County note shelf
Ionia County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Ionia County. This shelf has 10 practical notes and 20 local stories.
30 notes
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- Money and taxesYes, Portland, Michigan Has Its Own Income TaxTiny Portland in Ionia County levies a 1 percent city income tax on residents and half a percent on the people who commute in to work.
- History and cultureClarksville: a town named off a storekeeper's first nameClarksville in Campbell Township got its name in 1875 from Clark L. Howard, who built the first store at the crossroads and secured a post office named for his own first name.
- History and cultureHubbardston's Irish parish on the hillIrish families built a chapel near Hubbardston in 1853 and the present St. John the Baptist Church in 1868-69; the historic parish complex is nationally listed.
- Money and taxesIonia takes a 1% city income tax — Belding doesn'tIonia levies a city income tax of 1% on residents and 0.5% on non-residents who work in town — one of about two dozen Michigan cities that do, while neighboring Belding has none.
- OutdoorsPortland's canoe man paddled 100,000 milesA bronze statue on the Grand River in Portland honors Verlen Kruger, who paddled over 100,000 miles and set a Guinness record for the longest canoe journey ever made.
- OutdoorsThe 2015 tornado that walked through downtown PortlandOn June 22, 2015, an EF1 tornado with 110 mph winds tore through downtown Portland, damaging dozens of homes and businesses, yet caused no deaths and only minor injuries.
- History and cultureThe Belrockton: where Belding's silk girls sleptThe 1906 Belrockton on Hanover Street was the last of three company dormitories Belding Brothers built for the single young women who ran its silk mills; it is now the city museum.
- History and cultureThe New York party that named Ionia for ancient GreeceIonia was settled in 1833 by about 63 people from Herkimer County, New York, led by Samuel Dexter; he gave it a name borrowed from an ancient Greek region on the coast of Asia Minor.
- History and cultureWhites Bridge: burned by an arsonist, rebuilt board for boardA covered bridge built over the Flat River in 1869 near Smyrna stood for 144 years until arson destroyed it in 2013; a near-exact replica reopened to traffic in 2020.
- OutdoorsBertha Brock Park: stone bridges over a trout streamTwo miles west of Ionia, Bertha Brock Park has been a wooded county park since 1931, with a trout stream, three stone bridges, and rustic camping.
- History and cultureMuir and Lyons, twin villages and an old grudgeAcross the Grand River from each other, Muir and Lyons are twin Ionia County villages — and Muir exists because Lyons let the railroad slip away.
- History and culturePewamo, named for a man someone went hunting withThe Ionia County village of Pewamo carries the name of a Potawatomi man whom early settler John C. Blanchard hunted with along the Grand River.
- History and cultureSaranac grew where Lake Creek meets the Grand RiverWater power and river access drew settlement to Saranac in 1836; the railroad turned it into a shipping center in 1857.
- History and cultureThe biggest building ever made of Ionia sandstoneIonia's 1886 courthouse is the largest structure ever built from local Ionia sandstone, capped by a domed cupola and a statue of Justice.
- History and cultureLake Odessa: a town that moved to meet the railroadLake Odessa's name joins Tupper and Jordan lakes with Odessa Township, and in the 1880s Bonanza merchants moved their buildings and goods to meet the new rail line.
- History and cultureMichigan's oldest schoolhouse hides in a state parkA cobblestone one-room school built in 1847 in Berlin Township is believed to be Michigan's oldest surviving schoolhouse, now inside the Ionia State Recreation Area.
- OutdoorsPortland, where the Looking Glass meets the GrandPortland sits where the Looking Glass flows into the Grand, and a paved riverwalk links its parks and century-old iron bridges along both waters.
- History and culturePortland's 1890 iron bridge still carries carsThe Bridge Street Bridge over the Grand River in Portland is an 1890 iron truss bridge still open to traffic, saved in 1990 instead of scrapped.
- History and cultureThe Blanchard House, a lawyer's mansion turned county museumAn 1880s Italianate mansion on Main Street in Ionia, built for lawyer and land man John C. Blanchard, is now the county historical museum.
- History and cultureA longtime prison townIonia has been a Michigan prison town since the 1800s, and corrections still shape local employment and population figures.
- History and cultureBelding, the old "Silk City"Belding's Silk City nickname comes from the silk mills and company buildings that shaped its downtown.
- Home and propertyNo city income tax in BeldingBelding levies no city income tax, unlike Ionia and Portland (1% resident, 0.5% commuter); Belding commuters into Grand Rapids pay that city's 0.75% nonresident rate.
- OutdoorsThe Grand River and Ionia State Recreation AreaThe Grand River, Ionia State Recreation Area, and Fred Meijer Grand River Valley Trail give Ionia and Saranac easy access to paddling, trails, camping, and wildlife.
- Home and propertyBuying on a lake in Ionia CountyLakefront buyers in southwest Ionia County should ask about lake boards, special assessments, lake rules, and septic systems near the water.
- Money and taxesThis city has a local income taxSome Michigan cities charge the standard local income tax: 1% for residents and 0.5% for nonresidents who work in the city.
- Home and propertyOut in the township, you're on a well and septicOutside Ionia County's cities and village centers, township homes often use private wells and septic systems, and resale inspection is buyer-beware.
- History and cultureWhy the Ionia Free Fair is free at the gateThe Ionia Free Fair has no general gate ticket, but parking, rides, food, and many grandstand events still cost extra.
- Money and taxesLive in a Michigan village? You pay an extra layer of property taxMichigan village residents usually pay village property taxes on top of township taxes, so the village boundary can change a buyer's total rate.
- 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.