Chelsea, Michigan
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Chelsea, Michigan
| official_name = City of Chelsea
| settlement_type = City
| motto = A city of history, a city of pride
| image_skyline = Downtown Chelsea, Michigan.jpg
| imagesize = 275
| image_caption = Chelsea Commercial Historic District
| image_flag =
| image_seal = Chelsea_michigan_logo.JPG
| pushpin_map = Michigan#USA
| pushpin_label_position = left
| pushpin_label = Chelsea
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within the state of Michigan##Location within the United States
| nickname =
| image_map = Chelsea, MI location.png
| mapsize = 250
| map_caption = Location within Washtenaw County
| image_map1 =
| mapsize1 =
| map_caption1 =
| coordinates = {{coord|42|19|05|N|84|01|13|W|region:US-MI|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = United States
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_type2 = County
| subdivision_name1 = Michigan
| subdivision_name2 = Washtenaw
| established_title = Incorporated
| established_date = 1889 (village)
2004 (city)
| government_footnotes =
| government_type = Council–manager
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Jane Pacheco
| leader_title1 = Clerk
| leader_name1 = Lynn Sebestyen
| unit_pref = Imperial
| area_magnitude =
| area_total_km2 = 9.50
| area_total_sq_mi = 3.67
| area_land_km2 = 9.37
| area_land_sq_mi = 3.62
| area_water_km2 = 0.13
| area_water_sq_mi = 0.05
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 284
| elevation_ft = 932
| population_total = 5467
| population_as_of = 2020
| population_footnotes =
| population_density_km2 = 583.68
| population_density_sq_mi = 1511.89
| population_est =
| pop_est_as_of =
| postal_code_type = ZIP code(s)
| postal_code = 48118
| area_code = 734
| website = {{URL|https://city-chelsea.org}}
| footnotes =
| timezone = Eastern (EST)
| utc_offset = -5
| timezone_DST = EDT
| utc_offset_DST = -4
| blank_name = FIPS code
| blank_info = 26-15020{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}
| blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
| blank1_info = 0623143{{GNIS|0623143|Chelsea, Michigan}}
| pop_est_footnotes =
}}
Chelsea is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,467 at the 2020 census.{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/chelseacitymichigan,US/PST045219 |title=US Census QuickFacts|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=August 13, 2021 }}
History
The area was first settled as early as 1820 within the Michigan Territory by settler Cyrus Beckwith. It would be organized as Sylvan Township in 1834. The Michigan Central Railroad constructed a line through the area in 1848, and a post office was first established on January 4, 1849. It was originally named Kendon. The name was changed to Chelsea on July 19, 1850 when the train station opened and community was formally platted. The name Chelsea came from Elisha Congdon, who suggested the name after his hometown of Chelsea, Massachusetts. Chelsea incorporated as a village in 1889.{{cite book |first1=Walter |last1=Romig |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |series=Great Lakes Books Series |type=Paperback |orig-date= 1973 |date=October 1, 1986 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn = 978-0-8143-1838-6 |location=Detroit, Michigan| page=112}} The Chelsea courthouse is housed in a 120-year-old bank building in downtown.{{cite news |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2022/02/officials-debate-future-of-chelsea-courthouse-in-120-year-old-bank-building.html |newspaper=MLive |title=Officials debate future of Chelsea courthouse in 120 year old bank building |date=February 12, 2022}}
The village of Chelsea incorporated into a city in 2004. In 2011, the downtown area of Chelsea was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Chelsea Commercial Historic District.
In April 2025, some 300 residents of the town formed a human chain to help move 9,100 books for a bookstore to a new location.{{cite web | title=Michigan town forms human chain to move 9,100 books for shop | website=BBC News | date=2025-04-16 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cj45yl5dy42o | access-date=2025-04-18}}{{cite web | title=See how a Michigan town moved 9,100 books one by one to their new home | website=AP News | date=2025-04-15 | url=https://apnews.com/article/bookstore-book-brigade-chelsea-michigan-03c553623c91c16a272b8a8149e4c298 | access-date=2025-04-18}}{{cite web | title=A Michigan community takes a novel approach to moving 9,100 books for shop's next chapter | website=NBC News | date=2025-04-15 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/michigan-bookstore-move-serendipity-rcna201441 | access-date=2025-04-18}}
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|3.67|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|3.62|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.05|sqmi|sqkm|2}} (1.36%) is water.
The Border-to-Border Trail runs through the city.{{cite web|last=Border to Border|url=https://b2btrail.org/explore-the-trail/|title=Explore the Border to Border Trail|date=2022|accessdate=July 12, 2022}}
=Major highways=
- {{jct|state=MI|I|94}} forms the southernmost boundary of the city
- {{jct|state=MI|MI|52|name1=Main Street}} runs south–north through the center of the city.
