Comstock Charter Township is a charter township in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. It is located to the east of the city of Kalamazoo and is part of the Kalamazoo–Portage Metropolitan Area. According to the 2020 census, the population of the township was 15,231.

Communities

Comstock is a town that is not officially a city, located in the western part of the township near the Kalamazoo River and M-96 at 42°17′12″N 85°30′48″W / 42.28667°N 85.51333°W / 42.28667; -85.51333. The township is named after this area. In 1831, the first sawmill in Kalamazoo County was built along Comstock Creek. A gristmill was built there in 1832. A post office was opened in February 1832. A school called Comstock School opened in 1833. The ZIP code for Comstock is 49041, but it only has P.O. box service.

Comstock Northwest is a place identified by the government for statistics, located in the northwest part of the township. It is next to the city of Kalamazoo.

East Comstock is a place located just east of the community of Comstock on M-96. It is near the dam that forms Morrow Lake on the Kalamazoo River at 42°17′10″N 85°29′23″W / 42.28611°N 85.48972°W / 42.28611; -85.48972.

Galesburg is a city on M-96. It is next to the eastern part of the township. The ZIP code 49053 covers much of the eastern area.

Lawndale is a place located between East Comstock and Galesburg on M-96 at 42°17′11″N 85°27′44″W / 42.28639°N 85.46222°W / 42.28639; -85.46222.

Schools

Students in Comstock Township attend three public schools:

• Comstock Public Schools in Comstock, Kalamazoo, Michigan
• Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools in Galesburg, Michigan
• Gull Lake Community Schools in Richland, Michigan

History

Township 2 South Range 10 West was first surveyed in January 1827 by Robert M. Clark. The first settler, William Tolland, arrived there in 1829 but did not buy any land, even though he lived there for several years. In 1830, land was recorded for William Harris in the southwest quarter of section 17 and for Major G. Van Dwyer in the southwest quarter of section 13 (the eastern part of that section is now part of Galesburg). In 1831, land was recorded for Horace H. Comstock, Caleb Eldred, Thomas W. Merrill, Mumford Eldred, Stephen Eldred, Leland Lane, and others. Settlers in the eastern part of the township, near what is now Galesburg, included Nathaniel Matthews, Ralph Tuttle, Sherman Cummings, George Townsend, and Nathan Cothren. H. H. Comstock, Caleb Eldred, and Cryus Lovell settled in the western part of the township near what became Comstock.

Comstock Township was organized by an act of the Territorial Legislature in 1834. Before that, it was part of Arcadia Township (later renamed Kalamazoo Township), which originally included all eight townships in the northern half of Kalamazoo County. In June 1832, Richland Township was separated, including Richland, Ross, Charleston, and Comstock townships. On March 7, 1834, Comstock Township was separated, covering Comstock and Charleston townships, as well as Climax Township, which had been separated from Brady Township. Climax was separated from Comstock on December 30, 1837, and Charleston was separated in 1838.

Comstock Township became a charter township in 1964.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township covers a total area of 35.3 square miles (91.3 km²). Out of this, 33.3 square miles (86.3 km²) are land, and 1.9 square miles (5.0 km²), which is 5.49% of the total area, are water. The Kalamazoo River flows from east to west through the center of the township. It passes through Morrow Lake, which is a reservoir.

Demographics

A busy area near the city of Kalamazoo is part of the census-designated place (CDP), Comstock Northwest.

According to the 2000 census, 13,851 people, 5,366 households, and 3,809 families lived in the township. The population density was 420.2 people per square mile (162.2 per square kilometer). There were 5,601 housing units, with an average density of 169.9 per square mile (65.6 per square kilometer). The racial makeup of the township included 91.98% White, 4.01% African American, 0.43% Native American, 1.16% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.70% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino individuals of any race made up 1.67% of the population.

Of the 5,366 households, 34.2% had children under 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder without a husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. Twenty-three point five percent of all households included only one person, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.57 people, and the average family size was 3.04 people.

The population was spread across age groups: 26.8% were under 18, 7.7% were aged 18 to 24, 30.2% were aged 25 to 44, 23.6% were aged 45 to 64, and 11.8% were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 or older, there were 93.8 males.

The median income for a household was $46,140, and the median income for a family was $54,866. Males earned a median income of $40,845, while females earned $29,195. The per capita income was $22,857. Approximately 6.0% of families and 7.1% of the population lived below the poverty line. This included 10.6% of those under 18 and 4.6% of those aged 65 or older.

Government

Comstock Township uses a home rule charter government, which includes a supervisor, clerk, treasurer, and four trustees who make up the township board.

The city of Kalamazoo and the city of Galesburg supply water and sewer services to the city areas inside the township.

The Comstock Fire and Rescue department was created in 1924. It has three fire stations with six fire engines. The department has a full-time fire chief and fire inspector, as well as many full-time and paid on-call workers who operate the fire stations around the clock.

The township has an agreement with the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s department to provide police patrols during specific hours within the township.

Transportation

Comstock Township has access to the following highways:

• Interstate 94 (exits 80, 81, and 85).
• State highways M-96 and M-343.

The Kalamazoo Metro Transit system offers bus rides within Comstock Township to the Kalamazoo Transportation Center in downtown Kalamazoo.

Freight rail service is provided by the Norfolk Southern and the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, which is now part of Canadian National. Amtrak offers passenger train service 4 miles west in downtown Kalamazoo. Interurban electric trains that once ran from Kalamazoo to Battle Creek through the township stopped operating in 1929.

The Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport, located 5 miles southwest in nearby Kalamazoo, offers daily flights for both passengers and freight.

Economy

The rich soil in the Kalamazoo River valley helped make the Comstock area famous as the "Bedding Plant Capital of the World." Comstock Township is home to the largest bedding plant cooperative in the United States. Each year, hundreds of thousands of plants, many of which are used in parks and along streets in the county, are sold to garden stores across the country.

Comstock Township also houses the Bell's Brewery production facility. The brewery was founded in 1985 by Larry Bell as the Kalamazoo Brewing Company. In 2003, the brewery moved its operations from downtown Kalamazoo to a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m²) building in Comstock Township. In 2012, the facility was expanded to nearly 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²). The brewery is the largest in Michigan and can produce over 1 million barrels of beer each year.

Midlink Business Park is a commercial area that was once the site of a General Motors Fisher Body plant in Comstock Township. After the GM plant closed in 1998, public and private groups worked together to convert the 2.2-million-square-foot (over 2 million m²) building into a business park. By 2010, 13 businesses operated on the 340-acre site, including a hotel with 95 rooms.