Allen Tibbets, an itinerant Methodist minister who preached the gospel for 15 years, came to this prairie in 1830 and purchased 80 acres in section 22 with the help of Joseph Hatchett, who owned the adjoining land. In 1831 he plotted a village that was named Lyons after Tibbets birthplace in New York state. The village name was later changed to Coldwater, or Chuck-Sey-ya-Bish, an Indian word for the waters and streams flowing west of the village. Tibbets daughter, born June 11, 1832, was the first white child born in Coldwater.