Ionia had been the name of the County since the Michigan Territory was first plotted out in 1831. The classical revival was in vogue at the time, and names taken from classical Greece were common. Hence the name Ionia, from the Greek province and sea, was chosen by a legislator from Detroit before any white settlers ever settled there.

Samuel Dexter wanted to call the place "Washington Center" after the first president, but when the paperwork got signed, the city was officially called "Ionia County Seat" and "Ionia Centre" and later shortened to "Ionia." The first post office in Ionia County was established in August of 1835 with Erastus Yeomans the first Postmaster.

Until 1836, the Ionia area was still politically administered as a township of Kent County. In 1837, statehood was finally achieved for Michigan, and the State Capital was moved from Detroit to Lansing. A U.S. Land Office was set up in Ionia County Seat, which really put the village on the map. It meant that, if a person wanted to buy land in north central Michigan, they had to come to Ionia to get the papers drawn up. Taverns, inns, liveries, stage coach stations and bridges came to Ionia as fast as they could be built. The citizens got organized and elected their first County Commission, and the area was fast becoming one of Michigan's most prominent communities.

In the next few years, many towns and villages were platted throughout Ionia County, including Prairie Creek, Dickensonville, and Portland. Lucius Lyons laid out the town of Lyons, setting up his son Truman as postmaster, then went on to aid Louis Campau and John Ball with the planning of Grand Rapids. Despite a great financial panic in the country at the time, the frontier continued to attract thousands.

By 1840, the County was divided into six townships, with nine post offices, and a white population of approximately 2,498 (according to the census). Digby Bell of Ionia was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1840, the first of many distinguished Statesmen from the area.

The exploding population of the midwest had spawned a new industry to replace furs as number one in Michigan: PINE! This led even more people to and through Ionia County, and the sawmills sprang up all along the Flat and Grand rivers - and anywhere else a mill pond could be built. The value of Michigan White Pine during the 1840s and '50s was over a billion dollars MORE than all the gold from the famed California Gold Rush.

Steam boats were plying the Grand River from the Lake Michigan shore to Lyons. Hotels were being built, and there seemed no limits to the economic boom. The 1854 census reported that Ionia County's population had reached 10,727.

The founder of the city of Ionia, Samuel Dexter, died in 1856 at the age of 71. We often marvel at the changes we see as the decades fly by, but the amazing transformation of this countryside has to have been nothing short of awesome.

In 1857 the railroad reached the city of Ionia when the Detroit & Milwaukee RR laid rails in from the east. Soon after, the Detroit, Lansing & Northern came through, and another surge of prosperity followed.

By 1860 the County's population was nearly 17,000. Most were rural farm families, but the many towns in the County included Hubbardston, Kiddville, Patterson's Mills, Wheatland, Palo, Matherton, Ronald Center, Saranac, Montrose Station, Pewamo, Stoney Creek, Lyons, Muir, Maple, South Boston, Skipperville, South Cass, Campbell, Russel, Orange, Sebewa, Portland, Stebbinsville, Kossoth, and Danby. Persons familiar with the area will not recognize most of these place names-they didn't last long, or names were changed as time went by.

The railroads and logging industries combined to nurture a bustling economy. Dams went up on the Grand and its tributaries, roads were improved to allow farmers to reach the railroad stations, and postal deliveries actually began to get predictable! Log houses gave way to frame buildings, bricks were being manufactured locally, and the first wooden water mains were being laid.

Then in 1861 came the call from Washington: President Lincoln was calling for volunteers...

The Civil War was a long way from central Michigan. Slaves had come through on the "underground railroad" to Canada, and the politics of the time were as hot in Ionia County as anywhere else. But the glory of war and the spirit of patriotism was a powerful temptation. When the call went out for volunteers to help preserve the Union, a full 15% of Ionia County's responded - the largest percentage of all Michigan Counties.

