The village of Mesick is in the northeast of the township, at the junction of M-37, M-115 and M-42. It is home to the Mesick Bulldogs, who won the 1981 State Championship in Michigan High School athletics. It is widely referred to as the "Mushroom Capitol", in reference to the Morel Mushrooms, which can be found there in spring.
Yuma is a small unincorporated community in the south of the township at. Yuma was founded as a logging town in the 1800s. Unlike many logging towns of the time, Yuma continued as a community thanks to the railroad, of which there was a rail station in Yuma. At one time Yuma boasted many businesses, including an ironworks. By the 1960s, the community lost its post office due to declining population. Today all that remains in Yuma are the Yuma Sand Pits, owned by Sargent Sand Co., the Yuma Bar, and the Yuma cemetery.
Sherman is a small unincorporated community at the northeast corner of the township on M-37. Sherman was at one time the county seat of Wexford County, with the highest population in the county, prior to the Sherman Fire, which caused the seat to be moved to Manton and eventually Cadillac. The community never recovered from both the fire and the loss of the Seat, and lost the majority of its population.
Geography
The Manistee River flows from the northeast to the southwest through the township. The Hodenpyl Dam Pond on the Manistee stretches several miles through the central portion of the township. According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,673 people, 635 households, and 452 families residing in the township. The population density was 51.1 per square mile. There were 1,015 housing units at an average density of 31.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 96.53% White, 0.30% African American, 1.26% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.66% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.90% of the population. There were 635 households out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couplesliving together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.09. In the township the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males. The median income for a household in the township was $28,821, and the median income for a family was $32,098. Males had a median income of $26,908 versus $20,729 for females. The per capita income for the township was $12,857. About 11.0% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.
