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History & Culture

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History & Culture notes

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Fenton won its name in a card game The Genesee County town first called Dibbleville got its name from an 1837 card game: William Fenton won the town, and Robert LeRoy got the main street.
Fenton's community center was designed by the architect of Cranbrook The 1938 Fenton Community Center was designed by Eliel Saarinen — the same architect behind Cranbrook — and paid for by an auto-fortune gift, a piece of real modernist pedigree in a small town.
Ferrysburg: the town the Ferry sons platted at the river's mouth William M. Ferry Jr. and Thomas White Ferry platted the village on January 26, 1857. The post office settled the spelling as Ferrysburg two years later.
Flint sells produce in a building that once printed the newspaper The Flint Farmers' Market — open in some form since 1905 — moved in 2014 into the old Flint Journal printing plant on East First Street, two blocks from where it stood a century ago.
Flint was 'Vehicle City' before it ever built a car Flint earned its 'Vehicle City' nickname in the 1890s for horse-drawn carriages, not automobiles; lit arches once spanned Saginaw Street, and modern replicas stand downtown today.
Flint's Capitol Theatre puts a fake Italian sky over your head The 1928 Capitol Theatre on Flint's Second Street is an atmospheric movie palace — designed to feel like a starlit Italian garden — that sat dark 20 years before a $37 million restoration reopened it in 2017.
Forester's saddest ghost story In 1876 a heartbroken teenager named Minnie Quay walked into Lake Huron at Forester, and the lumber town has been telling her ghost story ever since.
Frankfort's Garden Theater, a century of one screen Frankfort's Garden Theater has shown movies on Main Street since 1924; a community group bought and restored its Art Deco interior in 2009 and runs it still.
Frankfort's pier light, the tower that moved by barge Frankfort's North Breakwater Lighthouse was built in 1912 on the old pier, then floated by barge to the end of the new breakwater in 1932, where it still guides the harbor.
Free Soil, Michigan, is named for an antislavery party Free Soil Township was named in 1848 for the Free Soil Party, the antislavery movement whose slogan was 'free soil, free labor, free men' — years before the Civil War.
Fremont's namesake never came here — he was off mapping the West Before Gerber, Fremont took its name from John C. Frémont, the explorer called the Pathfinder who mapped the Oregon Trail and became the first Republican to run for president.
From a Bellaire hardware store to a brewery that fills Elk Rapids Joe Short opened Short's Brewing in an old Bellaire hardware store in 2004, then outgrew it and moved the brewing into an Elk Rapids factory making tens of thousands of barrels a year.
Frontier Days: how Charlotte got a real rodeo Since 1970, Charlotte's Frontier Days has filled the Eaton County Fairgrounds the weekend after Labor Day with a parade, a sanctioned rodeo, and a small-town pioneer party that funnels its money back into the schools.
Gaines keeps its books in an 1884 train depot The Gaines Station branch of the Genesee District Library is the system's smallest, set in an 1884 yellow-brick railroad depot with the original walnut ticket windows still in place.
Georgetown was George's mill town before it was Jenison's Georgetown Township took its name from George Ketchum's sawmills on Rush Creek, while early settler Hiram Jenison gave his family name to the community of Jenison.
GM built its first stamping plant in Wyoming — and 28th Street grew up around it General Motors opened its first metal-stamping plant in Wyoming in 1936; at its peak it employed thousands, and after it closed in 2009 the land became Site 36.
Goodland Township: the fires took the trees, so the plows came Goodland Township started as a lumber community, but the great Michigan fires of 1871 and 1881 burned through the pine — and what grew back, on the cleared ground, was farms.
Goodrich grew up around a creek somebody dammed in 1846 The Goodrich Mill Pond in Atlas Township is dammed-up Kearsley Creek, backed up by an 1846 grist mill that became the village's center for fishing, boating, and winter skating.
Gordon Hall: the Greek temple on the hill above Dexter The judge who founded Dexter built a columned Greek Revival mansion on the bluff above town in the 1840s; it's now run by the local historical society.
