In the early 1830s, many New England homesteaders moved west toward the Territory of Michigan in search of fertile land close to a river or stream. Many traveled by boat along the Erie Canal and then inland on existing Anishinaabe trails. Along Horseshoe Creek, settlers found a good place to establish a community and build a grist mill to grind grain. On March 26, 1835, Hamburg Township was officially organized. Established two years before Michigan became a state, it is the oldest incorporated community on the Mike Levine Lakelands Trail State Park.