Onekama ( ) is a village in Manistee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 399 at the 2020 census.
History
The predecessor of the village of Onekama was the settlement of Portage at Portage Point, first established in 1845, at the western end of Portage Lake, at the outlet of Portage Creek. In 1871, when landowners around the land-locked lake became exasperated with the practices of the Portage Sawmill, they took the solution into their own hands and dug a channel through the narrow isthmus, opening a waterway that lowered the lake by and brought it to the same level as Lake Michigan. When this action dried out Portage Creek on May 14, 1871, the settlement, which had only the week before been designated as "Onekama" with a post office under that name, moved to the previously submerged land at the northeastern shore of the lake near an earlier settlement called "Brookfield".
In 1880, the first public buildings were built in the new village. These included the Pierce gristmill and the Gibert brothers' sawmill. In 1882, the first school was built next to the present-day Congregational church. In 1883, a large summer hotel, the Glen House, was built near the Glen, with its three mineral springs that were believed to have medicinal value.
The village was incorporated in 1891 and included the earlier settlement known as Brookfield, creating a long narrow village about long, with the business section on the flat, former lake bottom and residences on the higher land.
In 1889, a branch of the Manistee and North-Eastern Railroad was extended to the village.
On April 27, 2024, a massive hail storm passed directly through the town causing severe damage to homes, businesses, vehicles and landscape. Most of the buildings within the town were severely damaged, having sustained broken windows, busted vinyl siding, dented steel roofs and siding, and roofs being damaged beyond repair. Much of the damage can still be seen today on many buildings. The hail ranged in size from pebbles, to some larger than golf balls.
Geography
Onekama is in western Manistee County, northeast of Manistee, the county seat, and south of Arcadia. Lake Michigan is to the west beyond the outlet of Portage Lake.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village of Onekama has a total area of , all land.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 411 people, 205 households, and 114 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 338 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.6% White, 0.2% African American, 1.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population.
There were 205 households, of which 17.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.4% were non-families. 41.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.98 and the average family size was 2.65.
The median age in the village was 54.4 years. 15.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 12.9% were from 25 to 44; 36.6% were from 45 to 64; and 28.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 45.3% male and 54.7% female.
2000 census
As of the census