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History & Culture

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History & Culture notes

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Northville: the 'north village' that finally broke away from Plymouth Northville got its plain name from being the north end of Plymouth Township, and after decades of sharing a government it voted to split off and form its own township in 1898.
Nunica means the clay the Odawa made pots from The Crockery Township village of Nunica takes its name from an Ottawa word for the potter's clay found in the area — the very same clay that gave Crockery Creek and the township their name.
Oak Grove: the mill village whose post office supplied the name An 1846 grist mill and dam drew a store and village in Cohoctah Township; settlers called it Chemungville, while its post office used Oak Grove.
Ogemaw Springs: the town that lost the county seat by one vote Ogemaw Springs was an early lumber settlement and nearly the county seat, losing to West Branch by one vote. Its old spring still flows along Maes Road.
Ogemaw: a county named for a chief who spoke up to Lewis Cass Ogemaw County takes its name from the Anishinaabe word for chief, by way of Ogemaw-ge-gato, a Chippewa orator who argued against ceding Michigan land to territorial governor Lewis Cass.
Old Settlers: Black history still gathered at School Section Lake The annual Old Settlers Reunion at School Section Lake carries forward the history of Black families who settled in Mecosta and nearby counties.
Omer's old courthouse: built fast after a fire, lost the county seat, sold to the Masons for $500 Omer rebuilt its courthouse in 1890 right after the first one burned, then lost the county seat to Standish a year later — so the empty building went to the Masons for $500 and still stands.
Oshtemo means 'head waters' — and there's a creek to prove it Oshtemo Township carries a Potawatomi word meaning head waters, a fitting name for the high ground where Arcadia Creek begins before flowing east into downtown Kalamazoo.
Otisville grew around an 1851 sawmill An 1851 sawmill started Otisville's lumber-era growth. Francis Otis and his brothers bought the operation the next year, and the village took Francis's name.
Ottawa County restored the poor-farm cemetery at Eastmanville The historic cemetery at Ottawa County's former poor farm was restored with new markers, a path, and a fence, then rededicated in July 2010.
Otter Lake got its name from one bad day for the otters On September 29, 1838, a hunter named Andrew McArthur spotted five otters swimming in a Lapeer County lake, shot one, and the name stuck — to the lake and later the village built beside it.
Overisel, Michigan: a Dutch province dropped into Allegan County Twelve Dutch families settled Overisel in 1848 and named it for the province of Overijssel back home; the tight farming community still centers on two Reformed churches.
Ovid, Michigan, is named for a Roman poet — by way of New York A settler named the Clinton County village of Ovid after his old hometown in New York, which itself borrowed the name of the ancient Roman poet during a classical-naming craze.
Owendale: two cousins, a drowned swamp, and a stand of oak Owendale began when two Saginaw cousins named Owen bought land in a place called the Columbia Swamp and built a sawmill to cut the oak growing in it.
Owosso's casket works reached 150 a day Woodard's history dates production of 150 caskets a day to the 1918-19 flu pandemic. A City of Owosso study calls the company the world's largest casket maker throughout the 1920s.
Ox-Bow: the art colony on a bend of the Kalamazoo River Since 1910, painters from the Art Institute of Chicago have spent summers at Ox-Bow, a rustic art school tucked on the dunes and lagoon behind Saugatuck.
Oxford once called itself the Gravel Capital of the World A glacier left a thick vein of gravel under Oxford, and for decades the village mined and shipped it by the trainload — billing itself the Gravel Capital of the World.
Paw Paw's name runs from fruit to river to village The village traces its name to the Paw Paw River, which local history says Indigenous people named for the native pawpaw fruit.
Pine Run was the settlement the railroad left behind Pine Run was Vienna Township's early center. After a proposed railroad line did not go through, growth shifted north to the settlement that became Clio.
Plainwell Ice Cream: 40,000 gallons a year from one corner shop On the corner of Bridge and Broad in Plainwell, three generations of the Gaylord family have churned out small-batch ice cream since 1978 — now 53 flavors and 40,000 gallons a year.
