be set aside for future
airport facilities.

6. all roads not needed for the transportation
system be abandoned.

7. money be used from parking meters to purchase
city parking lots; parking meters be installed in these
lots and the income be used for defraying the cost of
traffic control and other services needed by the Jackson
city'community.

8. the size of Jackson city be increased to in-

clude all its natural urban community.

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KEY TO FIGURE 27

PRESENT URBAN LAND

"J

PROPOSED INCREASE IN THE SIZE OF JACKSON CITY
PROPOSED PART-TIME FAREING AREA

PRESENT STATE PRISON FARM

PROPOSED INCREASE IN THE WATERLOO RECREATION AREA
PRESENT WATERLOO RECREATION AREA

PRESERT RECREATIORAL LAKE

PRESENT STATE OR COUNTY PARK

RURAL RESIDENTIAL LAND AND PROPOSED HOEE SITES

PROPOSED FINAL AGRICULTURAL AREA

PRESENT MAIN ROADS

97

9. county zoning and minimum construction ordin-
ances be passed to direct future land use and to provide
for safe, sanitary, psrmanent construction.

10. several new county roads be built into the very
hilly sandy natural land type northeast of Jackson to
facilitate the development of a rural residence area.

ll. to solve the soil fertility and soil erosion
control problems three kinds of agricultural education
programs be inaugurated: an adult on-the-farm training
program, a youth on-the-farm training program and a mass
radio-press-school conservation familiarization program.

12. the size of farm units be changed on the very
hilly sandy natural land type from general farm size to
ranch size, to utilize better the sloping land of that
land type.

15. farm timber co-operative marketing associations
be established.

14. farm Woodlot managenent be introduced into the
agricultural education program.

15. rural school districts be reorganized into
larger, more efficient-sized districts.

16. 10cal community recreation centers and
libraries be started.

17. more Class I recreation land be developed by

98
damfing the outlets of muck-shored lakes to raise the
water level to where the shores would be sandy.

18. county and township political boundaries be
reorganized on a natural community boundary basis into
one large city community broken down into about fifteen
smaller town communities. School district boundaries
would coincide with the town community boundaries.

The greatest single need in Jackson county was
the need for public awareness to the problems facing the
county. Population was increasing at the time of the study,
new homes were being built at an alarming rate in all
directions from Jackson. Agricultural, recreational,
commercial, residential and industrial land was being
developed or exploited with no thought of public interest
or any reference to over-all planning. many problems in
land abandonment, taxation, public health, education and
others that will surely come from such haphazard develop-
ment could have been easily prevented at the time of the
study by intelligent thought and planning by the leaders
of the communities making up the connty, followed by
intelligent public action.

ihe county has gone from the agricultural stage

into the industrial-commercial stage of development and as

99
yet has not realized it. lhe problems facing the county
become less and less problems or agriculture and more
and more those of the city. Lime and experience will
provide solutions of some sort to the problems but how
much more efficient it would be for the county leaders to
look around them now, to take inventory of their county

and to provide, not wait, for the future.

10.

ll.

SELECIED bIELIOGTAPHY

égricultural Adjustment Administration. Aerial Flight
Photographs; B.D.V., Jackson County, michigan.
Contact Prints, Scale 1:20,000. washington, D.C.,
1958.

blois, John T., Gazeteer g£_the State g§_Michigan, ;g_
Three Parts. Detroit and new York, 1809.

 

 

Climate 9; the United States; Michigan. agricultural
Yearbook separate, No. 1840. Washington, D.C.:
United States Government Printing Office, 1941.
Pp. 914-924.

United States Department of Agriculture deather bureau.
Climatic Summary of the United States; Sec. §§3
Eastern Lower michigan. Nasnington, D.C.: United
States Government Printing Office, 1950. 29pp.

De Land, Mary G. 'g Series 9§_Useful brief Papers Qg_
the Settlement g£_Jackson Counyy, Michigan. nich-
igan Pioneer and Historical Collections, Vol. V:

Lansing, 1882. Pp. 548-349.

 

 

Pirey, Jalter, Social Aspects 29 Land Use Planning
;n_the Country - City Fringe: lhe Case 9; flint,
nicnigan. Micnigan Agricultural Experiment Station.
special bulletin 399: Last Lansing, 1946. 57pp.

 

 

 

Fuller, G.N. editor, I‘Iichigap, é Centennial History 9;
ihe State and its Peo 1e, V01. I. Chicago: Lewis
Publishing Co. 1939.

 

 

Hibbard, B.J., é History 9: Public Land Policy. New .
York: the Machillan Co., 1924. b9lpp.

