Early Hillsdale County, MI

Anxious to settle the "western" region of the United States, in 1827 the federal government opened the southern part of the Territory of Michigan. By the early 1830s this area saw a land rush to settle the most valuable land and to found towns. Establishing a prosperous village was a matter of location, location, location: Its proximity to transportation networks would assure easy access for goods and people, rivers would provide water power for mills and if it was located in the middle of the county it would be more likely to become the county seat, drawing official business, commercial businesses and consumers.  Seeing the possibility for a successful town with all those qualities, Jeremiah Arnold, Salem King and  Alanson Budlong, with financial backing from Hiram Greenman, purchased land near the current Fairgrounds. However, Budlong failed in his responsibility to plat the area and their efforts came to nothing. 

Carol A. Lackey