County note shelf
Barry County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Barry County. This shelf has 4 practical notes and 14 local stories.
18 notes
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- OutdoorsBarry State Game Area: thousands of public acres west of HastingsA sprawling state game area of forest, marsh, and small lakes west of Hastings, open to public hunting and fishing, with a DNR shooting range on M-179 near Yankee Springs.
- History and cultureMiddleville: river power, flour, and featherboneMiddleville grew beside the Thornapple River after earlier Potawatomi and trading-post history, then built an industrial story around flour, dairy, rail, and featherbone.
- OutdoorsPierce Cedar Creek Institute: 850 acres a retired couple set asideBill and Jessie Pierce founded an 850-acre nature preserve and biological field station south of Hastings in 1988; its ten miles of trails are free and open dawn to dusk year-round.
- OutdoorsThe Paul Henry–Thornapple Trail: a railroad that took 170 years to finishThe Paul Henry–Thornapple rail trail follows the old Grand River Valley Railroad grade through Middleville and Irving, with a stretch carrying the North Country National Scenic Trail.
- History and cultureBowens Mills: a buckwheat mill that ran for generationsEdwin Bowen built a three-story grist mill near Gun Lake in 1864; it ground buckwheat flour into the 20th century, and the little hamlet around it is now a Michigan historic park with a covered bridge.
- History and cultureNashville owes its name to a railroad engineerThe Barry County village became Nashville as the Grand River Valley Railroad arrived, taking the name of chief civil engineer Garadus Nash.
- History and cultureFreeport once had an opera house and a handle factoryPlatted by the Roush family in 1874 along an old Battle Creek trail, this small Barry County village grew to 500 people, an opera house, and a handle factory before the railroad even arrived in 1889.
- History and cultureHastings put a concert stage on the river that built the townThornapple Plaza, an outdoor music venue on the Thornapple River in downtown Hastings, opened in 2016 and anchors a summer of free concerts and the Thornapple Arts Council Jazz Festival.
- History and cultureWoodland was Woodland Center before 1892The present village site began with an 1847 settlement, added a blacksmith and store, and kept the name Woodland Center until incorporation in 1892.
- History and cultureHastings, the county seatHastings is Barry County's seat, with the Thornapple River, an old downtown, and the 1890s Barry County Courthouse.
- History and cultureHistoric Charlton ParkHistoric Charlton Park is a Barry County park and museum with a re-created historic village on Thornapple Lake.
- History and cultureThe Gilmore Car MuseumThe Gilmore Car Museum at Hickory Corners is a 90-acre campus of historic cars, red barns, vintage buildings, and partner auto museums.
- History and cultureYankee Springs and Gun LakeYankee Springs Recreation Area and Gun Lake make northwest Barry County one of southern Michigan's strongest outdoors corners.
- Home and propertyBuying on (or near) a Barry County lake?Barry County lake homes can come with legal lake levels, lake special assessments, lake associations, and lake-specific boating rules.
- Home and propertyOutside town, you're probably on a well and septicMost Barry County township homes use private wells and septic systems, and the county's former sale-time inspection mandate was repealed in 2018.
- OutdoorsGun Lake and Yankee Springs: Barry County's playgroundBarry County centers on 2,600-acre Gun Lake and the 5,000-acre Yankee Springs Recreation Area — West Michigan's favorite lakes-and-trails weekend.
- Money and taxesBuying in a township? Watch for special assessments on top of your taxesMichigan township buyers should check for special assessments that can add separate road, sewer, water, lighting, sidewalk, or drain charges.
- Money and taxesIn Michigan, you get two property-tax bills a year — not oneMost Michigan property owners get separate summer and winter tax bills, with local rules deciding what lands on each bill.