Bear Lake MI Real Estate
Bear Lake is a quaint village incorporated into the Bear Lake Township and located in Manistee County along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The actual village of Bear Lake is home to only about 320 people, but it is rich with industrial and cultural history.
Bear Lake, MI Demographics
There are approximately 135 households in Bear Lake, and about 65% of them are inhabited by families with children below the age of 18. The racial population of Bear Lake is primarily Caucasian (93.71%), and the next predominant background includes a variety of Hispanic and Latino races (4.72%). Asian (2.52%) and Native American (1.89%) persons account for most of what is left, aside from the remaining 0.31% of the population which is comprised of a variety of other races.
The median household income in Bear Lake is roughly $31,500, and the median family income is just over $35K. On average, the male population earns about $8K more per year than the female population. The per capita income level of Bear Lake is $15,170.
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$ 595,000
Bear Lake, MI Geography
Bear Lake is an agricultural region of the United States and the state of Michigan, although it is only .3 square miles (0.04 of which is water).
Bear Lake, MI History
Bear Lake was a territory owned and inhabited by Native Americans but was ceded to the United States as part of the great Northwest Lower Peninsula in 1836 with the Treaty of Washington. Western settlers slowly began to populate the area surrounding Bear Lake as Michigan achieved statehood in 1837. Bear Lake, remained heavily wooded until around 1863 when citizens began seeking land to claim as part of the Homestead Act passed by President Lincoln in 1862.
In 1867 a post office was constructed and Russell Smith (one of the original settlers) negotiated the sale of land for the construction of a lumber mill and a gristmill to capitalize on the abundance of forest and grains in the area. Subsequent projects include a brick manufacturing plant, the Bear Lake Tram Railway, and various other manufacturing plants which still provide the most economic sustenance for this village.
Bear Lake, MI Schools
Bear Lake has one of the most technologically advanced K-12 public school systems in Michigan after having received the Freedom to Learn grant which allowed both teachers and students access to more modernized educational tools such as laptops, WiFi, and state of the art research tools.
Bear Lake, MI Industry
The primary industrial niche for Bear Lake is a position which is shared by manufacturing and agriculture (mainly fruit). Because of Bear Lake's prime position on Lake Michigan and its close proximity to major state (Pere Marquette) and national (Manistee) forests, it also benefits from annual tourism.