Plymouth's single-screen movie house opened three days before Pearl Harbor The Penn Theatre in downtown Plymouth opened in December 1941, still runs as a 402-seat single-screen cinema, and is owned and operated today by a community nonprofit.
Pompeii, Michigan, and the 'i' that took 40 years The Gratiot County village of Pompeii was settled in 1854 and spelled 'Pompei' for decades — until someone finally noticed the Italian original had a second 'i.'
Pontiac's car museum, in the city that gave GM its wide-track swagger A museum that opened in 2024 inside a former Pontiac school gathers the cars, carriages, and GMC trucks of a city that built vehicles for over a century — and named a street Wide Track.
Port Huron's ice museum, back when winter was the warehouse A downtown Port Huron museum gathered more than 10,000 saws, tongs, picks, and wagons from the lost trade of cutting lake ice in winter and selling it all summer.
Port Sheldon: the boomtown that was supposed to rival Chicago In 1835 Eastern investors poured a fortune into Port Sheldon, building a grand hotel and a lighthouse to rival Chicago — and within a decade it was a ghost town.
Potter Street Station: Saginaw's 1882 railroad gateway Built in 1881-82 and opened in July 1882, Bradford L. Gilbert's 285-foot depot served as Saginaw's primary passenger station for more than 80 years.
Powers began as a Menominee Range railroad junction Powers grew where the Chicago & North Western main line met the branch toward the Menominee iron range.
Rapid City spent six years deciding what to call itself The little Clearwater Township settlement was Van Buren, then Vanburen, before residents in 1898 insisted on naming it for the river running through it.
Reading's short-lived buffalo tannery Reading's city history says its 1877 buffalo tannery grew to about 200 workers and became the world's largest. The county historical society uses the more cautious phrase 'one of the largest.'
Rockford was Laphamville first — and got its new name from a rocky ford in the river Rockford began as Laphamville, named for sawmill owner Smith Lapham; when the railroad came through in the 1860s the town was renamed Rockford for the rocky ford below the dam.
Romeo's hundred old houses, saved almost by accident The village of Romeo holds roughly 100 well-preserved historic buildings in nearly every architectural style from the 1830s to about 1910 — a concentration the state calls outstanding.
Rosebush, the town that couldn't settle on a name The Isabella County village of Rosebush started out as Halfway, then bounced between Calkinsville and Rosebush for years before the name finally stuck in 1903.
Rosedale Gardens: the 1920s neighborhood that came before Livonia was a city Rosedale Gardens, platted in the 1920s with deed restrictions and a village feel, was the first real suburb of farm-country Livonia Township and is now a National Register historic district.
Roseville was named for a postmaster's father, not a flower Roseville takes its name from William Rose, who in 1840 named the local post office after his father Denison Rose, a War of 1812 veteran — and the township was once called Erin.
Roseville's Macomb Mall, walking indoors since 1964 When Macomb Mall opened in Roseville in 1964, it was one of the Detroit area's early enclosed malls — heated, air-conditioned, anchored by Sears, Crowley's, and Kresge.
Rugg Pond: a power dam the county bought for a dollar A 1904 hydroelectric dam on the Rapid River once lit Kalkaska; condemned in 1980, it's now a quiet natural area citizens fought to save.
Saganing Eagles Landing: the tribe's casino on a sliver of restored land The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe opened Saganing Eagles Landing Casino near Standish on its Saganing Reservation in 2007, later adding a hotel and a marina on the bay.
Saline's old Ford plant ran on river water and soybeans On Saline's west edge, an 1845 gristmill became a Ford 'village industry' in 1938, pressing soybeans into oil for paint and plastic car parts.
Scottville got its name on a coin flip Scottville was renamed in the 1880s when two businessmen flipped a coin on a downtown corner; Hiram Scott won the toss and put his own name on the town.
Sears, Michigan, was a railroad's town — and no relation to the catalog The crossroads of Sears, four miles east of Evart, grew up around a Flint & Pere Marquette depot around 1870; first called Orient, it has no tie to the Sears, Roebuck catalog.
