Gunnisonville

Elihu Gunnison first settled this site, originally known as Gunnison, in 1835 after purchasing one hundred sixty acres of farmland from the government. Often called “four corners” by its inhabitants, the settlement had a general store owned and operated by Boyden Hubbard, who, after being appointed postmaster, opened the Gunnisonville Post Office in his store in 1891; rural mail service began in the vicinity in 1901, and the old post office was discontinued. In the spring of 1890, townspeople established a community band that performed for religious, educational, and social gatherings, and a bandstand was erected the following year; during the later part of that decade, the Gunnisonville Band took part in several State Band Tournaments. The Gunnisonville School, first established in 1836, was a center for social, religious, and educational activities and served as a school for nearly a century and a quarter, continuing, though only as a kindergarten in its later years, until 1963. The present one-room schoolhouse, the fourth on the site, was built in 1907 and was refurbished as a living educational museum in 1975 through the joint efforts of the Gunnisonville Restoration Committee and the Lansing School District. The Methodist Episcopal Church, now the United Methodist Church, was organized in 1862, the local cemetery had been established seven years earlier, and the present church edifice was completed and dedicated on November 4, 1888.

Michigan · United States