How Allendale ended up named for Ethan Allen's daughter-in-law
Allendale Township was named for Agnes Allen, whose late husband was a son of Ethan Allen, after a state senator replaced the settlers' proposed name, Malta.
The name on the township sign hides a thread that runs all the way back to the Green Mountain Boys. Allendale was named for Agnes Allen. She was the widow of Hannibal Allen, a son of Ethan Allen, the Vermont leader who helped seize Fort Ticonderoga early in the Revolutionary War.
When settlers organized the township in 1849, Agnes was the first person on the local tax roll. The settlers had proposed calling the township Malta. State Senator Henry Pennoyer of Grand Haven changed the name to Allendale after Agnes instead.
Hannibal had died of yellow fever before Agnes moved to what is now Eastmanville. The connection to Ethan Allen came west through Agnes, and Pennoyer turned it into geography.
People were living along this stretch of the Grand River long before township government. French fur trader Pierre Constant established a post here around 1810. In 1842, Richard and Rebecca Roberts bought 160 acres at Charleston, where the post had stood, and built a log house that became a popular tavern stop.
Generations of Grand Valley State students now live in a township whose name reached Michigan through a widow and a state senator.
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Last reviewed against the listed sources: July 20, 2026.