Indian Dave was one of the last Chippewas to hunt, fish and trap in the old manner in the Tuscola County area. Dave was born around 1803 and given the name Ish-Don-Quit. According to legend, in 1819 he attended the gathering at the Saginaw River . . . — — Map (db m161021) HM
This two-story Italianate commercial building was erected in 1879. One of the first brick buildings on Caro's main street, the structure was built by businessman and philanthropist Charles Montague as a bank and general store. When the building was . . . — — Map (db m101622) HM
This captivating piece, painted by artist Kevin Burdick in 2024, honors two pivotal figures in Caro's history-Peter Bush and Ashdonquit-set against the serene backdrop of the Cass River. Their daring journey and unwavering determination played a . . . — — Map (db m307824) HM
On this site at the Hotel Montague, the first meeting of the Caro Rotary Club was held on October 9, 1925. Twenty businessmen gathered for the charter meeting of the Caro Rotary Club.
Rotary is an international organization that spans the . . . — — Map (db m101623) HM
Twelve persons organized the First Presbyterian Church of Caro in December 1878. The Reverend Edward P. Clark, the Presbyterian minister at Vassar, conducted the organizational meeting with the assistance of the Reverend R.P. Shaw of Bedford, . . . — — Map (db m101632) HM
The beet sugar industry in Michigan began growing rapidly in the late nineteenth century. The declining lumber industry had cleared thousands of acres of land suitable for the cultivation of sugar beets. In 1897 farmers were encouraged further to . . . — — Map (db m101628) HM
This skillfully designed board and batten Gothic Revival church, first served local Episcopalians in 1880. The congregation had been formed in 1871, the year the town was incorporated. During the 1870s Caro grew to be a major commerce center for the . . . — — Map (db m101616) HM
The Tuscola County Advertiser began publishing on August 21, 1868. The city's oldest surviving business establishment, it was founded by Henry G. Chapin, a native of Conesus, New York. Chapin edited and published the paper for twelve years. . . . — — Map (db m101614) HM
Peter DeWitt Bush (1818-1913), the second permanent resident of the village of Caro, donated this site for the county courthouse square in 1866. Then he, along with two other pioneer settlers, moved an old frame church to the site to serve as the . . . — — Map (db m101635) HM
On March 11, 1882, thirty-three years after the nation's first state fair was held in Detroit, the Tuscola County Fair was organized as the Caro District Agricultural Association. On September 19-22, 1882, the fair hosted its first agricultural, . . . — — Map (db m160824) HM
Dedicated to the men and women of Tuscola County who answered their country's call and served in the armed forces of the United States in war and peace. Patriots all. — — Map (db m255035) WM
This tree, as a yearling transplant, was grown by the staff at Michigan State University. It was planted in 1955 by the Tuscola County Extension Service to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Michigan State University. — — Map (db m255034) HM
World War I
Auslander, Floyd Gillies, Russell Hutchinson, Benoni Lowe, George McConnell, Ira McRae, Donald Patterson, Lester Perkins, Ernest Seeger, Arthur Spencer, George Leo
World War II
Anker, Dean - MIA . . . — — Map (db m255047) WM
This hall was built in 1881 as the center of government activity for Elkland Township. Erected at a cost of $2,600, it was the first brick structure in Cass City. Local timber and brick supplied by the Depews Brick Kilns were used throughout the . . . — — Map (db m160945) HM
Three people gathered in June 1877 to form the First Presbyterian Society of Cass City. The congregation soon called its first pastor, the Reverend John Kelland, who led fundraising efforts to build a permanent home for the society. By the fall of . . . — — Map (db m160948) HM
In honor
of
Horatio S. Earle
First
State Highway Commissioner
of
Michigan
1905 - 1909
Erected at Westerly End
of State Reward Gravel Road
No. 1 - Built 1905 — — Map (db m255048) HM
This memorial is placed by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3644 and American Legion Post 7, Partner of The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration to honor the service and sacrifice of Cass City Veterans, their families, and the community . . . — — Map (db m255036) WM
The state highway system began with the State Reward Road program, created by the Michigan Legislature in 1905. The program provided "rewards" to local governments for road improvements made according to state standards. Horatio "Good Roads" Earle, . . . — — Map (db m160949) HM
In 1887 a camp meeting led by the Reverend David Arnold resulted in the establishment of the Gilford United Brethren in Christ Church. Henry Shannon and John Cragg had invited Arnold to preach to area settlers. In 1889 Charles and Naomi Phipps . . . — — Map (db m163346) HM
Years ago, the blacksmith was an essential person in the community because they made and fit horseshoes. A blacksmith works with metal, heats it up and bends it to whatever shape is needed. This 24 ft. x 24 ft. building was constructed in 2010 and . . . — — Map (db m181153) HM
The Cider Mill was a traditional sight in many Midwestern and Northeastern US farm neighborhoods. Apple trees are quite common in parts of our country partly due to John Chapman (1774-1845), also known as Johnny Appleseed.
