Five Lakes, formerly Asa, is an unincorporated community on the boundary between Arcadia Township to the east and Mayfield Township to the west. It was first settled in 1855 and named for the nearby lakes.
Five Lakes was settled in 1855. Three sawmills were built there with one on the Mayfield Township side. On May 28, 1869, a Five Lakes post office under postmaster William G. Stone, an inn-keeper, opened. The post office on April 6, 1874, was renamed to Asa but on April 29, 1878, returned to the Five Lakes name. A post office opened at King's Mill on December 4, 1883. The Lum settlement was founded in 1884, and Elijah Vincent became the first postmaster on March 24, 1884. In January 1909, the Lum depot suffered an explosion. The King's Mill post office closed on February 15, 1934.
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,197 people, 1,089 households, and 887 families residing in the township. The population density was 90.5 per square mile. There were 1,134 housing units at an average density of 32.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 98.40% White, 0.31% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.53% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.75% of the population. There were 1,089 households, out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.4% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 15.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.23. In the township the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.0 males. The median income for a household in the township was $56,458, and the median income for a family was $61,563. Males had a median income of $47,237 versus $24,444 for females. The per capita income for the township was $22,080. About 3.3% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
