Vergennes Township is a civil township of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 4,741.

It is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is located about east of the city of Grand Rapids.

Communities

  • Fallasburg is an unincorporated community on the eastern side of the township. It began around a grist mill built by J. Wesley Fallass in 1839. Originally named Fallassburgh, the name became Fallasburg in 1893. It had a post office from 1851 until 1901. Fallasburg Bridge over the Flat River is a notable covered bridge in the township.
  • Fox's Corner started around the home of James S. Fox in 1836. It had a schoolhouse beginning in 1870.

History

The area was first settled in 1836 by Sylvester Hodges from New York. The first post office as established on August 12, 1837 but was soon discontinued on November 1, 1837. The area was organized as Vergennes Township in 1838. Part of Vergennes Township was split off in 1840 to form part of Caledonia Township (Township 5 North, Range 9 West), eventually removed in 1849 to form Bowne Township. The post office as reestablished on October 9, 1848 until April 14, 1871. The nearby Alton post office was relocated and renamed Vergennes from June 11, 1900 until December 31, 1909.

Vergennes Township is the present-day location of the original Belleville Bridge, which once spanned Belleville Lake within the city of Belleville in Wayne County. This bridge was first constructed in 1925 and later relocated to Vergennes Township in 1985, where it then replaced the old Burroughs Street Bridge crossing the Flat River.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (2.54%) is water.

The Flat River, a tributary of the Grand River, flows through the eastern side of the township.

Demographics

As of the census

References

Sources

  • Vergennes Township official website