Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 51,589. Its county seat is Cassopolis. Cass County is included in the South Bend-Mishawaka metropolitan area which has a total population of 316,663 and is considered part of the Michiana region.

History The county is named for Lewis Cass, the Michigan Territorial Governor at the time the county was created in 1829. Cass later served as the United States Secretary of War under President Andrew Jackson, thus making a case for including Cass County as one of Michigan's "cabinet counties".

Cass County was not as heavily forested and had more fertile prairie land than other nearby areas of Michigan. During early settlement, it attracted numerous settlers who wanted to farm and grew more rapidly in population.

The county quickly developed industry as well. As early as 1830, a carding mill was started in the county on Dowagiac Creek, a branch of the St. Joseph River. Although the Sauk Trail (Chicago Road) passed through the southern part of the county, early settlement did not come primarily from eastern Michigan. Instead, settlers from Ohio and Indiana migrated who had learned of available prairie lands, reaching the Michigan Territory via a branch of the Chicago Road leading from Fort Wayne, Indiana. The population of Cass County was more than 3,000 by 1834.Fuller, George Newman (1916). Economic and Social Beginnings of Michigan: A Study of the Settlement of the Lower Peninsula During the Territorial Period, 1805-1837, pp. 244-51.

Among the most prominent early settlers of Cass County were Baldwin Jenkins and Uzziel Putnam, who both came from Ohio by way of the Carey Mission in Berrien County. Jenkins had been born at Fort Jenkins in Green County, Pennsylvania, and had migrated to Tennessee. He left that state as he was opposed to the institution of slavery. Putnam, who had lived in Massachusetts and New York, migrated to Cass from Erie County, Ohio, by way of Fort Wayne. These settlers, and their families, established the nucleus of the village of Pokagon on Pokagon Prairie in 1825. The next year, a settlement was made on Beardsley's Prairie, where the village of Edwardsburg was laid out in 1831.Fuller (1916), pp. 261-62, 274.

The village of Cassopolis was platted in 1831 and intended as the county seat, because it was the geographical center of the county. It had no settlers at the time.Fuller (1916), p. 275.

Black settlers After 1840, the black population of Cass County grew rapidly as families were attracted by white defiance of discriminatory laws, including the Fugitive Slave Law. Numerous highly supportive Quakers helped blacks settle in the area, and the land was low-priced. Free and refugee blacks found Cass County to be a haven, some with mixed Native ancestry, especially Saponi, Lumbee, and Pamunkey. Their development of a thriving community attracted the attention of southern slaveholders.

In 1847 and 1849, planters from Bourbon and Boone counties in Northern Kentucky led raids into Cass County to recapture escaped slaves. They were "surrounded by crowds of angry farmers armed with clubs, scythes, and other farm implements", resisting their attempt.McGinnis, Carol (2005). Michigan Genealogy: Sources & Resources (2nd ed.), pp. 199-200. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. .

The raids failed to accomplish their objective but strengthened Southern demands for passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which required residents and law enforcement even in free states to support capture of refugee slaves, and increased penalties for failure to do so. Biased toward slaveholders and slavecatchers, it required little documentation and put free blacks at risk for capture and sale into slavery. Many in the North resisted the law, especially in abolitionist strongholds, and it increased tensions contributing to the Civil War.Benjamin C. Wilson, "Kentucky Kidnappers, Fugitives, and Abolitionists in Antebellum Cass County Michigan," Michigan History, July 1976, Vol. 60#4 pp. 339-358.

Cass County became known early on for the anti-slavery attitudes of its population. Pennsylvania Quakers made a settlement in Penn Township in 1829. This community later became a prominent station on the Underground Railroad.Fuller (1916), p. 302. One established Underground Railroad route ran from Niles through Cassopolis, Schoolcraft, Climax, and Battle Creek, and thence along the old Territorial Road.

Historical markers

Some 26 historical sites in Cass County have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated by state historical markers as of December 2009.. Retrieved December 24, 2009.