Jackson Coungy, Michigan Road Map. Jackson: Jackson
County Road Commission, 1947.

Leverett, Frank, nap 9£_the Surface Formations g£_the
Southern Pengnsula.gg_Michigan. Lansing, Michigan
State Department of Conservation, 1924.

, Surface Geo;2gy_and ggricultural Conditions 93_
Michigan. Lansing: Wynkoop fiallenbeck Crawford 00.,
1917. 223pp.

12.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

101

thee, M., The Early Days QQDConcord, Jackson County,
kichiean. michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections,

iii: Lansing, 1892. Pp. 418-451.

martin, Helen M., The Centennial Geologic Map 2:
Michigan; Publication No. 39., Geologic Series 53:
hichigan State Department of Conservation: Lansing,
1936.

 

kichigan State Corrections Commission, Unpublished
Records. Lansing, 1947.

michigan Geological Survey, Quadrangle Topographic Maps;
Scale l:62,500. Springport, Rives Junction, Stock-
bridge and Cement City. Washington, D.C.: United
States Government Printing Office, 1916-1958.

Michigan State Highway Department. Official highway
map for 1947. Lansing: michigan State Highway
Department, 1947.

michigan State Highway Planning Survey, General Highway
Egg 9; Jackson Counyy, Michigan. Lansing: Michigan—
State Highway Department in Cooperation with Federal
werk Agency Public Roads Administration.

Lichigan State Tax Commission, Unpublished Records.
Lansing, 1947.

Pasco, Ray E., Some Relationships Between Soil Types
and Use 3; Land.;n Southern Michigan. ihesis; nich-
igan State College. East Lansing, 1932. 58pp.

Prescott, Samuel, Early Settlers ;g_the Tong 9; Black-

man. michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections,
Vol. VII. Lansing, 1884. P. 464.

School Census of Jackson County, Michigan. 1946-1947
Jackson: Office of County School Commissioner, 1947.
44pp.

Schoenmann, Lee Roy A., Land Inventogynggg_Rural Plann-
_i_n_g 13 A1543; Counjy, Michigan. Papers of the Mich-
igan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters, Vol.XVII:
Ann Arbor, 1952. 28pp.

 

102.

23. Thaden, J.F., Population Trends IQ Michigan. ,Mich-
igan Agricultural Experiment Station. Special
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24. , The Lansinngegion and its Tributayy Town
Country Communities. Michigan Agricultural Experi-
ment Station. Special bulletin 302. East Lansing,
1940. 50pp.

25. Trull, F.W., lhe Soils g§_Jackson County, michigan.
Thesis; Michigan State College. East Lansing,
1928. 36pp.

26. United States Bureau of the Census: 16th. Census 1940.
Areas 2§_the United States. iable 3 and.4; United

States Dureau of Commerce. Washington, D.C.: United
States Government Printing Office, 1942. 465pp.

27. , Census of ggriculture for 1945 §y Counties and
Minor Civil Divisions. United States Department of
Commerce, WaShington, D. 0.: United States Government
Printing Office, 1946.

28. , 16th. Census 1940. Census g£_§griculture §y_
Counties and Minor Civil Divisions. United States
Department of Commerce, washington, D.C.: United
States Government Printing Office. 1942.

29. , Census of gggiculture for 1935 py Counties and
minor Civil Divisons. United States Department of
Commerce, Washington, D. 0.: United States Government
Printing Office, 1936.

30. , 16th. Census 1940, Population, Vol I: Number
of Inhabitants, iable 3. Hashington, D. 0.: United
States Government Printing Office, 1943.

 

31. , g_, Characteristics 9§_the Populatiop.
United States Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.:
United States Government Printing Office, 1943.

 

32. Veatch, J.O., The Idea g£_TheINatural Land T e, Soil
Science Society of America Proceedings II: 499-503,
1937.

 

33.

34.

35.

36.

103.

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Jones, J.W. Moon, and C.H. wenser, Soil Surve ,
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Industry in COOperation with Michigan Agricultural
Dxperiment Station. Washington, D.C.: United
States Government Printing Office, 1941. 43pp.

 

, F.W. Irull and J.A. Porter, Soil Survey 9:.
Jackson_County, Michigan. U.S.D.A. bureau of
Chemistry and Soils in Cooperation with Michigan
Agricultural Experiment Station. No. 17. Washington,
D.C.: United States Government Printing Office,

1926. 30pp.

 

Waterloo Recreation Area. Solder, nichigan State Depart-

ment of Conservation. Lansing, 1936.

fiolfanger, L.A., Your Community and Township Zoning.

Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station. Bulletin
184. East Lansing, 1945. 50pp.

 

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