Hersey was Osceola County's first seat

The clearest place to start is 1869. Osceola County’s anniversary record says the county government organized that year with Hersey as the county seat. The first Board of Supervisors met at Rooney’s Hall in Hersey on July 1, 1869.

The village date needs a little honesty. You may see 1867 in later retellings, but the University of Michigan’s digitized 1878 atlas and 1884 county history both say Delos Blodgett laid out Hersey in 1869. With those early records agreeing, 1869 is the safer date; this page does not repeat the old precise July 9 claim.

The location made sense for a lumber town. Hersey sits where the Hersey River meets the Muskegon River, and early histories describe sawmill and flour-mill work powered by the water. The railroad reached the area in 1870, but nearby Evart and Reed City eventually grew faster.

Then there is the dry-town story. The Big Rapids Pioneer, citing historian Roy L. Dodge, says Blodgett included a clause prohibiting liquor sales when he platted the village. The same account says the rule was ignored during the heavy logging years. That supports the story of how Blodgett wanted to shape the village; it does not prove that a restriction still binds every parcel today. A current title question belongs with the recorded deed and a title professional.

Hersey remained the county seat until 1927, when it moved to Reed City after a long dispute. So the durable claim is not that Hersey stayed dry forever. It is that Osceola County’s government started here and remained here for nearly six decades.