Athens is located in Athens Township on M-66 in the extreme southwest corner of Calhoun County. This is a small, rural community that functions primarily as a commuter city to both the adjacent Battle Creek and Coldwater areas. It contains several small businesses and the township hall.

This town was named after Athens, New York, where many of its early residents came from. Its first settler was Isaac Crossett, who built a house here in 1832.

The first store was built here in 1854 by William Simons. Athens was officially incorporated as a village in 1895

 

Athens is a village in Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,024 at the 2010 census. The village is located in southern Athens Township, and is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was settled in 1831.

 

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.02 square miles (2.64 km2), of which 1.01 square miles (2.62 km2) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2) is water. The Nottawa Creek, also known as the Nottawa River, flows through Athens.

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As of the census of 2010, there were 1,024 people, 387 households, and 279 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,013.9 inhabitants per square mile (391.5/km2). There were 424 housing units at an average density of 419.8 per square mile (162.1/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 95.4% White, 0.5% African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population.

There were 387 households of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.9% were non-families. 22.5% 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 2.65 and the average family size was 3.08.

The median age in the village was 38.9 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 10% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25% were from 25 to 44; 26.9% were from 45 to 64; and 14.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.