Newaygo is a rural city in Newaygo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,976 at the 2010 census.HistoryNewaygo's recorded history goes back to the 1600s and the French coureur des bois (independent trappers) and, later, fur company voyageurs that travelled by canoe via the Muskegon River. It was ostensibly named after Chief Nuwagon, an Ojibwe leader who signed the Treaty of Saginaw in 1819, or for an Algonquian word meaning "much water". John Brooks came to harvest lumber in 1836, and was the town's first postmaster in 1847. Proximity to the river made it a center for floating logs to the mills in Muskegon during the lumber boom. Other historical features of Newaygo include Al Capone (and many other famous mobsters) gambling in the basements of Newaygo's central hotel and in a Hess Lake Inn.Demographics2010 censusAs of the census of 2010, there were 1,976 people, 786 households, and 502 families residing in the city. The population density was 528.3PD/sqmi. There were 892 housing units at an average density of 238.5/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 93.6% White, 0.9% African American, 1.2% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.3% of the population.
