Ten Forgotten Clinton County Towns That Practically Vanished
Every Michigan county has a good number of ghost towns, forgotten towns, towns that vanished, and towns that never got a chance to grow at all. I have selected ten of them that were, at one time, in Clinton County.
Many of them even showed up on old maps in the 1800s, but not in the 2000s. These include the communities of Bengal, Duplain, Essex, Geary, Lyons Mills, Olive, Riley, River Bend, South Riley, and Union Home. Many of Michigan's little countryside intersections were, at one time, little stops and villages. Taking a drive down these back roads, we've all come across them but never realized these were once hopeful communities.
The reasons why many Michigan locations failed include railroads shutting down, post offices closing, and timber being depleted, thanks to the lumber boom of the 1800s.
Some of these locations are not even known to some Clinton County lifetimers, so the information and locations of these forgotten burgs may be of interest. Many of them started out as postal stations or railroad stops...and from there, they failed to grow. However, many of them did prosper, like St. Johns, Dewitt, Bath, Fowler, Ovid, Elsie, Westphalia, and Wacousta.
There are plenty of Michiganders who would love to take a Michigan roadtrip throughout our state, but many don't have the time, the travel, or even enough cash to do so. This is a good alternative for those in Clinton County. This is a roadtrip that can be done in a day at low cost.
Now take a look at the ten I have selected with some brief info and photos, along with some of the other more well-known towns of Clinton County.
Ten Forgotten Clinton County Towns That Practically Vanished
Now that you've experienced ten of Clinton County's forgotten towns, check out some histories of some major Clinton County communities:
BATH
BATH 2
BATH 3
DEWITT
ELSIE
EUREKA
MAPLE RAPIDS
OVID
SHEPHARDSVILLE
ST. JOHNS
WACOUSTA
WESTPHALIA
And check out more about Victor here.
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