Stoney Creek Village began with the settlement of Lemuel Taylor and his family in 1823. The next year, a sawmill and a gristmill, along with a distillery and blacksmith shop, were built, followed by a hotel and a woolen mill. Joshua Van Hoosen's family settled there in 1836, when he was six years old. In 1853, after seeking wealth in California's gold fields, Joshua returned to Stoney Creek, purchased the family farm, and married Sarah Taylor, granddaughter of Lemuel. One of their daughters, Bertha Van Hoosen, became an internationally known surgeon. Their granddaughter, Sarah Van Hoosen Jones, earned a doctorate in genetics and operated the family estate as a model dairy farm from 1923 until 1952, when she deeded about 300 acres to Michigan State University.