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History & Culture

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History & Culture notes

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Battle Alley: the Holly street that earned its name in fistfights A short brick street in downtown Holly was nicknamed Battle Alley after years of saloon brawls — and the 1891 hotel on its corner survived a temperance crusader's ax.
Beal City: a German Catholic colony west of Mount Pleasant Beal City grew from a lumber camp into a tight-knit German Catholic farming community, anchored for 150 years by the parish now called St. Joseph the Worker.
Bear Cave: a hiding place on the Underground Railroad Near Buchanan, a rare tufa-rock cave above the St. Joseph River sheltered freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad — and a robber's loot hidden there in 1875 inspired the 1903 film The Great Train Robbery.
Beaumont Tower stands where the first ag classroom in America once did The carillon tower at the heart of MSU marks the spot of College Hall, the first building in the country built to teach scientific farming — and the lawn around it has its own legend.
Before Bridgman was a beach town, it was a sawmill that kept burning down Bridgman began in 1856 as Charlotteville, a lumber town whose sawmill burned three times; the lumber is long gone, but the dunes that drew Chicagoans in the 1920s became Weko Beach.
Before it was Montrose, the township was named Pewonigowink Montrose Township first organized in 1847 as Pewonigowink, named for a Saginaw Chippewa reservation along the Flint River — and held that name for less than a year.
Bellevue: the first town in Eaton County, built on limestone Bellevue 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.
Berkley took its name from a one-room school and a farmer's road Berkley is named for a schoolhouse and a road that ran through Elmer Cromie's farm; back when it was chosen, two tracks down Woodward carried a train and an interurban streetcar.
Berston Field House: the Flint gym that made an Olympic champion Berston Field House on Flint's north end opened in 1923, became the city's first recreation center to admit Black residents, and trained two-time Olympic gold medalist boxer Claressa Shields.
Big Rapids' county museum grew out of the Phelps Free Library The historical society bought the former Phelps Free Library for $1 and opened its permanent museum there in 1965; the building had once been lumberman Fitch Phelps's home.
Big Rapids' Old Jail grew in two stages Big Rapids built the jail block in 1893 and added a Queen Anne sheriff's residence in 1897; the combined building served the county until 1965.
Big Red: the Dutch-roofed lighthouse that wasn't always red Holland's Big Red lighthouse guards the channel between Lake Michigan and Lake Macatawa, wears a gabled Dutch roof, and only turned red in 1956.
Birch Run: a creek of birch trees, and a depot that made the town Birch Run took its name from a birch-lined creek, grew up around an 1850s rail station, and even spent five years officially renamed Deer Lick before changing back.
Bloomingdale's 1870 depot beside the Kal-Haven Trail Van Buren County calls Bloomingdale's 1870 station the only original depot on the Kal-Haven route. The county currently marks the museum temporarily closed.
Blossomtime started with a sermon about fruit trees The Blossomtime Festival began in 1906 when a Benton Harbor minister told his congregation to go look at the orchards in bloom; its Grand Floral Parade has crossed between Benton Harbor and St. Joseph since 1924.
BOP records Michigan's only federal execution at Milan Michigan ended its death penalty for murder in 1846. BOP records Anthony Chebatoris's 1938 hanging at the federal prison in Milan as Michigan's only legal federal execution.
Brighton built the Imagination Station in five days Brighton's Imagination Station, a roughly 10,000-square-foot wooden playground beside the Mill Pond downtown, was raised in 1995 by hundreds of community volunteers and has anchored the riverfront since.
Brown City: born on the rails, baptized by fire Brown City started in 1879 as a railroad shipping point for lumber and grain, survived the great fire of 1881 two years later, and straddles two counties.
Buick City: from Flint auto complex to new industrial park Nearly 28,000 people worked across the Buick City site in the 1980s. Assembly ended in 1999; cleanup continues, while the first Flint Commerce Center building now occupies part of the old campus.
Burrage Library: the little stone fortress at Olivet College Built 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.
