Waterford Township (commonly known simply as Waterford) is a charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Waterford is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2024 census, the township had a population of 70,538.
Communities Waterford Township has five unincorporated communities:
Clintonville () is located on Walton Boulevard between Clintonville Road and Sashabaw Road. Drayton Plains () is located at Dixie Highway on the west end of Loon Lake. Elizabeth Lake () is an historic resort community located on Elizabeth Lake. Four Towns () is located at Lochaven Road and Cooley Lake Road. Waterford Village () is an historic village located at Dixie Highway and Andersonville Road.
History Lewis Cass, the third governor of Michigan Territory, established the boundaries of Oakland County in 1819.Seeley, Thaddeus D. (1912) Waterford Township was organized in 1834.
In 1818, Oliver Williams selected land in Oakland CountySeeley (1912), p. 484-85. that he purchased for two dollars an acre. Archibald Phillips and Alpheus Williams purchased in what would later become known as Waterford Village.
In 1818, Oliver Williams and his family established the first farm settlement in the county on the banks of Silver Lake.
In 1819, Alpheus Williams and Archibald Phillips continued on to where the Clinton River crossed the old Saginaw Trail (now known as Dixie Highway). They settled at the site of the present Waterford Village. Here the first house of Waterford Village was built by Alpheus Williams on the north bank of the river. Archibald Phillips built his home across from the south corner where Andersonville Road meets Dixie Highway.
Williams and Phillips also built the first dam where the Clinton River crossed the Saginaw Trail and erected the first sawmill.
The township was named Waterford because of the vast number of lakes covering the township.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 11.22%, is water.
Government and infrastructure The West Campus of the Oakland County Service Center is located in Waterford Township. This includes the Oakland County Executive Building and Conference Center, and the Oakland County Children's Village, the county's juvenile detention center for children. The Children's Village acts as one of the support sites for the Waterford School District.
Federal, state, and county legislators +United States House of RepresentativesDistrictRepresentativePartySince11thHaley StevensDemocratic2019 +Michigan SenateDistrictSenatorPartySince7thJeremy MossDemocratic202323rdJim RunestadRepublican2023 +Michigan House of RepresentativesDistrictRepresentativePartySince52ndMike HarrisRepublican202253rdBrenda CarterDemocratic2023 +Oakland County Board of CommissionersDistrictCommissionerPartySince8Karen JoliatRepublican202110Kristen NelsonDemocratic201912Christine LongRepublican2003
Climate Like the rest of Southeast Michigan, Waterford Township has a continental climate. It has a higher elevation than Detroit ( compared to ), and therefore the township is somewhat cooler than Detroit and other nearby cities. It is moderately cold in the winter with varied snowfall throughout. Spring varies from warm by day to cool at night. The township's warmest weather occurs in the summer with temperatures in the eighty to ninety degree range and typically high humidity. Summer is also the wettest season in the area. In recent years, Waterford Township has seen a few 100-plus-degree days. Fall starts warm, but November ends with high temperatures barely above freezing.
Lakes
Waterford Township is home to 34 named lakes.
Lakes in Waterford Township Lake Size in acres Depth in feetBaldwin Lake 9 10Cass Lake (part) 1,280 123Clam Lake 21 10Crescent Lake 90 40Eagle Lake 19 20Elizabeth Lake 363 72Fiddle Lake 9 10Geneva Lake 19 35Huntoon Lake 42.5 15Lake Angelus (part) 477 88Lake Oakland (most) 255 64Lake Goodrich 4 10Leggets Lake 25 10Lester Lake (most) 12 25Loon Lake 243 73Lotus Lake (most) 179 65Maceday Lake 234 117Mohawk Lake 23 33Morgan Lake 28 25Otter Lake 74 50Pleasant Lake 92 52Pontiac Lake (part) 612 34Rainbow Lake 5 15Schoolhouse Lake 37 49Scott Lake 77.5 35Silver Lake 101 73Sylvan Lake (part) 532 71Upper Silver Lake (part) 35.5 30Van Norman Lake (part) 66 90Watkins Lake 238 25White Horse Lake 8 10Williams Lake 155 45Woodhull Lake (most) 135 56Wormer Lake 27.5 24
Demographics According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Waterford Township had a population of 70,565.
2020 Census According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the racial makeup of the township was: 85.2% White alone 5.7% Black or African American alone 0.5% American Indian and Alaska native alone 2.1% Asian alone 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone 4.9% Two or More Races alone 7.0% Hispanic or Latino 81.4% White alone, not Hispanic or Latino
2010 Census According to the 2010 Census the racial and ethnic makeup of Waterford's population was 83.7% non-Hispanic White, and 4.8% African-American, 0.4% Native American, 1.9% Asian and 6.6% Hispanic.
2000 Census According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there were 73,150 people, 29,387 households, and 19,130 families residing in the township in 2000. The population density was .
In 2000, there were 30,404 housing units, with an average density of .
