Spring Arbor in Jackson County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

1835 Spring Arbor Village Plot

— Falling Waters Park —

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 26, 2022

1. 1835 Spring Arbor Village Plot Marker

Inscription. Village Contains 128 Lots
30 Acres On South Side
210 Acres On North Side.
Excluding Village Lots.
Were Donated For Two Colleges
Methodist Episcopal 1835
Free Will Baptist-1844

First Lots Sold
James Taylor Lots 6 & 12 (5-29-1835)
Located In Field To Right
Thomas Wiley Lots 9, 10, 11
William R. Thompson Lots 3 & 4

Land for Falling Waters Park donated by its neighbors, George and Faith Kline - August 31, 1992

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Parks & Recreational Areas • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is August 31, 1992.

Location. 42° 11.352′ N, 84° 34.539′ W. Marker is in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in Jackson County. It is on Hammond Road west of Cross Road, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 8770 Hammond Rd, Spring Arbor MI 49283, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Mid-Michigan.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically,

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it finds itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Native Herb Garden (a few steps from this marker); Letter From Mrs Matilda of Albion... March, 1914 (within shouting distance of this marker); 70th Year of Pearl Harbor Day (within shouting distance of this marker); Methodist Episcopal College (within shouting distance of this marker); No They Are Not Here (within shouting distance of this marker); 1835 Spring Arbor Village (within shouting distance of this marker); Potowatomi Burial Site (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Huron Potawatomi Village / Spring Arbor (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Spring Arbor.

Additional commentary.
1. Letter from Mrs. Matilda Mann of Albion... March, 1914
(posted on the cabin shown in photo No. 3, to the left of the door.

I am thinking of old Spring Arbor and when we first came to Michigan in 1831. I do not remember the exact date that we left Allen, Allegheny County, New York, but we reached Detroit the last day of May or first of June and lived near

Marker at Entrance to Falling Waters Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 9, 2024

2. Marker at Entrance to Falling Waters Park

Fort Dearborn until the last of July. Then with ox team we started for Jacksonburg, Michigan.

We had to ford every stream until we reached Grass Lake. In Jackson the team got mired in the mud where the Hibbard hotel used to stand (Ostego).

I have heard our folks tell there were 16 of us, old and young, who came and we wintered in the shanty which stood at the head of Spring Brook (River) and the spring came out of the ground by the door.

Our shanty or house was made of split logs and then hewed off until smooth. It was 11' wide, 22" long, 6" and 4" high on the back side and 10 high in front. It had one door made of split logs hewed off and hung with wooden hinges. It had no chimny but flat stones set up and no hearth but flat stones layed down and all the light came through a hole cut in the roof where the smoke went out. But I tell you everyone had enough to eat if they could only kill and cook. The forests were full of honey, wild fruits, nuts and game. The streams were full of fish and the woods full of Indians, but they were the peaceful kind and no one even got a black eye by coming in contact with them.

I think, also, of the

A Cabin in Falling Waters Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 9, 2024

3. A Cabin in Falling Waters Park

four old Indian chiefs who lived neighbor to us when we came to Spring Arbor in Aug, 1831. Wappageek, Jim Sundown, Big Kettle, Leather Nose were their names. The hut where these old chiefs lived was built on the east side of the road where the land comes down to the marsh; not the road that goes west by the station, but the road that comes down by the Tefft place and is called the Spring Arbor Road to Grandfather Worth’s place. The hut was built close by the marsh and I have been in it with father and sat on old Wappageek’s lap.

— Submitted September 17, 2024, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 17, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 18, 2022, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 326 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 18, 2022, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. 2, 3. submitted on September 17, 2024, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.