Two hundred years ago, the area now known as Wayland was densely forested and inhabited by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of the Pottawatomi, who lived in settled villages and sustained themselves by farming, hunting, and gathering. Outsiders began arriving in the early 1800's, and by 1826 the land had been surveyed for settlement. Colonel Isaac Barnes bought land along the Rabbit River, established a mill producing lumber and wooden shingles, and gave the area its first name, Lumberton. Nelson Chambers and his family arrived in 1837, cleared land for farming, and sold shingles in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo; by the 1840's several families had settled there and the place became known as Chamber’s Corners. Its position halfway between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo encouraged growth after a thick-sawn wooden Plank Road was built through the community in 1855, making it a natural stopping place and attracting new industries. The name Wayland was permanently adopted in 1868, and railroad service beginning in 1870 brought another stimulus to growth. The old Plank Road right-of-way later became a state route, and by the turn of the century Route 131 ran through downtown. By the mid 20th century, Wayland was a bustling town with businesses along Main Street and Superior Street, factories near the railroad tracks west of town, churches built by numerous denominations, and organizations such as the Ladies Library club and fraternal societies, while the surrounding farms and dairies made it a commercial and social hub for the countryside.