Burton became a city in 1972 to keep Flint from swallowing it Burton, Genesee County's second-largest city, grew from the 1830s Atherton farming settlement on Thread Creek and incorporated as a city in 1972 — largely to stop Flint from annexing its land.
Byron grew up around a dam, and took its name from a poet The village of Byron began in the 1830s when a company dammed the Shiawassee River for a sawmill, and it carries the name of the English Romantic poet Lord Byron.
Camden got its name out of a hat The village of Camden in southern Hillsdale County was first called Cranbrook; settlers later picked the new name at random by drawing it from a hat in 1840.
Caseville started as Port Elizabeth The beach town at the mouth of the Pigeon River was first called Port Elizabeth, then renamed Caseville for a Cleveland landowner whose agent built the first sawmill.
Cass City, the Cass River, and the man behind both names Cass City and the river that runs past it both carry the name of Lewis Cass — the territorial governor who opened up early Michigan and nearly became president.
Catholic Point: the wedge of land a priest bought for $82.33 Where the Belle River meets the St. Clair at Marine City sits Catholic Point, a peninsula Father Gabriel Richard bought in 1824 on a grant signed by President John Quincy Adams.
Cedar Lake: a boarding school built a town The tiny crossroads of Cedar Lake, east of Edmore, grew up around a Seventh-day Adventist boarding school founded in 1898 — now Great Lakes Adventist Academy on a 400-acre campus.
Cement City was named before the cement plant even opened The crossroads now called Cement City renamed itself in 1901 for a Portland cement plant that mined the marl out of nearby Goose Lake to make its product.
Center Line: the whole city sits inside Warren Center Line is a small city completely surrounded by Warren — the result of incorporating first, in 1925, before Warren Township grew up into a city around it.
Chase: the town with no river and seventeen mill whistles Most lumber towns rode a river to move their logs. Chase had no big stream — so the railroad came instead, and by the mid-1880s seventeen sawmill whistles blew over a town of thousands.
Chelsea's clock tower was built to hold 35,000 gallons of water The 1907 tower over Chelsea's old Glazier Stove Works was a clock and a water tank in one, built to feed fire hoses for a stove maker who soon went to prison.
Clarkston: half a square mile around a mill pond The City of the Village of Clarkston covers half a square mile around a Clinton River mill pond, with a historic core shaped by sawmills, a gristmill, and a Ford village factory.
Clarksville: a town named off a storekeeper's first name Clarksville 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.
Clawson is probably just 'Lawson' spelled wrong The city of Clawson likely owes its name to a clerical slip — a settler named Lawson, an extra letter, and a post office that opened in 1880 under the misspelled version that stuck.
Cleary started as a penmanship school in 1883 Cleary University, whose flagship campus sits in Genoa Township near Howell, began in 1883 in Ypsilanti as the Cleary School of Penmanship and grew into a private business university.
Climax got its name from one settler getting carried away When early settler Daniel Eldred first saw the wide prairie south of Kalamazoo he declared it 'caps the climax of everything I ever saw,' and the name Climax stuck.
Clio's city park has hosted summer concerts since 1987 The Clio Area Amphitheater, an outdoor venue in Clio's city park, has run a summer season of music and theater since 1987 — including the long-running Clio Cast and Crew productions that began in 1989.
Coal Mine No. 8: a St. Charles coalfield survives at Hartley St. Charles grew at the center of the Saginaw Valley coalfield; today Coal Mine No. 8 survives as a historical site and museum at Hartley Outdoor Education Center.
Coleman, named for the man who drew it on a map A land buyer named Seymour Coleman platted the village in 1868, and the Pere Marquette railroad and a wall of sawmills did the rest.
Cooke Dam: the first of six powerhouses on the lower Au Sable Cooke Dam began making electricity on the Au Sable in December 1911 — the first of six hydro plants the Foote brothers built between Mio and Lake Huron, once feeding a record-setting power line to Flint.