Seven Islands: when Grand Ledge had a roller coaster over the river In the late 1800s the islands in the Grand River at Grand Ledge held a hotel, a casino, and one of Michigan's first roller coasters, drawing some 70,000 visitors a season.
Shepherd's name followed the railroad The Isabella County community began with a Salt River post office; the railroad station and post office later took Isaac Shepherd's name.
Sheridan, named for a cavalry general The village of Sheridan honors Union cavalry general Philip Sheridan; it boomed on what was called some of Michigan's richest pine, and once made furniture and spark plugs.
Sherman: the county seat that burned and faded Sherman was Wexford County's first county seat starting in 1869, until an 1880 fire and a railroad that bypassed it left the village to dwindle and finally disincorporate.
Siena Heights, the university the Adrian Dominican Sisters built The Adrian Dominican Sisters founded Siena Heights as a women's college in 1919; after more than a century the university announced it would close in 2026.
Singapore, the lumber boomtown the dunes swallowed A lumber and shipbuilding town once stood at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River near Saugatuck; after the woods were cut for the 1871 fires, blowing sand buried it within a few years.
Six generations on one Pittsfield farm, now a township museum The Sutherland-Wilson Farm on Textile Road stayed in one family from 1832 until 2000; Pittsfield Township now keeps it as a historic farm museum.
South Boardman: four churches, five saloons, then a fire A lumber town of 400 grew up where the railroad crossed the Boardman River's south branch, until a 1923 fire gutted its business district.
South Haven's tall ship fought in the War of 1812 The Michigan Maritime Museum on South Haven's Black River sails a replica sloop, Friends Good Will, whose namesake was captured, recaptured, and named in Oliver Perry's famous victory dispatch.
Southgate: the city that took three tries to be born Southgate broke off from the old Township of Ecorse and incorporated as a city in 1958, after a years-long fight of petitions, a referendum, and a failed first charter.
Sparta's foundry once made millions of piston rings a year The Sparta Foundry, founded in 1921 to cast piston rings for the auto industry, grew into the village's financial anchor and later merged into Muskegon Piston Ring.
Spikehorn's wildlife park at the Harrison crossroads John 'Spikehorn' Meyer ran a roadside wildlife park south of Harrison where visitors were invited to feed, pet, and even 'shake hands' with black bears.
Spring Lake was Mill Point first, named for its 25 sawmills Spring Lake began as Mill Point, a lumber village of some 25 sawmills incorporated in 1849, and took the gentler name Spring Lake in 1869.
Springport was Oyer's Corner first The village of Springport in northern Jackson County grew up around one New York transplant's store, mill, and hotel — and went by his name before it got its own.
St. Clair sits on an ocean of salt A thousand feet under St. Clair lies the brine of an ancient sea, and in 1886 a new pressure process turned it into Diamond Crystal — a salt brand that ran here for over a century.
St. Joseph's two pier lights and the catwalk that kept the keeper alive Two lighthouses on St. Joseph's north pier — a round outer light and a square inner one — are linked to shore by an elevated catwalk built so the keeper could reach them when waves swept the pier.
Standish's stone depot, built from fieldstones farmers hauled by wagon The 1889 Michigan Central depot in Standish was built from fieldstones local farmers carted to the site by wagon, and now serves as the welcome center at the south end of the US-23 Heritage Route.
Stockbridge built a town hall with a stage in it, and it's still standing The 1892 town hall on Stockbridge's village square doubled as a theater and meeting hall, and the gazebo out front copies a bandstand that once sheltered the town pump.
Swartz Creek began as Miller Settlement German pioneer Adam Miller founded Miller Settlement. An 1842 post office took the nearby creek's name, and the community became Swartz Creek.
Sylvan Lake: the little city named for a 'wooded shady lake' Sylvan Lake, one of Michigan's smallest cities by land area, takes its name from a lake an 1818 expedition first called Timber Lake for its fringe of tamaracks.

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