Leslie

Leslie, Michigan
—  City  —
Location of Leslie, Michigan
Coordinates: 42°27′8″N 84°25′53″W / 42.45222°N 84.43139°W / 42.45222; -84.43139
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Ingham
Area
- Total	1.3 sq mi (3.4 km2)
- Land	1.3 sq mi (3.4 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	935 ft (285 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	2,044
- Density	1,535.6/sq mi (592.9/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	49251
Area code(s)	517
FIPS code	26-47180[1]
GNIS feature ID	0630326[2]

Leslie is a city in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,044 at the 2000 census. The city is surrounded by Leslie Township, but is politically autonomous.

Geography

The city of Leslie lies just east of U.S. 127 in Ingham County on gently rolling hills. The city is located 28 miles (45.0 kilometers) directly south of Lansing, and 17 miles (27.3 kilometers) directly north of Jackson.

There are numerous creeks that flow through the city. Huntoon Creek, draining out from Huntoon Lake off of East Kinneville carves its way through downtown Leslie and by the City Little League Baseball fields.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), all of which is land.

History

Leslie was first settled by Elijah Woodworth in 1836, who built the first log cabin in the city. It was originally named Meekerville after a famous pioneer to the area, Benjamin Meeker. Jerry G. Cornell named the town after a prominent Leslie family in eastern New York, his home state. The name Leslie was adopted officially when a post office was assigned to the area in 1841. Leslie was later incorporated as a village in 1869, and as a city nearly 100 years later in 1968.^[3]

• Frank L. White, who is believed to be the model for the chef on Cream of Wheat boxes, is buried in Leslie at Woodlawn Cemetery.^[4]
• The 19th century anarchist and feminist Voltairine de Cleyre was born in Leslie.

Sports

The Leslie Girls High School Varsity Basketball team was defeated 61-0 to conference rival Olivet in 2003. This made news on numerous television channels including ESPN, CNN, and The Tonight Show. They were later visited by two players of the WNBA World Champion Detroit Shock who boosted the young ladies' morale.^[5]

Distance running has also been prominent in Leslie. An annual road race is held mid August during the annual Blackhawk Festival at the high school that runs through the outskirts of the city and finishes on the track. Leslie High School Men's cross country running teams have won 14 consecutive championships [90, 91, 92 (Ingham County League) 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03 (Southern Michigan Athletic Association). In 2008 The Leslie Blackhawks football team were able to make to the state championship at Ford Field. But fell short to the Montague Wildcats 41-20.

Education

The new Leslie High School was built in 1996 at 4141 Hull Road to replace the first Leslie Public Schools building on Woodworth street, which was over 100 years old. The school district's mascot is the Leslie Blackhawks and the school colors are orange and black. Leslie's one public school has an average sized graduating class, that ranges between 100 to 130 students.Leslie public schools prides itself on providing a quality education and creating life-long learners.

Also located in Leslie is White Pine Academy [1], a public school academy that is charted by Saginaw Valley State University. White Pine Academy was founded in 1999 by a group of local parents looking for a back to the basics curriculum and small class sizes. In 2005, White Pine Academy built a new facility at 510 Russell St. White Pine Academy prides itself on providing a quality education and creating life long learners.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 2,044 people, 734 households, and 518 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,535.6 per square mile (593.4/km²). There were 783 housing units at an average density of 588.3/sq mi (227.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.04% White, 0.39% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.98% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.38% of the population.

There were 734 households out of which 39.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.4% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,700, and the median income for a family was $48,162. Males had a median income of $36,771 versus $22,600 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,124. About 4.9% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

• City of Leslie
• Leslie Public Schools

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Ingham County, Michigan County seat: Mason Cities East Lansing‡ | Lansing‡ | Leslie | Mason | Williamston Villages Dansville | Stockbridge | Webberville Charter townships Delhi | Lansing | Meridian Civil townships Alaiedon | Aurelius | Bunker Hill | Ingham | Leroy | Leslie | Locke | Onondaga | Stockbridge | Vevay | Wheatfield | White Oak | Williamstown Unincorporated communities Edgemont Park | Fitchburg | Haslett | Holt | Okemos | Onondaga Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Coordinates: 42°27′05″N 84°25′57″W / 42.45139°N 84.4325°W / 42.45139; -84.4325