Among these volunteers was Ionia's own Civil War hero, General James H. Kidd, whose memoirs of his days with the 6th Michigan Cavalry (though not an easy read) are an excellent first-hand account of several of the war's major battles. He served under Michigan's own George A. Custer. Many of Ionia's soldiers fought with the 16th Michigan, trained at Camp Segel in the fields east of Ionia. These volunteers are commemorated by the large monument shown here on the Ionia Courthouse Square.

After the war, General Kidd returned to Ionia to start the Ionia Sentinel newspaper, whose first edition was published in May of 1866. This paper continues publication today, having merged with the Ionia Standard in 1890.

Also in 1866, the F.W. Stevenson building was dedicated (shown in the photo below from the early part of this century). The third floor of this prominent structure was called Union Hall. In this great hall (still standing, though in need of restoration), many great orators addressed the Ionia audience, including Samuel Clemens, Susan B. Anthony, Grover Cleveland, Fredrick Douglass, and General Tom Thumb. In later years, this hall was home the local Masons, Odd Fellows, and other fraternal organizations.

In 1868, J.L.Hudson moved to Ionia to open a store in the north east corner of the Stevenson building. Called the "New York Clothing Company." The Hudson family was in the retail business all across Michigan, J.L.'s father having started with Mabley's in Birmingham, Michigan. This store closed in the panic of 1870, and J.L. moved back to Detroit to start the J.L. Hudson stores there, which later grew into the international Dayton-Hudson corporation, including Hudson's and Target stores. This is the same corporate family tree that included the Hudson Motor Car Corporation.

This is the story of just one of the blocks in downtown Ionia. Every storefront has a story to tell, and the ICHS members will enjoy giving you the whole story if you should ask!

The Ionia County economy recovered heartily after the "Panic of 1877." The influence of the City of Ionia is evidenced by the many State Senators, Representatives, Supreme Court Justices, Attorneys General, Lieutenant Governors and other high-placed government officials to come from the local citizenry.

Many industries arose during this period, and the City of Ionia was served by as many as six different railroad companies using three separate stations, and as many as 36 stations dotted the countryside throughout the County. Highways were cutting their way across the County, and bridges spanned the Grand in six places.

In 1870s, the Detroit, Lansing & Northern Railroad established their first "car shops" in Ionia, including a roundhouse and manufacturing facility. The Pere Marquette Railroad took these over in the 1890s and expanded the facility where passenger cars were maintained through the 1930s. The old PM freight station on the site is still in use as a lumberyard warehouse, but the car shops are long gone.

In 1875 the Michigan Legislature appropriated money to begin construction of the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia. This remains in service today, the State's second oldest penal institution. Construction was completed in 1880, including 53 acreas of prison farms, walled courtyards, cellblocks and manufactories. The panoramic view below is of the Reformatory about 1920, much as it looked when first built. Thus began a long history of prisons in Ionia, which now includes four state institutions and the county jail.

By 1883, Ionia County's old frame courthouse was due for replacement, and approval was given by the electorate to construct a new one. The exterior of today's eclectic structure is faced with native Ionia sandstone (as are many local buildings). This impressive structure graces the skyline of the City of Ionia with a 120-foot-tall white dome topped with a statue of Justice overlooking the valley. The courthouse is a beautiful centerpiece for Ionia's impressive historic district, which includes over 127 homes and public buildings in the surrounding neighborhoods and business districts. Visit the Ionia County website for more information on this historic structure!

The Ionia Asylum for the Criminally Insane was dedicated in 1885 with 217 patients. The picturesque victorian buildings shown below were, unfortunately, destroyed in favor of more modern architecture, but the institution remains in service on the same grounds as a prison.

To summarize and conclude this brief history of Ionia to 1900, here is an excerpt from an 1896 edition of Headlight Flashes, a publication of the Chicago Railroad Publishing Company for the Detroit, Lansing and Northern line. (A reproduction of this publication is available from the Museum Store!)