Coopersville: the man who bought a name with a railroad depot Coopersville is named for Benjamin Cooper, a New York settler who donated land for a railroad station in exchange for the town carrying his name.
Coopersville's barn full of John Deeres The Coopersville Farm Museum keeps west Michigan's rural past alive with a collection of John Deere tractors, a Wednesday farmers market, and Then-and-Now farm exhibits.
Council Point: the Lincoln Park riverbank where Pontiac planned a war At Council Point Park on the Ecorse River, Ottawa war leader Pontiac gathered tribes in April 1763 to plan the attack that became a six-month siege of British Fort Detroit.
Cranbrook: a newspaperman's farm that became an art school A Bloomfield Hills farm bought in 1904 by Detroit News publisher George Booth grew into Cranbrook — a school, art academy, and science museum, all designed by Eliel Saarinen.
Crystal Valley: a blacksmith, clear streams, and a town name Crystal Township took shape around Jared Gay's 1861 blacksmith shop, and his wife Catherine named it for the clear streams running through it — the first town meeting was held in that very shop.
Custer, Michigan, and the year Custer fell The Mason County community took George Armstrong Custer's name in 1876, the year he died at Little Bighorn; the surrounding township followed in 1878.
Deer Forest: the petting zoo that 3.5 million people remember From 1949 to 2014, generations of southwest Michigan kids fed deer and llamas at Coloma's Deer Forest and rode the train through Storybook Lane; the North Berrien museum keeps its relics.
DeWitt's river was named 'see yourself' The Looking Glass River that runs through DeWitt got its English name from the Ojibwe word Wabwaysin — 'see yourself' — for water clear enough to mirror the trees and your own face.
Dorr, Michigan: named for a man who lost a rebellion The Allegan County town of Dorr is named for Thomas Wilson Dorr, who led an armed 1842 uprising in Rhode Island to win the vote for ordinary men — and was jailed for it.
Eaton Rapids and the magnetic water that wasn't In 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.
Ebels: the general store that ate a town's main street Ebels General Store in tiny Falmouth has run since 1920, growing from a horse-drawn delivery wagon into a destination meat market and USDA processing plant.
Ecorse: a Downriver town named for birch bark Ecorse takes its name from the Ecorse River. A 1902 federal place-name guide says the French name means tree bark and ties it to birch and other bark found along the banks.
Elkton and its two elk-name stories Elkton's official sources preserve two different explanations for the village name: an elk tangled in a clothesline, or an elk said to weigh a ton.
Ella Sharp gave Jackson her farm — all 530 acres of it A childless widow left her Jackson farm to the city as a public park; her hilltop farmhouse is now the Ella Sharp Museum, anchoring a 560-acre green space.
Emmett, the Irish corner of St. Clair County Famine-era Irish Catholics settled the farmland around Emmett, named their township for the patriot Robert Emmet, and built the parish that became Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Epworth Heights: the Methodist summer colony on the dunes On the dunes north of Ludington, Epworth Heights is a private Methodist summer colony founded in 1894, now hundreds of cottages run under an 1889 state resort law.
Evart carries one pioneer's name — minus a letter The town on the Muskegon River was named for early settler Frank Evart, a Civil War veteran, and the spelling stuck even though most accounts say his family name was really Everts.
Fair Lane: the Dearborn estate Henry Ford lit with his own river Henry and Clara Ford's Fair Lane estate ran on its own hydroelectric powerhouse — its cornerstone laid by Thomas Edison — and powered part of Dearborn besides.
Fairgrove crowns a Bean Queen and ladles out free soup Every Labor Day weekend the village of Fairgrove throws the Michigan Bean Festival, one of the state's longest-running festivals — built entirely around the dry bean that the Thumb grows by the truckload.
Fenton was named on a hand of cards Fenton, first settled as Dibbleville in 1834, takes its name from William Fenton, who by local tradition won the naming rights in an 1837 card game; the loser got LeRoy Street.

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