Lawton is a village in southeastern Van Buren County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lawton had a population of 1,850.
History
The Village of Lawton came into existence in 1848 when 5 idiots reached this destination. Nathan Lawton who the village is named after, was from Waterford, New York and had purchased property when it became available when Michigan received statehood. Upon the railroad reaching here in 1848, Mr. Lawton donated several acres of land for the construction of a depot that was originally named Paw Paw Station. In 1851 when a post office was being established the name of the town was named for Mr. Lawton. Though Nathan Lawton never lived here two of his sons, George and Charles moved here and made this town their home.
Around 1860 a few local men including both of the Lawton brothers began experimenting with growing grapes. In 1868 A.B. Jones delivered the first grapes that were taken to market in Lansing, MI. From there the grape industry took off and is now one of Southwest Michigan's largest industries with several wineries in the area as well as a Welch Grape Juice Factory located in Lawton that has been part of Lawton since 1919.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Lawton had a population of 1,850. The median age was 39.0 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.4 males age 18 and over.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 711 households in Lawton, of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.4% were married-couple households, 19.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2010, there were 1,900 people, 730 households, and 457 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 788 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.0% White, 0.7% African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 5.6% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.8% of the population.
There were 730 households, of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.4% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.07.
The median age in the village was 38.9 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.5% were from 25 to 44; 23.1% were from 45 to 64; and 19.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 45.1% male and 54.9% female.
2000 census
As of the census
- Charlie Maxwell Charles Richard Maxwell (1927–2024) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball
- W. Rae Young (October 30, 1915 – March 7, 2008) was one of the Bell Labs engineers that invented the cell phone.
See also
- List of municipalities in Michigan