East Jordan was founded sometime in the 1870s when a logging mill was built along the Jordan River near the town. There were originally two places; East Jordan itself began with a store built by William F. Empey, a Canadian immigrant, in 1874. There was also a place called South Arm. The two locales merged in 1878. It was incorporated as a village in 1887 and as a city in 1911. The town grew quickly, and by 1890, it boasted a large ironworks, a feed mill, and a population of nearly 1000. By the turn of the century, the city was being serviced by two railroads. With these two railroad connections, East Jordan quickly grew into a major manufacturing center. To this day, four industrial corporations still operate within the town. In 1899, the Detroit and Charlevoix Railroad built their mainline through the East side of the city, and in 1901 the East Jordan and Southern Railroad began operations on the western end of the town. With these two railroad connections, East Jordan quickly grew into a major manufacturing center. In 1932, the Detroit and Charlevoix was abandoned, and the East Jordan and Southern followed suit in fall 1961 after the East Jordan Iron Works ended shipping by rail.
East Jordan may be best known as the "Birthplace of EJ". EJ, formerly East Jordan Iron Works, was founded in 1883. The foundry was established on the shores of Lake Charlevoix and originally produced castings for machine parts, ship parts, agricultural parts and railroads. EJ now supplies products to infrastructure projects in 6 of the 7 continents.
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,351 people, 952 households, and 613 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 1,189 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 96.0% White, 0.2% African American, 1.6% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.3% of the population. There were 952 households, of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couplesliving together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.6% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.01. The median age in the city was 37.1 years. 27.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.4% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 15.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,507 people, 946 households, and 658 families residing in the city. The population density was 818.7 per square mile. There were 1,083 housing units at an average density of 353.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 94.38% White, 0.40% African American, 1.76% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.76% from other races, and 2.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.60% of the population. There were 946 households, out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.11. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.5% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,924, and the median income for a family was $39,669. Males had a median income of $31,597 versus $20,385 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,920. About 7.5% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
