Minneapolis Shoal Light Station · Photo: US Coast Guard · Public domainFord River Township has no public library of its own; the nearest is Escanaba Public Library in Escanaba, 10.1 miles away
Ford River Township doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Escanaba Public Library in Escanaba, 10.1 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
BCivic lifeAhead of 61% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.Libraries for Ford River Township, in brief
Ford River Township borrows from the libraries next door
Ford River Township has no public library of its own, but Escanaba Public Library is 10 miles away in Escanaba. Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Ford River Township isn’t the only town nearby without one
Bark River Township, Wells Township and Gourley Township don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Escanaba (Escanaba Public Library) does. Libraries next door ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Ford River Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ford River Township is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. Ford River Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Ford River Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Ford River Township
2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.3%
15.3% of Ford River Township’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 12.4% in the typical Michigan town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Ford River Township’s residents live; 2022.
The closest is 10.1 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Ford River Township. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escanaba | Escanaba Public Library | — | 46 | A+ |
| Bark River Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Wells Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Gourley Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cedarville Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Ford River Township
Does Ford River Township have a public library?
No. The closest is Escanaba Public Library in Escanaba, 10.1 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Ford River Township’s civic life grade?
B Ford River Township is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Ford River Township.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.