Almont began as Newburg, then took a Mexican diplomat's name

If Almont’s early dates seem to disagree, they are counting different milestones. Daniel Black bought land here from the federal government in 1833 for $1.25 an acre and built the first log house. Village records date Newburg’s establishment to 1834. The village and township master plan dates its platting to 1836 and incorporation to 1865.

The names changed in between. The township was first called Bristol, while the village was Newburg. Local records give January 5, 1846, as the date both took the Almont name.

The namesake was Juan Nepomuceno Almonte, a Mexican diplomat, military officer, and public official. The Texas State Library identifies him as Mexico’s minister to the United States from 1841 to 1845, which puts him in the public eye just before the Michigan community chose its new name. His surname ends with an “e.” The local records reviewed here do not explain why Almont’s name does not.

The Village of Almont also calls itself Michigan’s sixth-oldest village. That is the village’s own description. Neither the local history nor the joint master plan provides a statewide comparison list or explains whether the ranking uses first settlement, establishment, platting, or incorporation. The useful takeaway is the timeline: people settled here before Michigan became a state, Newburg came first, and Almont became the official name in 1846.