Sherwood, Township (Branch, MI)
Sherwood, Township (Branch, MI)
The first survey of Sherwood Township was started in 1826 after being authorized by an act of the State Legislature. The first surveyor was John Mullett. The survey was not completed, on the account of the Blackhawk War until 1832, and it then included what is now the Township of Union, from which it was separated in 1837. The first settler to Sherwood Township was Alexander Tomlinson in 1833 and he gave it the name Sherwood, after his former home of Sherwood Forest, England.
Before the year 1836-37 had ended, a large number of settlers arrived, most of them came from New York State.
In 1838 the first town meeting was held and the following officers were elected: Clerk – Phinias Lee, Justice of Peace – Joseph Russell and Joseph Minot, Road Commission – Joseph Russell, Joseph Liebhart, and Nahum Sargent.
In 1866 the first Free Methodist Church Society was formed by 26 families. They built a church that year which still stands and is the oldest Free Methodist Church in Michigan.
In 1870 Sherwood was incorporated as a village. It was first called Hazenville, as it was built on 20 acres of land plotted by Frank Hazen. When the railroad was completed in 1870, the Post Office was then called Sherwood. Its first Postmaster was Jared Rorwell, who was followed by James Studley.
Frank Warner built a hotel in 1870, and other stores were built by Jonathan Hare, William Parmer and others. Among the stores built were grocery stores, drug store (Ezra Bostwick’s) and others.
A large saw mill was established by John French. This mill did a large business. They used the St. Joseph River to float logs from as far east as Burlington. This mill continued business for a long time 1870-80, but the depletion of our forests caused it to be discontinued.
A brick schoolhouse was built in 1876. The building is now used by the Masonic Lodge. Here most of the students, until l90s, started school. In 1895 the building was condemned and the school was moved into the college building, which was built in 1880 for a college by M. V. Rork.
The school was graded in 1880 for the first time, in 1890 the twelfth grade was added by James Swain. Its first class was 5 boys and one girl.
In this year, a college was started by F. L. Kerris under the name of “Sherwood Normal and Scientific College”. In 1894 the college was closed due to the lack of finances. The girl’s dormitory, which had recently been built, was moved downtown and made into the “Sherwood House Hotel” and later became “Hotel Merrill”.
In 1880 a planing mill was built by “Sawin and Stafford”, later the mill was used to saw out barrel heads. The mill, at one time, was the largest in the United States.
In 1910 a bad fire swept through Sherwood, taking with it several large stores, including a hardware and implement store, a furniture store and the Masonic Temple.
Among the early industries (1910), products included sorghum and peppermint. Almost every farmer raised sorghum from which molasses was made. Molasses was used in place of sugar syrup on pancakes or in making cakes and cookies.
In 1923, another fire burned five more businesses (2 grocery stores, post office, barber shop and meat market). The village never seemed to recover from these catastrophes.
Around 1926, as the population grew, development began on Sherwood Township’s 11 lakes and streams for resorts and homes. A number of large tracts of shoreland have been plotted and improvements made.
This brief history of Sherwood Township was made possible through the cooperation of a large number of people (1991). Some of whom gave time and clippings, old newspapers, and other items of interest. Some of these people are: Mr. and Mrs. Ora Morrell, Mrs. Bessie Beard, Mrs. Margaret Lovejoy, Nill Katherine Evans, Mrs. Mel Stump, Mrs. Erwin Stanton, Connie Clayton, Rex Ladyman and others. Thank you.
