The lumberman who left his name and a sauerkraut factory

Deckerville’s village history says Charles Decker started a lumber business here in 1870. He built a sawmill and gristmill that helped draw people to the settlement. His son Martin became the first postmaster that year, and the community took the family name. Deckerville later became a station on the Pere Marquette Railroad.

Deckerville did not rely on lumber alone. The village lists fur trading, woolen and flax mills, brick making, cheese making, and a sauerkraut factory among its past industries. That mix shows how the local economy changed as the Thumb’s timber era ended.

The village also notes the Thumb forest fires of 1871 and 1881. While destructive, the fires cleared trees and brush and made it easier to turn land toward farming. Deckerville incorporated as a village in 1893, keeping the name of the lumberman whose mills helped it grow.