Dafter Township

Chippewa County, Michigan
Welcome to Dafter Township
  1. Dafter Township Hall
    0
    Dafter Township Hall
  2. Dafter Sunset
    1
    Dafter Sunset
  3. Another Beautiful Sunset
    4
    Another Beautiful Sunset
  4. Wild Turkeys Visiting Homes in Dafter
    3
    Wild Turkeys Visiting Homes in Dafter
  5. Even Winter is Beautiful in Dafter
    5
    Even Winter is Beautiful in Dafter
  6. Foggy Morning at the Railroad Tracks
    7
    Foggy Morning at the Railroad Tracks
  7. Friendly Red Fox
    6
    Friendly Red Fox
  8. Twin Fawns
    8
    Twin Fawns
  9. Fall in Dafter Township
    9
    Fall in Dafter Township
  10. Another Beautiful Fall Day in Dafter Township
    11
    Another Beautiful Fall Day in Dafter Township
  11. Sharptail Grouse Visiting Homes
    10
    Sharptail Grouse Visiting Homes
  12. "Shop With A Hero" 2015
    12
    "Shop With A Hero" 2015
  13. "Shop With A Hero" 2016
    2
    "Shop With A Hero" 2016
Dafter was founded as a lumber settlement. It was given a post office named "Stevensburgh" in January 1879, with George Stevens as the first postmaster.



The name of the post office was changed to Dafter, after the township, in July 1893. It was a station on the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad. 


Demographics


As of the census of 2000, there were 1,304 people, 488 households, and 367 families residing in the township. The population density was 27.3 per square mile. There were 545 housing units at an average density of 11.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 84.20% White, 0.23% African American, 11.04% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 3.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population.​​

There were 488 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.6% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the township the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 106.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.6 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $42,452, and the median income for a family was $48,125. Males had a median income of $35,221 versus $21,830 for females. The per capita income for the township was $17,713. About 5.3% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.