=Climate=
This climatic region has large, varying seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Chelsea has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=205102&cityname=Chelsea,%20Michigan,%20United%20States%20of%20America&units=|title=Chelsea, Michigan Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)|access-date=1 December 2016}}
=Climate=
{{Weather box
| width = 76%
| collapsed =
| open =
| single line = yes
| trace =
| location = Chelsea, MI (1991-2020 normals, extremes 2001-2024)
| temperature colour =
| Jan record high F =62
| Feb record high F =72
| Mar record high F =87
| Apr record high F =86
| May record high F =95
| Jun record high F =99
| Jul record high F =101
| Aug record high F =96
| Sep record high F =94
| Oct record high F =88
| Nov record high F =78
| Dec record high F =68
| year record high F =
| Jan avg record high F = 52
| Feb avg record high F = 53
| Mar avg record high F = 67
| Apr avg record high F = 79
| May avg record high F = 86
| Jun avg record high F = 91
| Jul avg record high F = 92
| Aug avg record high F = 91
| Sep avg record high F = 89
| Oct avg record high F = 80
| Nov avg record high F = 67
| Dec avg record high F = 56
| year avg record high F =
| Jan high F =30.6
| Feb high F =34.0
| Mar high F =44.3
| Apr high F =57.5
| May high F =69.5
| Jun high F =78.8
| Jul high F =82.3
| Aug high F =80.4
| Sep high F =74.1
| Oct high F =61.0
| Nov high F =47.2
| Dec high F =35.9
| year high F =
| Jan mean F =23.5
| Feb mean F =25.7
| Mar mean F =34.9
| Apr mean F =47.1
| May mean F =58.6
| Jun mean F =67.7
| Jul mean F =71.4
| Aug mean F =69.6
| Sep mean F =62.5
| Oct mean F =50.6
| Nov mean F =39.0
| Dec mean F =29.3
| year mean F =
| Jan low F =16.4
| Feb low F =17.4
| Mar low F =25.4
| Apr low F =36.6
| May low F =47.6
| Jun low F =56.5
| Jul low F =60.6
| Aug low F =58.9
| Sep low F =51.0
| Oct low F =40.2
| Nov low F =30.8
| Dec low F =22.6
| year low F =22.6
| Jan avg record low F = -5
| Feb avg record low F = -5
| Mar avg record low F = 6
| Apr avg record low F = 22
| May avg record low F = 31
| Jun avg record low F = 43
| Jul avg record low F = 48
| Aug avg record low F = 47
| Sep avg record low F = 37
| Oct avg record low F = 26
| Nov avg record low F = 15
| Dec avg record low F = 4
| year avg record low F =
| Jan record low F =-17
| Feb record low F =-25
| Mar record low F =-10
| Apr record low F =15
| May record low F =25
| Jun record low F =38
| Jul record low F =44
| Aug record low F =43
| Sep record low F =31
| Oct record low F =22
| Nov record low F =0
| Dec record low F =-16
| year record low F =
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch =2.41
| Feb precipitation inch =1.98
| Mar precipitation inch =2.24
| Apr precipitation inch =3.01
| May precipitation inch =3.83
| Jun precipitation inch =3.64
| Jul precipitation inch =3.45
| Aug precipitation inch =3.56
| Sep precipitation inch =2.74
| Oct precipitation inch =3.14
| Nov precipitation inch =2.61
| Dec precipitation inch =2.08
| year precipitation inch =
| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
| precip days colour =
| Jan precipitation days =12.9
| Feb precipitation days =9.8
| Mar precipitation days =8.7
| Apr precipitation days =10.5
| May precipitation days =11.7
| Jun precipitation days =10.1
| Jul precipitation days =8.9
| Aug precipitation days =9.3
| Sep precipitation days =8.7
| Oct precipitation days =11.2
| Nov precipitation days =9.5
| Dec precipitation days =11.4
| year precipitation days =
| Jan snow inch =10.9
| Feb snow inch =8.6
| Mar snow inch =4.7
| Apr snow inch =0.9
| May snow inch =0.0
| Jun snow inch =0.0
| Jul snow inch =0.0
| Aug snow inch =0.0
| Sep snow inch =0.0
| Oct snow inch =0.0
| Nov snow inch =1.8
| Dec snow inch =6.0
| year snow inch =
| Jan snow depth inch = 7
| Feb snow depth inch = 7
| Mar snow depth inch = 4
| Apr snow depth inch = 1
| May snow depth inch = 0
| Jun snow depth inch = 0
| Jul snow depth inch = 0
| Aug snow depth inch = 0
| Sep snow depth inch = 0
| Oct snow depth inch = 0
| Nov snow depth inch = 1
| Dec snow depth inch = 4
| year snow depth inch =
| unit snow days = 0.01 in
| Jan snow days =7
| Feb snow days =5.6
| Mar snow days =2.9
| Apr snow days =0.6
| May snow days =0
| Jun snow days =0
| Jul snow days =0
| Aug snow days =0
| Sep snow days =0
| Oct snow days =0
| Nov snow days =1.1
| Dec snow days =4.9
| year snow days =
|source = NOAA{{Cite web |title=Station: CHELSEA, MI US USC00201502 |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00201502&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=Summary of Monthly Normals 1991-2020 |publisher=National Centers for Environmental Information |pages=1–3 |format=PDF}} (snow depth and extremes{{Cite web |title=Monthly summarized data: Chelsea, MI |url=https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=dtx |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher=National Weather Service |no-pp=y}})
|date = December 2024
}}
Demographics
{{US Census population
|1870= 1013
|1880= 1160
|1890= 1356
|1900= 1635
|1910= 1764
|1920= 2079
|1930= 2268
|1940= 2246
|1950= 2580
|1960= 3355
|1970= 3858
|1980= 3816
|1990= 3772
|2000= 4398
|2010= 4944
|2020= 5467
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}
}}
=2010 census=
As of the census{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2012-11-25}} of 2010, there were 4,944 people, 2,224 households, and 1,284 families living in the city. The population density was {{convert|1362.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 2,436 housing units at an average density of {{convert|671.1|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 96.1% White, 0.4% African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 2.5% of the population.
