Archaeological evidence indicates men lived in this area before the time of Christ. Chippewa Indians settled here sometime before 1790. Their village was called Kechewandaugoning, which is said to mean "Big Salt Lick." This was the birthplace of . . . — — Map (db m145955) HM
Samuel W. Dexter, of Dexter, Michigan, made the first purchase of land here in July 1824. Four men known as the Byron Company bought this land in 1836 and platted the village the next year. Named after the British poet Lord Byron, in the 1840s the . . . — — Map (db m178250) HM
Byron Cemetery originated with the 1837 interment of Theodore H. Provost, the son of one of Byron’s founders. According to local historians, Chippewa lived on this site until it became a cemetery. Byron Cemetery contains some sixteen hundred . . . — — Map (db m178328) HM
Ellen May Tower The daughter of Civil War Captain Samuel and Sarah Tower, Ellen May Tower was born May 8, 1868, in Byron. She attended Chaffee School, the Byron Village School, and a nurse’s training program at Detroit’s Grace Hospital. She . . . — — Map (db m178270) HM
This c.1900 replica building was constructed by village volunteers on site in 2011.
Materials from more than a dozen original area structures were reused. — — Map (db m216473) HM
Corunna Public Schools
The Corunna School District was organized in 1842. Later that year a one-story frame schoolhouse was constructed. A teacher, Miss Cook, was hired in 1843 and received the "unprecedented salary of $2.50 per week" and . . . — — Map (db m119410) HM
Erected
in honor
of the men and
women of Corunna
and vicinity who
served in
World War II
In Memoriam
Wendell A. Bush •
William G. Ellis •
Marvin O. Elkins •
Paul C. Euvrard •
Robert H. Noonan •
Francis G. Pennell •
John R. . . . — — Map (db m216639) WM
This structure was built as a bank in 1903. It replaced an earlier three-story brick building that was destroyed by fire in December 1902. The present building was designed by architect Clare Allen of Jackson and built by Burnett and Baldwin of . . . — — Map (db m119343) HM
Andrew Parsons was born in Hoosick, New York, in 1817. In 1836, he settled in Shiawassee County and at the age of nineteen was elected the first county clerk. After holding a number of county and state offices, Parsons in 1852 became a regent of the . . . — — Map (db m119290) HM
Hugh McCurdy
Hugh McCurdy (1829-1908), a native of Scotland, immigrated with his parents to Birmingham, Michigan, in 1837. He first worked as a cooper's apprentice, and after reading the law was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1854 and . . . — — Map (db m119364) HM
Known more recently as Juddville, Judd’s Corners was first settled in 1853 when Connecticut native John Judd purchased 400 acres of land encompassing this area from the Hazelton brothers, who owned much of the township. A log school was erected in . . . — — Map (db m180637) HM
In memory of
the
Union soldiers
& Marines
Erected by
W.R.C. No. 133
Dedicated Memorial Day, May 30, 1916 to the memory of
the Grand Army of the Republic
and those from Shiawassee County, Michigan
who served, fought, and died to . . . — — Map (db m198376) WM
Territorial Governor Lewis Cass established Shiawassee County in 1822, but as there were few white settlers in the area, its government was not organized until 1837. Two years later, the county commissioners designated this site in the village of . . . — — Map (db m119307) HM
In recognition of those from Shiawassee
County who gave their lives during the
Korean War
Cpl Daniel E. Beardless USA •
Pfc Robert K. Derby USMC •
Msgt James H. Elliott USA •
Sgt Hazen C. Hendrick USA •
Pvt Walter J. Levitski USA • . . . — — Map (db m221727) WM
Dedicated to Vietnam Veterans
of Shiawassee County,
especially the following
who died on the fields of fire:
Dwight Ade •
Russell Bannister •
Wesley Beaver •
Ralph Crutts •
Arnel Davis Jr. •
Barry Grulke •
Lamonte Horsley • . . . — — Map (db m221725) WM
Durand Railroad History
Durand's first settlers began farming here in 1837. Its first railroad, the Detroit and Milwaukee, arrived in 1856, thirty-one years before the village of Durand was officially organized. The settlement became a . . . — — Map (db m119234) HM
Side 1
The Detroit and Milwaukee Railway brought Durand its first rail service in 1856. In 1877 the Chicago & North Eastern Railroad reached the town, and in 1885 the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan (later the Ann Arbor Railroad) added . . . — — Map (db m119232) HM