Apples have many . . . — — Map (db m181149) HM
Side 1
Brothers Joseph and James Gage immigrated from Canada in 1860. Joseph filed a homestead claim in Elmwood Township. In 1869, Joseph built a store and mill on his land. Two years later, he platted the village of Gagetown where five . . . — — Map (db m160954) HM
The garage is one of the original structures on the site. It was built in 1919 while the house was still under construction. This building typifies the ornate detail for which builders John and George Munro were known.
All of the framing . . . — — Map (db m181131) HM
Beginning in the mid to late 19th century, farmers were able to produce grain crops that exceeded the needs of their families and industries were creating a demand for the excess crops. The first facilities for receiving and storing grain were flat . . . — — Map (db m181147) HM
In 1919 James & Cora Purdy hired local builders, John and George Munro, of Gagetown, MI to begin building this Arts and Crafts style home. This home features 15 rooms including three full bathrooms (which was very uncommon in rural Michigan . . . — — Map (db m181128) HM
The original owner of this farmstead, James L. Purdy, was on a trip to Iowa when he saw an octagonal barn and was determined to have one of his own. When he returned to Gagetown, he hired the Munro Bothers, local builders who had previously built . . . — — Map (db m181133) HM
This one room country school was built in 1898 and called the Mast School; named after John and Mary Mast on whose property it was built on Gettel Road in Sebewaing, Michigan. It functioned as a one room country school until Christmas of 1947 . . . — — Map (db m181144) HM
In 1895, James Purdy started to acquire acreage along the east side of Richie Road. By 1918, he had acquired 560 acres, which was mostly swampland including all of Mud Lake just a half-mile northeast of this Barn Site. His goal was to build a . . . — — Map (db m181139) HM
The sawmill building was built in the winter of 2007-2008. It is a 48 ft x 100 ft structure designed to house a Russell & Co. circular sawmill made in Massillon, Ohio, in the early 1900's. It also houses a four head planer made by Witherby Rug & . . . — — Map (db m181169) HM
The sugar shack was a traditional sight on many Midwestern and Northeast U.S. farms. Here, sap from sugar maple trees tapped nearby was boiled down to make maple syrup, a craft settlers learned from Native Americans in the area. In the early days . . . — — Map (db m181157) HM
Millington Bank Building Built in 1898 Michigan Historical Center, Michigan Department of State Registered Local Site No. 1971
Property of the State of Michigan, 1996 — — Map (db m128200) HM
In 1856 Millingtons first school, a log building, was erected. Between 1866 and 1867 the number of school-age children doubled, and a frame school was built on land obtained from David Lane, owner of the towns first sawmill. In 1884 Millington . . . — — Map (db m179787) HM
In 1849 Pastor Ferdinand Sievers of Bay County purchased over fifteen hundred acres of virgin forest here in Tuscola County to establish a colony of immigrants from revolution-torn Germany. A year later two families under the leadership of Pastor . . . — — Map (db m101567) HM
One of four Bavarian settlements in the Saginaw Valley was founded here in June 1850, with the arrival of two families and a pastor. Frankenhilf, which means "Help of the Franconians" remained the community name until it later was changed to . . . — — Map (db m101570) HM
Here on the Cass River, March 1, 1849, four men led by Townsend North and James M. Edmunds found a suitable place to build a dam and start a town, which was named for Edmunds uncle, Matthew Vassar, later the founder of Vassar College, New York. The . . . — — Map (db m163487) HM
War of 1812
Al Levi Rogers A2 Asa Stoddard
Civil War
1 David M. Black 2 Daniel Butrick 3 Jeremiah Fox 4 Lyman Goff 5 William H. Hamilton 6 Edward Hardy 7 Phillip H. Honsinger 8 Walter Honsinger** 9 Walter D. Hyde . . . — — Map (db m255031) WM
In 1851, Patrick McGlone (1810-1884) settled near here. Later, he built a one-story building that he named "Juniata House" where he provided lodging and food for travelers, as well as "good Barns" stocked "with hay and grain." His family served . . . — — Map (db m101577) HM
Aaron Watrous and his crew of loggers came here in 1852 to cut the virgin pine of the Cass River Valley. In 1860 he platted the town, naming it Watrousville, and a few years later constructed this building as a general store. The flagpole in front . . . — — Map (db m101582) HM
Circuit riders, who traveled through local villages, served the Watrousville United Methodist Church when it was established in 1856. The congregation became known as the Wastrousville Charge in 1861. In 1865 the first trustees of the congregation . . . — — Map (db m101578) HM
