Best Web Design in Hastings Charter Township, MI (2026)

Web Design for Hastings Charter Township, Michigan

Hastings Charter Township sits near the center of Barry County in southwest-central Michigan, wrapping around the county-seat city of Hastings on three sides in the Thornapple River valley. Largely rural and residential, it is best known as the home of Historic Charlton Park, a 300-plus-acre lakeside museum and recreated turn-of-the-20th-century Michigan village. The township's population was 3,013 at the 2020 census.

AppWT serves Hastings Charter Township and the surrounding Michigan area from Livonia, Michigan.

About Hastings Charter Township

History. In 1842 the entire northeast quadrant of Barry County was organized as Hastings Township. That original township was later subdivided into the present-day townships of Hastings, Carlton, Woodland, and Castleton. The community adopted charter-township status in 1985. The township covers about 30.5 square miles and lies at an elevation of roughly 837 feet.

Local economy. The township is mostly rural residential and agricultural land surrounding the city of Hastings, which serves as the area's employment, commercial, and government center. Three state highways - M-37, M-43, and M-79 - cross the township, giving it strong regional road access. Thornapple Manor, a medical and rehabilitation facility, operates within the township near McKeown Bridge Park. Historic Charlton Park draws recreation and heritage tourism to the township's Thornapple Lake shoreline.

Culture and community. Historic Charlton Park is the cultural anchor, presenting a museum and a walkable village of relocated period buildings that recreate a Michigan village of about 1900. The park includes a public swimming beach and boat launch on the Thornapple River/Thornapple Lake and hosts community events on its grounds.

What makes Hastings Charter Township distinct. The township almost completely encircles the separate city of Hastings, surrounding it on three sides. Charlton Park owes its start to Irving D. Charlton, who donated the land to Barry County in 1936; the blacksmith shop was the first historic building opened to the public, in 1970. One relocated home in the village, the 1848 Bristol Inn, once served as a stagecoach stop on early Michigan travel routes.

Hastings Charter Township Landmarks and Local Life

• Historic Charlton Park - a 300-plus-acre park on Thornapple Lake with the stone Irving D. Charlton Memorial Museum (built 1944-1950) and about 25 historic buildings moved from around Barry County
• Bristol Inn (1848) - a former stagecoach stop, and the 1869 Lee School among the relocated village structures
• The Upjohn House (1852) in the village - linked to the Upjohn family of Upjohn pharmaceutical fame
• Thornapple Lake and McKeown Bridge Park.