Michigan Once Had Three Separate Villages Named ‘Jersey’

Once upon a time there were three communities in Michigan that had the name ‘Jersey’...now they are all gone.

1) The first ‘Jersey’ to pop up was in Oakland County’s Orion Township. A good number of settlers came here in the 1830s, most of them from New Jersey. The settlement, known as simply ‘Jersey’, received its first – and only - post office in July 1847. With Oakland County continuing to grow, Jersey kinda got swallowed up and forgotten; by 1887 they had enough. The post office closed that August and the town disappeared for good.

2) The second ‘Jersey’ extended the name to ‘Jersey City’ and showed up in St. Joseph County in 1874. There is barely any record of this little hamlet, with no atlases showing its whereabouts. It seems to have been almost erased from history.

3) The third ‘Jersey’ lasted the longest of the three: ‘Jerseyville’ in Isabella County became official when a post office began operating in 1892. Jerseyville had a church, school, blacksmith, and general store. They are all gone. The post office shut down after 14 years, closing in 1906. Now the junction that housed Jerseyville sits empty.

Scroll down to see a gallery of photos and old atlases.