The Michigan Town of Hersey is Historic For a Good Reason

The hamlet of Hersey can be found in Hersey Township within Osceola County. It began as a railway stop in the mid-late 1800's along the Flint & Pere Marquette railroad and became a lumber town as well. The abundance of timber and the determination of Hersey lumbermen soon made Hersey one of Michigan's major suppliers of wood products. In fact, a writing from 1872 states, "The weather has been intensely cold for the past week and the sleighing is splendid. The loggers all seem to be in the best of spirits, and claim they never before had so many logs in the river at this time of the year".

What was the historic event the town was a part of?
Hersey's lumber output was so great that they were called upon to help furnish supplies to rebuild Chicago, who was recuperating from the Great Fire of October 1871!

During Hersey's lumber heyday, the town had a bank, blacksmith, churches, county court house, depot, general store, handle manufacturer, hoop manufacturer, hotel, jail, livery stable, lumber yard, saloon, sawmills, schoolhouse, shingle mills, various other shops, and a warehouse.

Even though the depletion of timber and the shutting down of railroads hurt hundreds of other Michigan lumber villages, Hersey persevered and is a quiet, thriving small town to this day. Now that you know about it, make sure you take a drive-thru during your next Michigan roadtrip!

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