This clock was built in the early 1950's by John Sandula at the age of 76. John Sandula copied the clock housing and works from his memory of a 156 year old Hungarian Cathedral Clock. It only differs from it's European counterpart by the figures . . . — — Map (db m119378) HM
In 1870 Father Joseph Kraemer became pastor of a Catholic mission at Corunna that included all of Shiawassee County. In 1874 he assisted Antrim Township Irish Catholics in purchasing the Alling Schoolhouse, which he dedicated as a church. Father . . . — — Map (db m174767) HM
In February 1889 the Methodist Episcopal Church of New Lothrop was organized. Later that year the present sanctuary and belfry were built of timber cut from local farms. A 700-pound bell was donated by the H. P. Niles G.A.R. post in 1891 in honor of . . . — — Map (db m180638) HM
Born here, above his grandfather's general store, on March 24, 1902, Thomas Dewey is known as one of Owosso's most famous sons. After attending the University of Michigan and Columbia University, he began a long and distinguished legal career. . . . — — Map (db m119418) HM
Elias Comstock was the first pioneer to erect a permanent residence in Owosso. He moved here in 1836. Comstock was a merchant, school teacher, justice of the peace, township supervisor, judge and county clerk. This one-room structure was built for . . . — — Map (db m119456) HM
In tribute to his many books, stories, magazine articles, films, and his work with conservation, this site is dedicated a Literary Landmark by Friends of Libraries U.S.A. — — Map (db m119443) HM
James Oliver Curwood was born in Owosso on June 12, 1878, and lived here most of his life. Writing and love of nature were his boyhood interests, and by 1908 Curwood was earning his living as a novelist. Most of his stories were adventure tales set . . . — — Map (db m119444) HM
In 1840 thirteen people founded a Presbyterian congregation on the principles of opposition to slavery and "total abstinence from all intoxicating liquors as a beverage." It was the first church established in Owosso. In 1853 the congregation . . . — — Map (db m119496) HM
Herman C. Frieseke House
Herman Frieseke built this house in 1872. The bricks used were from the tile and brick factory that he and his brother, Julius, had opened in 1865 beside the tracks of the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee . . . — — Map (db m119492) HM
Homesite of Doctor John B. Barnes and wife Sophronia Barnes who located in Owosso in 1842.
Honored especially for landscaping and planting our beautiful shade trees. — — Map (db m119534) HM
This log house was built by Judge Elias Comstock
May 1836
Purchased by the D.A.R. and given to the city of Owosso for its perpetuation July 29, 1920
Here six Baptists formed the first church organization in Owosso — January . . . — — Map (db m119532) HM
In 1837 four couples came to this area, known as Maple River, from Oakland County to claim their newly purchased acreage. They were soon followed by a dozen families. These pioneer farmers chose this vicinity because the very fertile land was well . . . — — Map (db m119306) HM
The Steam Railroading Institute is a museum dedicated to educating the public about steam-era railroad technology. This museum is the home of the locomotive used to create the images and sound for the movie " The Polar Express" the Pere Marquette . . . — — Map (db m119406) HM
This boulder marks the site of the first house in Owosso. Built by John D. Overton and David VanWormer. 1835
Mrs. Mary E. Overton Shout, of Corunna, was a baby, living here then. Her brother Nathaniel B. Overton, son of John D. and Mary Ann . . . — — Map (db m119441) HM WM
[Panel 1]
In 1833, Owosso's founding fathers overlooked this river and envisioned a beautiful city on its banks. Thousands of years before, the river course was formed as the last glaciers retreaed north. The Chippewas named it . . . — — Map (db m184664) HM
Position of this monument:
Latitude: N42 48' 42.63"
Longitude: W84 18' 25.41"
Elevation: 885.8 ft.
Established in 2003 by:
Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors
Michigan Department of Transportation
National Geodetic . . . — — Map (db m65123) HM
Woodhull Township Hall. Woodhull Township was organized in 1838 and named for brothers John and Josephus Woodhull, who had begun purchasing land in this area in 1837. In 1895 the township built a hall northeast of here. By the 1960s, the . . . — — Map (db m174766) HM
