Centerville Township is a civil township of Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,243 at the 2020 census. The township is bounded to the east by Lake Leelanau.

History

Centerville Township was organized in 1862 as one of Leelanau County's first five townships.

Communities

  • Bodus is a ghost town at .
  • Good Harbor is a ghost town in the northwest of the township.
  • Isadore is an unincorporated community in the southern part of the township at . It was established when Polish immigrants arrived from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in about 1870, and settled into farming in the area. The first Roman Catholic Church, called "Holy Rosary", was built in 1883 and a parochial school the following year. Originally called "Four Corners", the name was changed to honor Saint Isadore, the patron saint of farmers. A post office was established on July 27, 1892, and operated until May 15, 1912. A new Catholic school was built in 1905, and the current Holy Rosary Catholic Church, a brick structure, was built in 1922. Later, a high school was added, graduating its first class in 1942. The high school operated until 1961. The intersection today consists of the church, school (closed after 101 years of operation at the close of the 1998–1999 school year), a rectory built in 1966, a cemetery, and a couple of houses, surrounded by farmland on rolling hills. Isadore is also known as the location at which the story "Isadore's Secret" took place. This story centers around the murder of Sister Janina, a nun who served at Holy Rosary church, who was rumored impregnated by Father Edward Podlaszewski.
  • Schomberg is a ghost town at .

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (8.87%) is water.

Centerville Township contains shorelines on both Lake Michigan and Lake Leelanau.

Major highway

  • is a north–south state trunkline highway that clips the northwest corner of the township. The highway parallels Lake Michigan, and can be used to access Leland (to the north) and Glen Arbor (to the south).

Demographics

As of the census