Alaiedon Township ( ) is a civil township of Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 2,910.

Communities

  • German was an area of the township originally settled by immigrants from Germany.
  • The city of Lansing is to the northwest of the township and also controls a noncontiguous tract of land within the township along Interstate 96 under a conditional land transfer agreement.
  • The unincorporated community of Okemos, which is largely in Meridian Charter Township, extends into the northern part of the township between Jolly Road and I-96.
  • The city of Mason is to the south and has annexed land that was formerly within the township.
  • The unincorporated community of Holt in Delhi Charter Township.
  • Michigan State University owns land in the northwest corner of the township.

History

The land that was to become the township was surveyed by a Musgrove Evans in 1827. James Phillips became the first person to settle in the township in December 1836 at a location known as Alaiedon Center. At the time of its organization, the township consisted of what is today Lansing, Meridian, Delhi and Alaiedon townships. The aforementioned townships would be spun off in 1842 to give the township the boundaries it has to this day.

The township's settlement pattern changed considerably in 1847, the same year the state capital was moved to Lansing Township. It was found that the town was never formally platted, and thus did not legally exist, preventing the settlement's residents from obtaining deeds to their properties. Subsequently, the town was abandoned and few traces remain of its existence today. 2008, and 2013, the township entered into PA 425 Agreements, which conditionally transferred hundreds of acres of territory in the north-central part of the township to the city of Lansing to retain and expand the headquarters of Jackson National Life Insurance.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (0.48%) is water.

Education

Most of the township is in Mason Public Schools<!--UNI 23070-->. Parts of the township are in Okemos Public Schools<!--UNI 26280--> and Williamston Community Schools<!--UNI 36420-->.

Parts of Michigan State University extend into this township. The land includes the Poultry Teaching and Research Center as well as the Tree Research Center In 2024 the MSU board of trustees agreed to buy of land in the township so the university's Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Facility can use it.

References

Sources

  • Official website