Early Settlers

Early Settlers. Where The Rivers Meet. , The earliest settlers came to Lowell from eastern states. Forty four relatives of local fur trader Rix Robinson were the first to arrive in the Grand River Valley in the spring of 1835. Some of them settled along the Flat River. Other settlers began arriving in the area after 1836 when the area was opened to settlement. The Odawa retained the right to live, hunt and fish upon unsold property until 1857., In addition to clearing land and building their first homes, the early settlers began to build community structures. The first school was built by the Robinsons in 1838. Settlers' children as well as native Odawa attended. Cyprian Hooker built the first frame house in 1846. It stood on Main Street where the Flat River Grill now stands. Hooker also built the first dam, first grist mill and first bridge over the Flat River. In 1851, he built the red schoolhouse where the Methodist Church is today. It was used as both a school and a church. The Baptist, Congregational, and Methodist churches were organized as early as 1854. The Baptist church was built in 1959, Congregational in 1861, Methodist in 1868, and St. Mary's in 1879., Timeline , 1835 , First settlers, the Robinson families arrive , 1836 , Treaty of Washington opens land north of Grand River to settlement , 1835-1837 , Smallpox epidemic wipes out one third of Odawa and settler populations , 1838 , 1st school built; first Steam boat John Almy reaches Lowell; Depression slows settlement , 1840 , Log Cabin Bill gives squatters the right to purchase land , 1844 , First bridge in Lowell built over the Flat River , 1846-1847 , Cyprian Hooker built first frame house (site of Flat River Grill) and first grist mill across the street , 1848 , Lowell Township established , 1855 , Name of town changed from Dansville to Lowell , 1858 , Railroad arrived in town, Rodney and Mary Robinson were among the first settlers of the Lowell area. The Robinson families built a structure to be used as a warehouse for Rix Robinson’s trading post as soon as they arrived. Their children played and went to school with the local Odawa children., Timothy and Roxinda White came from Vermont in 1837 and settled 5 miles southeast of Lowell. White cleared two acres of land and planted wheat and an orchard. They built a one room house and frequently housed travelers. They later operated White's Tavern on Main Street. This tavern was the location of the first Township Meeting in 1848. Roxinda thought this area was like Lowell, Massachusetts, because of its water power potential, so she suggested the name "Lowell” at the first meeting. It was voted to name our township ‘Lowell’., Log cabins, like the Bela Kerekes cabin shown here, were often built until settlers could build a frame house., The Kopf house, built in 1857 still stands at 13515 Grand River Drive. John and Mary Jane Kopf purchased 12 acres of land from Daniel Marsac and built a chair and furniture factory which operated from 1867 – 1895., Flat River Settlement – Dansville – Lowell , The earliest maps show the community of Lowell labeled as the "Flat River” settlement. Daniel Marsace owned 80 acres of land on the east side as Dansville. In 1848 the Township and Post Office were named Lowell. The west side of town was platted in 1854 as Lowell. In 1855, Danville’s name was changed to Lowell as well.