There were 2,224 households, of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.3% were non-families. 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.91.
The median age in the city was 43.5 years. 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24% were from 25 to 44; 25.9% were from 45 to 64; and 22.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.5% male and 54.5% female.
=2000 census=
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,398 people, 1,840 households, and 1,133 families living in the village. The population density was {{convert|1,315.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,913 housing units at an average density of {{convert|572.1|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the village was 97.14% White, 0.70% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 0.82% of the population.
There were 1,840 households, out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the village, 23.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 5.2% was from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 24.0% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $51,132, and the median income for a family was $72,266. Males had a median income of $50,506 versus $35,579 for females. The per capita income for the village was $27,609. About 2.5% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
File:Chelsea_Milling_Company,_201_West_North_Street,_Chelsea,_Michigan-Jiffy_Mixes_-_panoramio.jpg headquarters in Chelsea]]
Chelsea Milling Company, maker of Jiffy Mix, is based in Chelsea. Other employers include Trinity Health Michigan, and the Chrysler Proving Grounds.
Education
The city is home to the Chelsea School District, which covers the city and surrounding rural townships.{{cite web|last=Michigan Geographic Framework|url=http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/mgdl/pdfmaps/CountySchools/SD_BYCO_esize_WASHTENAW%20COUNTY.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821052228/http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/mgdl/pdfmaps/CountySchools/SD_BYCO_esize_WASHTENAW%20COUNTY.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-21 |url-status=live|title=Washtenaw County School Districts|date=15 November 2013|accessdate=July 22, 2021}} Chelsea High School is located within the city.
The Chelsea District Library serves residents of the city and Dexter, Lima, Lyndon, and Sylvan townships.{{Cite web |title=Who We Are |url=https://chelseadistrictlibrary.org/about-us/who-we-are/ |accessdate=2023-05-08 |work=Chelsea District Library}} In 2008, the library was named "Best Small Library in America" by Library Journal.{{cite web |author1=John N. Berry, III |date=1 February 2008 |title=Best Small Library in America 2008: Chelsea District Library-A Michigan Model |url=http://lj.libraryjournal.com/awards/best-small-library-in-america-2008-chelsea-district-library-a-michigan-model/#_ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911194339/http://lj.libraryjournal.com/awards/best-small-library-in-america-2008-chelsea-district-library-a-michigan-model/#_ |archive-date=2012-09-11 |access-date= |website=Library Journal}}
Notable people
- Lynn Allen, NFL player
- Dwight E. Beach, U.S. Army general and namesake of Beach Middle School[http://www.bragg.army.mil/history/Commanders/Commanders%20Pages/beach.htm XVIII Airborne Corps biography] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070809062003/http://www.bragg.army.mil/history/Commanders/Commanders%20Pages/beach.htm |date=August 9, 2007 }}
- Jeff Daniels, actor of stage and screen. Founded the Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001099/bio|title=Jeff Daniels|website=IMDb |access-date=1 December 2016}}
- Bill Eversole, racing driver
- Laura Kasischke, National Book Critics Circle Award winner, poet, novelist
- Tony Scheffler, professional football player for the Detroit Lions
- Fallon Henley, Pro wrestler for WWE,
Sister cities
- Shimizu, Hokkaido, Japan{{cite web|url=http://www.chelsea-shimizu.org/about.html|title=Sister Cities Association of Chelsea, Michigan, Inc.|access-date=1 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112733/http://www.chelsea-shimizu.org/about.html|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Chelsea, Michigan}}
{{wikivoyage|Chelsea (Michigan)|Chelsea, Michigan}}
- [http://city-chelsea.org/ City of Chelsea official website]
{{Washtenaw County, Michigan}}{{Adjacent communities|North-west=Stockbridge, Michigan|North-east=Pinckney, Michigan|WEST=Munith, Michigan|EAST=Dexter, Michigan|Centre=Chelsea, Michigan|South-west=Grass Lake, Michigan|South=Manchester, Michigan|South-east=Saline, Michigan}}{{Authority control}}
Category:Cities in Washtenaw County, Michigan