County note shelf
Eaton County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Eaton County. This shelf has 4 practical notes and 23 local stories.
27 notes
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- History and cultureSeven Islands: when Grand Ledge had a roller coaster over the riverIn the late 1800s the islands in the Grand River at Grand Ledge held a hotel, a casino, and one of Michigan's first roller coasters, drawing some 70,000 visitors a season.
- History and cultureBellevue: the first town in Eaton County, built on limestoneBellevue was settled in 1833 as Eaton County's first town and first county seat, sitting on a bed of Bayport limestone quarried for more than a century — some of it for the State Capitol.
- History and cultureBurrage Library: the little stone fortress at Olivet CollegeBuilt in 1890 of rough Ionia sandstone with twin octagonal towers, Burrage Library gives Olivet a fortress-like Richardsonian Romanesque centerpiece that has held the college's books for well over a century.
- History and cultureEaton Rapids and the magnetic water that wasn'tIn the 1880s Eaton Rapids boomed as the 'Saratoga of the West' on mineral wells said to be magnetic — until a state chemistry professor traced the magic to the iron pipe, not the water.
- History and cultureFrontier Days: how Charlotte got a real rodeoSince 1970, Charlotte's Frontier Days has filled the Eaton County Fairgrounds the weekend after Labor Day with a parade, a sanctioned rodeo, and a small-town pioneer party that funnels its money back into the schools.
- History and cultureThe Eaton Theatre: a 1931 movie house Charlotte never let go ofThe Eaton Theatre on Cochran Avenue has shown movies in downtown Charlotte since 1931, opening with Eddie Cantor in 'Whoopee' under an Art Deco marquee that still glows.
- History and cultureThe green giant: GM's crossover plant in Delta TownshipGM's Lansing Delta Township Assembly opened in 2006 as the first manufacturing facility to achieve LEED Gold certification and now builds three crossover models.
- History and cultureVermontville's Opera House: a town hall with a stage upstairsFinished in 1896, the Vermontville Opera House packs a library, township offices, and a real upstairs theater into one mansard-roofed brick building on the National Register.
- History and cultureCharlotte's Courthouse SquareCharlotte preserves Eaton County's 1845, 1885, and 1976 courthouses. A Michigan historical marker says Eaton is the state's only county with three surviving county courthouses.
- History and cultureEaton Rapids, the Island CityEaton Rapids uses 'The Only Eaton Rapids on Earth' as a civic slogan, while its Island City nickname describes a business district set on an island in the Grand River.
- History and cultureOlivet CollegeOlivet grew up around a college founded by Oberlin missionaries with early commitments to coeducation and race inclusion.
- History and culturePotterville and the Gizzard FestPotterville is known for Gizzard Fest, a June small-town festival built around fried chicken gizzards and Joe's Gizzard City.
- OutdoorsThe Ledges at Grand LedgeGrand Ledge takes its name from sandstone cliffs along the Grand River, with riverside trails at Fitzgerald Park and designated climbing at Oak Park.
- History and cultureVermontville and its maple syrup festivalVermontville's New England roots and Michigan's original maple syrup festival make it one of Eaton County's signature small-town stories.
- History and cultureLansing, birthplace of Oldsmobile and REORansom E. Olds made Lansing an auto town, from Oldsmobile and REO to today's R.E. Olds Transportation Museum.
- History and cultureThe Michigan State Capitol: a domed landmark you can tour for freeMichigan's 1879 State Capitol is a free-to-tour National Historic Landmark and the working center of state government.
- History and cultureMichigan's Capitol Looks Like Marble and Walnut — but a Lot of It Is PaintMuch of the marble and walnut in Michigan's 1879 State Capitol is actually paint — over nine acres of hand-painted surfaces designed to fool the eye.
- Cars and drivingThat '80s Rock Band? Named After a Michigan TruckThe band REO Speedwagon took its name from a Lansing-built delivery truck — named, in turn, for auto pioneer Ransom Eli Olds.
- History and cultureThe Olive Burger: Michigan's Love-It-or-Hate-It SandwichChopped green olives and a tangy mayo sauce on a burger — mid-Michigan's love-it-or-hate-it specialty, born in the old Kewpee chain.
- Money and taxesLansing and East Lansing both have a city income taxLansing and East Lansing both charge a local income tax, with 1% resident and 0.5% nonresident rates under Michigan's city-income-tax system.
- History and cultureMagic Johnson: From Lansing to HistoryFrom Everett High to a 1979 national title at Michigan State, the kid from Lansing helped change basketball forever.
- History and cultureThe MastodonBefore robins or white pines, Michigan belonged to the giants — and the mastodon, the state fossil, still turns up in farm fields where it browsed 10,000 years ago.
- History and cultureWhy Does Michigan Have So Many Places Named After Foreign Places?Michigan's map is full of foreign and classical town names — Paris, Moscow, Athens, Rome — left over from an 1800s naming boom, and locals pronounce most of them their own way.
- Home and propertyOutside town, you're probably on a well and septicMost Eaton County township homes use private wells and septic systems, and the county's former sale-time inspection mandate was repealed in 2018.
- OutdoorsThe Ledges: Eaton County's slice of rock-climbing countryGrand Ledge's roughly 300-million-year-old sandstone borders river trails at Fitzgerald Park and designated climbing at Oak Park.
- 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.