Graafschap: a village named with the Dutch word for 'county' Dutch settlers from the Bentheim region founded Graafschap south of Holland in 1847 and named it with their word for 'county'; the community still centers on its Christian Reformed church.
Grand Beach: a resort community that became its own village Grand Beach began as a planned resort on the Lake Michigan dunes, added cottages, golf, and the Golfmore Hotel, and incorporated as a village in 1934.
Grand Blanc built more than 18,000 tanks for World War II The Fisher Body plant in Grand Blanc turned out Sherman tanks, Pershings, and tank destroyers from 1942 to 1945 — and the same site still stamps steel for GM today.
Grand Blanc Township was once eight other townships, too Organized in 1833, Grand Blanc Township was Genesee County's first unit of government, and its original boundaries covered the ground that later split off into Flint, Burton, Davison, Fenton, and several other townships.
Grand Haven's old depot, where the last train left in 1958 The 1870 Grand Trunk depot on Grand Haven's waterfront was the railroad's western terminus; after the last train left in 1958 it became the Tri-Cities Historical Museum.
Grand Haven's volunteer-built musical fountain Built by volunteers in 1962 and performing since May 1963, the Grand Haven Musical Fountain was once billed as the world's largest; its official history says it held that title until 1998.
Grant: the onion capital that grew out of a drained marsh The dark muck fields east of Grant made onions a defining crop and helped earn the town its onion-capital nickname.
Grass Lake's stone depot, and the novel that named its park An 1887 stone railroad depot in Grass Lake survived a fire down to a shell, then took its second life from a hometown author's best-selling novel, Whistlestop.
Greenbush started as a fishery, then a homesick man renamed it The Lake Huron hamlet of Greenbush grew from an 1848 fishery into a lumber-shipping port, and took its name to comfort a young worker far from home.
Greenville's school-bond glider and the D-Day Fighting Falcon Greenville students raised more than $72,000 in war-bond sales and christened a hometown-built glider in 1943. On D-Day, a replacement Gibson glider carrying the same name led a 52-glider mission into Normandy.
Guardian Angels Church and the 170-foot tower over Manistee Built from 1888 to 1890 for a largely Irish and German congregation, Guardian Angels is a Romanesque landmark with a 170-foot steeple.
Gwen Frostic's studio: a swamp she refused to give up Gwen Frostic built her press-and-studio on 40 wooded acres near Benzonia in 1964, and her Heidelberg presses still print her linocuts of Michigan nature there today.
Hamilton was Rabbit River first The Heath Township village of Hamilton was first called Rabbit River, after the pine-country stream whose sawmills built the place; the township itself is named for an early figure, James M. Heath.
Hamtramck Disneyland: one retired autoworker's two garages of joy In a Hamtramck alley, retired GM worker Dmytro Szylak spent years turning two garages into a towering folk-art carnival of pinwheels, flags, Elvis, and toy soldiers.
Hartford throws a whole festival for the strawberry Every June since 1988, Hartford has filled its downtown with a parade, a carnival, and a great deal of locally grown fruit for the Hartford Strawberry Festival.
Henry Ford's little mill on the River Raisin in Dundee Henry Ford rebuilt Dundee's 1848-49 grist mill as a small hydro-powered factory, one of his Village Industries plants along southeast Michigan rivers.
Hersey held the county seat for 58 years, then Reed City took over Hersey was Osceola County's first county seat from 1869 until 1927, when a long dispute ended with county government moving to Reed City.
Hersey was Osceola County's first seat Osceola County organized in 1869 with Hersey as its first seat. Early accounts also record Delos Blodgett's effort to bar liquor sales from village lots.
Hesperia: a White River village split clean down the county line The village of Hesperia sits astride the White River where Newaygo and Oceana counties meet, so half the town keeps its records in one county courthouse and half in another.
Holt is named for a man who never set foot in it Holt, in Delhi Township, started as Delhi Center but renamed its post office in 1860 after Joseph Holt — a U.S. postmaster general who went on to prosecute the Lincoln assassination plot.
How a 600-person village in New Lothrop became a football giant New Lothrop, a Hazelton Township village of about 600, has won three Michigan high school football state titles — 2006, 2018, and 2020 — against schools many times its size.
