Raber Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 632 at the 2020 census.

Geography

Raber Township is located in eastern Chippewa County and is bordered to the northeast by the St. Marys River, with St. Joseph Island in the Algoma District of Ontario, Canada, on the far side. The southern boundary and part of the western boundary of the township follows the Mackinac County line, with the southern boundary very close to the northern shore of Lake Huron. Lake Superior State Forest occupies large areas in the northern and southern parts of the township.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 31.64%, is water.

DeTour Village is to the southeast, while the DeTour Village 49725 ZIP Code serves the southeast corner of Raber Township.

Pickford is to the northwest, while the Pickford 49774 ZIP Code serves the northwest corner of Raber Township.

Communities

  • Goetzville is an unincorporated community in the township on M-48 approximately north of M-134 at . The Goetzville ZIP code 49736 serves the central portion of the township, as well a small area in the southeast corner of Pickford Township and areas in the northwest of Detour Township. The Goetz family settled here in 1882. A post office was established in October 1882 spelled as Gatesville, but was changed to Goetzville in February 1917.
  • Raber is an unincorporated community on Raber Bay in the St. Marys River. It is approximately north-northeast of Goetzville at . The first white settler is considered to be John Stevenson from Scotland, who emigrated here in 1878. It was named for Mueller M. Raber, a pioneer lumberman in the area. A post office operated from September 1889 until December 1954. Stalwart is an acceptable name for the Goetzville ZIP code. Stalwart was first settled in 1878. An application was submitted in 1881 for a post office to be named "Garfield", after U.S. President James A. Garfield, but the name was already in use at the time by another post office. The application was resubmitted for a post office named "Arthur", after Chester A. Arthur, and was denied for the same reason. Because Garfield and Arthur represented what was known as the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party, the application was made for the post office to be named "Stalwart". The office was established in February 1881.