The village of Champion is nestled in and around a small valley near the eastern end of Lake Michigamme in the north central portion of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Located about 30 miles west of Marquette along US-41/M-28, our small, quiet town of approximately 250 full-time residents was once a bustling iron mining center of 2500 people in the late 1800’s and early 1900′s.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 125.0 square miles (324 km2), of which, 120.9 square miles (313 km2) of it is land and 4.0 square miles (10 km2) of it (3.23%) is water.
[edit] Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 297 people, 126 households, and 91 families residing in the township. The population density was 2.5 per square mile (0.9/km²). There were 262 housing units at an average density of 2.2 per square mile (0.8/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 99.33% White and 0.67% Native American. 29.4% were of Finnish, 18.6% French, 11.7% German, 11.3% French Canadian, 7.8% Polish, 5.2% English and 5.2 United States or American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 126 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.70.

In the township the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 34.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 112.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.3 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $33,571, and the median income for a family was $33,214. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $14,375 for females. The per capita income for the township was $17,396. About 11.0% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.