How a blue-collar Ferndale became metro Detroit's gayborhood Affirmations anchors West Nine Mile Road in Ferndale, where a longtime LGBTQ community helped pass a 2006 rights ordinance and elect Craig Covey mayor in 2007.
How a citizens' committee put a university in an Allendale cornfield Grand Valley State began in 1960 with a businessman's volunteer committee, opened in 1963 with 226 students on an 876-acre Allendale site by the Grand River.
How a Michigan farm town ended up named Yale Yale started life as Brockway Centre on Mill Creek; in 1889 the town traded that name for the prestige of an Ivy League college it had no connection to whatsoever.
How a sporting-goods store remade the village of Dundee When Cabela's opened a 225,000-square-foot outdoor store off US-23 in Dundee in 2000, the small village turned into one of Michigan's busiest tourist stops almost overnight.
How Allendale ended up named for Ethan Allen's daughter-in-law Allendale Township was named for Agnes Allen, whose late husband was a son of Ethan Allen, after a state senator replaced the settlers' proposed name, Malta.
How Caro's state hospital changed over a century Opened in 1914 as the Caro Farm Colony for Epileptics, the campus was Michigan's only state residential center for people with seizure disorders until 1997. A new psychiatric hospital opened there in 2023.
How Davisville became Croswell The Black River settlement that became Croswell was first called Davisville, then renamed in 1877 for Charles Croswell — the man who happened to be Michigan's governor at the time.
How Escanaba got its own movie Jeff Daniels set his deer-camp comedy 'Escanaba in da Moonlight' here, then filmed it in town in 2001 after raising the money from Michigan investors when Hollywood passed.
How Fowler's church got a name nobody could fight over When Fowler's German and Irish Catholics each wanted their own national saint on the church, the parish settled the argument in 1881 by naming it for the Holy Trinity instead.
How Hopkins got its name out of a hat Local history says nine settlers put possible township names into a hat, and the winning slip honored Oziel Hopkins Round, a child who had died young.
How Ludington's leftover brine became an industry A lumber company drilling for salt struck brine under Ludington in 1885, and the salty water beneath Mason County outlasted the pines — feeding Morton Salt and, later, a Dow chemical plant.
How Macomb Township went from farms to 90,000 people German farmers settled Macomb Township for its flat, fertile soil in the 1830s; two centuries later it filled with subdivisions to become one of Michigan's fastest-growing places, topping 90,000 residents.
How Mikado got a Gilbert and Sullivan name Founder Daniel Bruce proposed Bruce's Crossing, but postal officials chose Mikado, the name of a popular Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.
How Sandusky stole the county seat — and lost two courthouses Sandusky won the Sanilac County seat from Lexington by sitting dead-center on the map; its first courthouse burned in 1915, and a red-brick replacement still stands.
How six townships became the Isabella Reservation Treaties signed in 1855 and 1864 set aside six Isabella County townships as a homeland for the Saginaw Chippewa, the reservation that still defines much of the county today.
How Tawas got its name: a chief, a bay, and a slip of the pen Tawas City takes its name from Chief O-ta-was, a Chippewa leader who camped on the bay — a name that early mapmakers reshaped by adding a letter, then dropping another.
How tiny Ellsworth became a fine-dining destination Wes Westhoven turned a 1972 Ellsworth restaurant into a French-country pioneer with a legendary wine cellar, putting a village of a few hundred people on national gourmet maps.
How Uncle John's Cider Mill got its name The St. Johns cider mill on US-127 has pressed cider since the 1970s on a Beck family farm, and its name grew out of the question helpers kept asking founder John Beck.
Howell's downtown won a national Main Street award Downtown Howell, anchored by its 1890 courthouse, won a national Great American Main Street Award in 2018 and topped a USA Today readers' poll for best main street in 2024.
Hoyt Library: a New York lumber baron's $100,000 dare Jesse Hoyt left East Saginaw $100,000 for a library in 1882 — and deliberately too little, so the town would have to chip in to keep it alive.

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