Reed City and "The Old Rugged Cross"

Beyond its trail-crossroads fame, Reed City has a quieter claim to fame. It was the later home of Reverend George Bennard, who wrote “The Old Rugged Cross” — one of the most beloved gospel hymns ever written. Bennard lived just north of town. A local history museum — the Reed City Heritage Museum, formerly the Old Rugged Cross Museum — tells his story. It also displays early Osceola County life: pioneer rooms, old logging and farm tools, and pieces from Reed City’s early businesses.

Like most towns around here, Reed City started with timber. It grew up in the late-1800s logging boom with about a dozen mills and factories. Some of its old downtown buildings still have wood floors milled right in town. The Osceola County Courthouse still anchors the center of town.

For history-minded buyers, Reed City offers a walkable historic downtown and a real sense of its railroad-and-lumber past.