Name of Site City Location Date Listed Marker erected Cass County Courthouse Cassopolis 12/14/1976 08/17/1977 Cass County Office Building / Masonic Temple Cassopolis 07/23/1985 N/A Centennial Hall Building Marcellus, Michigan 03/19/1980 N/A Chain Lake Baptist Church Cemetery Calvin Township, Michigan 12/05/1986 04/07/1992 First Methodist Episcopal Church Dowagiac 07/18/1996 10/12/1999 First Methodist Episcopal Church of Pokagon Pokagon Township 04/01/2002 N/A First Universalist Church of Dowagiac Dowagiac 05/30/1984 09/08/1982 Jarius Hitchcox House Union 12/10/1971 N/A Indian Lake Cemetery Silver Creek Township 03/15/1990 N/A Carroll Sherman Jones House Marcellus, Michigan 03/15/1990 N/A George Washington Jones House Marcellus, Michigan 12/09/1994 01/17/1986 Joseph Webster Lee House Ontwa Township 03/19/1987 N/A Mason District Number 5 Schoolhouse Mason Township 06/10/1980 10/06/1981 Methodist Episcopal Church Dowagiac 01/20/2000 02/02/2000 Michigan Central Railroad Dowagiac Depot Dowagiac N/A N/A George Newton House Volinia Township 11/14/1974 10/07/1977 Poe's Corners Newberg Township 03/21/1991 06/25/1991 Presbyterian Church of Edwardsburg Edwardsburg 04/20/2000 06/09/2000 Sylvador T. Read House Cassopolis 06/10/1980 N/A Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church Silver Creek Township 01/16/1976 07/19/1977 Smith's Chapel and Cemetery Milton Township 04/24/1979 04/07/1981 Sumnerville Cemetery Niles, Michigan 01/20/2000 N/A Sumnerville Mounds Dowagiac, Michigan 01/20/2000 2000 Thompson Road/Air Line Railroad Bridge Howard Township N/A N/A Underground Railroad Informational Designation Vandalia, Michigan 01/19/1957 04/12/1957 Wayne Township School District No. 7 School Wayne Township 04/19/1990 N/A

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.6%) is water. It is the smallest county in Michigan by total area.

Major highways

Adjacent counties Van Buren County (north) St. Joseph County (east) Berrien County (west) Elkhart County, Indiana (southeast) St. Joseph County, Indiana (southwest)

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Cass County, Michigan – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)44,54744,42345,06945,70443,30990.00%89.79%88.19%87.40%83.95%Black or African American alone (NH)4,1143,6843,1072,7762,2728.31%7.45%6.08%5.31%4.40%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)2564633884765210.52%0.94%0.76%0.91%1.01%Asian alone (NH)1101712683343160.22%0.35%0.52%0.64%0.61%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census2611xx0.00%0.01%0.02%Other race alone (NH)1358590702180.27%0.17%0.18%0.13%0.42%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census9471,3572,781xx1.85%2.59%5.39%Hispanic or Latino (any race)3376511,2331,5702,1610.68%1.32%2.41%3.00%4.19%Total49,49949,47751,10452,29351,589 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 51,589. The median age was 44.8 years. 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.9 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 85.3% White, 4.5% Black or African American, 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.8% from some other race, and 6.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.2% of the population.

25.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 74.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 20,707 households in the county, of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.0% were married-couple households, 19.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 25,291 housing units, of which 18.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 80.1% were owner-occupied and 19.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.6%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 52,293 people living in the county. 88.9% were White, 5.4% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 1.1% of some other race and 3.0% of two or more races. 3.0% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 25.9% were of German, 10.0% English, 9.6% Irish, 8.1% American and 5.7% Polish ancestry.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census,Statistical profile of Cass County, Michigan , United States Census Bureau, Census 2000 there were 51,104 people, 19,676 households, and 14,304 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 23,884 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.19% White, 6.12% Black or African American, 0.82% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.17% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. 2.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 26.6% were of German, 11.1% American, 10.3% Irish, 10.1% English and 5.0% Polish ancestry, 96.4% spoke only English, while 2.0% spoke Spanish at home.

There were 19,676 households, out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.20% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were not family units. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, 25.50% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.40% was from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,264, and the median income for a family was $46,901. Males had a median income of $35,546 versus $24,526 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,474. About 6.80% of families and 9.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.60% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The elected county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances.