Allendale Charter Township is a charter township of Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 Census, the township population was 26,582. Allendale Charter Township is best known as being home to the main campus of Grand Valley State University.

Allendale is located in the center of Ottawa County, bordered by Tallmadge Township, Polkton Township, Robinson Township, Blendon Township and Georgetown Township.

History

The land within the current borders of the township has been inhabited by humans since at least ca. 200 BCE to 500 CE, earliest evidence suggests occupation by Goodall focus, a Middle Woodland Hopewellian culture. At the time of European contact, Anishinaabe-speaking peoples, the Odawa and the Potawatomi lived within the current township.

The first documented European in what is now Allendale was Pierre Constant, a French fur trader who established a trading post at Charleston for John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company in 1810. The first permanent European settler was Richard Roberts, of Wales, who purchased one hundred and sixty acres along the Grand River, building a log cabin in 1842 that became known as the Half-way House, as it was situated roughly halfway between Grand Haven and Grandville. The spelling was subsequently changed from Allandale to the current Allendale.

In 1854 the township of Blendon was organized, and set off from Allendale.

The area remained mostly rural for much of the 20th century. For example, Allendale Public Schools remained a K-8 district as late as 1969.

Communities

There are no incorporated municipalities within the township.

  • Allendale is a census-designated place consisting of the northern two-thirds of the township and the Allendale ZIP code 49401 serves most of the township except for small areas along the southern boundary.
  • Conger was the name of a rural post office in the township from 1899 until 1907.
  • Hudsonville is to the southeast, and the Hudsonville ZIP code serves a small area on the central part of the southern boundary of Allendale Township.
  • Jenison is to the southeast, and the Jenison ZIP code 49428 serves a small area in the southeast corner of the Allendale Township.
  • Pearline, also known as East Allendale, is an unincorporated community about one mile east of Allendale on M-45/Lake Michigan Dr. at . Fruit grower Joh W. Everhart was the first postmaster of a rural post office here, which operated from April 29, 1891, until May 31, 1908.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (2.80%) is water.

The Grand River forms the northern and eastern boundaries of the township. Georgetown Township is to the southeast, Blendon Township to the south, Olive Township to the southwest, Robinson Township to the west. Across the Grand River, Crockery Township is to the northwest, Polkton Township to the north, and Tallmadge Township to the east and northeast.

M-45 crosses east–west through the township, and crosses the Grand River in the east. Except for US-31 in Grand Haven; M-45, 68th Avenue just to the north and M-231 to the west are the only roads to cross the Grand River in Ottawa County.

Climate

Allendale experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb), warm to hot summers and cold winters, similar to most of the Midwestern United States. It is often humid in the summer.

Allendale receives 132 inches of measurable precipitation per year, on average 33 inches of rain and 82 inches of snowfall.

There are 162 sunny days per year. The comfort index, based on humidity during the hot months, is a 51 out of 100, where higher is more comfortable. The US average on the comfort index is 44.

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Demographics

As of the census

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Parks

Allendale Community Park is a park situated near the township office. It contains a Veterans Garden of Honor honoring U.S. soldiers. It contains nine statues representing veterans of U.S. wars. One of the statues, installed in 1998, depicting a Confederate and Union soldier standing back-to-back with a young slave crouched between them at their feet, has been controversial for seeming to honor the Confederacy and portraying racial dynamics in a way considered disrespectful to Black people.

During the George Floyd protests in 2020, the civil war statue received heightened scrutiny from local activists. Philomena Mantella, president of Grand Valley State University, suggested that it should be moved and that its presentation should be altered to acknowledge its historical context. Protests on the issue continued through 2021, including the temporary erection of a billboard and multiple acts of vandalism that left the statue disfigured. A contentious second referendum on June 14, 2021, resulted in the statue being retained once again.

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  • Grand River
  • Bass River Recreation Area
  • Grand River Park

Local media

Newspapers

  • Grand Valley Advance
  • Grand Valley Lanthorn

Radio

  • WGVU-FM (88.5 FM Allendale/Grand Rapids) – GVSU Public Radio (NPR/Jazz)
  • WCKS "The Whale" – GVSU student run radio

Television

  • WGVU-TV – GVSU PBS member station
  • GVBN – GVSU student run television station

Transportation

Mass transit

  • The Rapid provides bus service to the Grand Valley State University Allendale campus. The Laker Line connects the Allendale campus to Downtown Grand Rapids, and The Rapid operates additional shuttle services in Allendale, connecting to off-campus housing.

Major highways

References

  • Allendale Charter Township