The racial makeup of the township in 2000 was: 92.65% White 3.91% Hispanic or Latino 2.89% African American 0.35% Native American 1.27% Asian 0.01% Pacific Islander 1.13% from other races 1.69% from two or more races
In 2000, there were: 29,387 households 30.4% of the households had children under the age of 18 living with them 51.6% were married couples living together 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present 34.9% were non-families 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older 2.42 was the average household size 2.99 was the average family size.
The township's 2000 population was: 23.2% under the age of 18 8.2% from 18 to 24 36.0% from 25 to 44 21.8% from 45 to 64 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older The median age was 36 years For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males For every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.5 males
The median income for a household in 2000 in the township was $55,008, and the median income for a family was $64,500. Males had a median income of $47,409 versus $32,016 for females. The per capita income for the township was $27,432. About 3.8% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 and over.
Transportation Oakland County International Airport is located in Waterford Township."Waterford township, Oakland county, Michigan." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on October 28, 2009. The airport is a hub for the airline Lakeshore Express, a local commuter airline to Pellston, and Chicago-Midway
Railroad In 1851, the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway came through Waterford Township and three train depots were built in Waterford Township; the Drayton Plains depot (at Hatchery Rd.), the Waterford depot (at Airport Rd.) and the Windiate depot (at Windiate Rd.) . The railroad helped make the many lakes of the Waterford area easily accessible to summer vacationers from the big cities and served to make Waterford Township a summer resort area. In 1882, the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway was purchased by the Grand Trunk Western Railroad.
As roads were improved, people began driving to their summer resort area and the passenger depots were closed in the late 1950s.
The Windiate Park Hotel was a summer resort for vacationers from Detroit and Lansing. The resort was easily accessed by four trains a day during the summer months from the 1890s to the 1940s and was located on Lotus Lake, near the Windiate depot. The resort featured boating, fishing, sailing, sunbathing, tennis and a dance hall. The resort was owned by J.D. and M.L. Rice.
Another popular summer resort was the Waterford Hotel in the village of Waterford. The hotel was sold to William Bradt, who changed its name to Bradt's Exchange. The hotel was also named the Waterford Exchange, and served as a stagecoach stop for over 60 years.
Today, the railroad is owned by Canadian National Railway (CN) and passenger service is no longer offered, giving way to freight only.
There are seven railroad crossings in Waterford Township and one railroad bridge.
Education Public schools The Waterford School District operates public schools in most of Waterford Township (the Pontiac School District serves a small portion of the township).Murray, Diana Dillaber. "Law being proposed could dissolve Pontiac schools, other struggling districts." Oakland Press. June 12, 2013. Retrieved on May 7, 2014. "Pontiac school district spreads from Pontiac into portions of seven surrounding communities including Auburn Hills, Sylvan Lake, Lake Angeles and townships of Bloomfield, Orion, Waterford and West Bloomfield."
In 1961, Kettering High School opened and Mott High School opened in 1969. Kettering's address is now 2800 Kettering Drive in Waterford. In 2012, Durant High School, an alternative school, opened in the township at 501 N. Cass Lake Road in Waterford. All three Waterford Township public high schools were named after automobile industry pioneers; William C. Durant, Charles F. Kettering, and Charles S. Mott. Waterford Township High School was located in Waterford Township, Michigan at the corner of Highland Rd. and Crescent Lake Rd. It was closed as a high school in 1983, but the Board of Education continued to use the building for several years for various purposes. (Waterford Township: Year Opened: 1947, Year Closed: 1983).
In 1957, John D. Pierce Junior High School opened at 5145 Hatchery Road in Waterford, and Stevens T. Mason Junior High School was opened in 1965 at 3835 West Walton Blvd. in Waterford. Both junior high schools originally included grades 7 through 9. Today, both Pierce and Mason are middle schools, which include grades 6 through 8.
As of the 2015–16 school year, the Waterford School District has nine public elementary schools located within the township; William Beaumont Elementary School, Thomas M. Cooley Elementary School, Donelson Hills Elementary School, David Grayson Elementary School, Laura S. Haviland Elementary School, Douglass Houghton Elementary School, William S. Knudsen Elementary School, Riverside Elementary School, and Henry R. Schoolcraft Elementary School.
Private schools Opened in 1960, Our Lady of the Lakes School is a private Catholic K-12 school also located in the township at 5495 Dixie Highway, just south of Waterford Village.
St. Benedict School in Waterford was in operation until circa 2003, when the campus became the lower (elementary school) of Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy; this occurred in a time when other Catholic elementary schools in the area closed. The lower school moved to the common Pontiac campus in 2013.
Community College Waterford Township is home to the Oakland Community College Highland Lakes Campus. The campus, which opened in 1965, is located at 7350 Cooley Lake Road in Waterford.
Oakland Schools, the intermediate school district serving Oakland County, has its offices in Waterford Township."Contact Us ." Oakland Schools. Retrieved on December 3, 2013. "Oakland Schools 2111 Pontiac Lake Road Waterford, MI 48328"
Public library The Waterford Township Public Library serves the residents of the township. It is located at 5168 Civic Center Drive, off of Crescent Lake Road near Hatchery Road in Waterford.
Public safety Waterford Township maintains its own police and fire departments.