According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 32.0 square miles (83 km2), of which 31.3 square miles (81 km2) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2), or 2.00%, is water.
Communities
The city of South Lyon is located on the west side of the township.
Within the township proper there are two unincorporated communities.
New Hudson, centered around the junction of Grand River Avenue, Pontiac Trail, and S. Milford Road, just south of exit 155 on I-96 at 42°30′39″N83°36′56″W / 42.51083°N 83.61556°W / 42.51083; -83.61556.[4] In 1830, Russell Alvord and Daniel Richards, from the state of New York, obtained 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land with the deed signed by U.S. PresidentAndrew Jackson. In 1831, they opened an inn called the "Old Tavern" (still in existence as the New Hudson Inn). This served as a changing point on the stage coach line known as the New Hudson Station. A stage line post office was established in 1834. A U.S. government post office was established in June 1852. The community was platted by Russell Alvord in 1837.[5]Kensington, a former village that is now Kensington Metropark.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 11,041 people, 3,887 households, and 3,055 families residing in the township. The population density was 352.3 inhabitants per square mile (136.0/km2). There were 4,065 housing units at an average density of 129.7 per square mile (50.1/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 97.10% White, 0.35% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.47% of the population.
There were 3,887 households, out of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.2% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the township the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.4 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $67,288, and the median income for a family was $76,045. Males had a median income of $56,418 versus $31,565 for females. The per capita income for the township was $27,414. About 3.4% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Testek Inc. is located in the Quadrants Research Park. Established in 1969 by engineers, the company designs and builds custom test equipment for the aerospace, industrial and alternative energy industries. Testek is a large defense supplier to the US military.
Bielomatik, Inc. is located in the Lyon Industrial Research Park. The company designs and builds plastic welding machinery, primarily for the automotive market. Specialties include hotplate fuel tank welding, linear vibration welding and traditional hotplate welding on a variety of scales.
Pratt Miller Engineering is located in New Hudson and, in addition to an arms division that was established in 2013, is best known as the operators of the Corvette Racing motorsports team.
Arts and culture
Man in the City was a large public sculpture erected atop a hill in Atchison Park in 2011. Visible from westbound I-96, the 20-foot tall (6.1 m), 1,500-to-2,000-pound metal sculpture (680 to 910 kg) depicted the silhouette of a nondescript man in a suit and fedora. The Lyon Township Parks and Recreation Master Plan was revised in 2014 and the concept of Art in the Park was deleted. A pair of garden lights were added in 2023 when the structure was repainted.[6] Around July 4, 2024, the sculpture lay where it fell after being cut off at the supporting base.[7] After initial news reports describe the toppling as vandalism, the artist, John Sauve, received a letter from an attorney representing the township informing him that they were responsible.[6] Due to ongoing maintenance and certain other concerns, they had made the decision to have the maintenance crew cut it down and have it removed from their property.[8]
^Woodards, Shantee. "School district pushes $109 million bond." The Detroit News. September 3, 2004. Metro 3D. Retrieved on April 29, 2011. "Northville Schools are seeing an additional 300 students a year as more homes are built in the area. The district encompasses all or parts of Northville and Novi, along with Northville Township, Salem Township and the city of South Lyon."
^"Zoning Map." Lyon Township. Retrieved on March 2, 2014.