Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

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PIONEER HISTORY OF INGHAM COUNTY

post office. His son, Warren Buckland, still lives on the original
farm.
I will mention briefly the names of some of the families that
came into the township in the '50's: Joseph S. Pierson, Garrett
Van Riper, Henry Crane; the first physician was Dr. Hiram Frye.
The first school house was built on section 29, in 1837, and the
first contract is now a curiosity. It reads, "the teacher shall receive $1.50 per week and teach every alternate Saturday, mop the
school house the other Saturday, and board around the district."
Henry S. Willis, another early settler in the '50's, came to
Onondaga, built his home and worked at his trade of carpenter.
Of their five children, Charles C. Willis is at present proprietor of
the lumber and coal yards in the village. Henry Willis died at
the age of 88 years. His was a busy life. In 1858 he built a ferry
boat which he operated on the river east of the village to carry
teams and passengers to and fro across the Grand river. He also
carried on the business of buying and selling stock and grain.
In 1850 a saw mill, the first in the vicinity, was built by Potter
and Lockwood on a small stream east of the village, and it afterwards became the property of Nathaniel Champe, whose father
was famed for work he did under Washington in the Revolutionary War. Melvin Champe, a son of Nathaniel, owned this tract
and lived there many years, and later his heirs sold it to the state
and it is now operated by the State Prison at Jackson.
The original plat of the village of Onondaga was laid out, in
part, by John Sherman and others in a part of NE Fr. 11 of section 29, July 13, 1870. Though several buildings had been previously erected the place dates its permanent growth from that
time. It was also about that date that the Grand River Valley
division of the railroad was built through the town, Mr. Sherman
donating the land for the first depot.
Grove Baldwin laid out an addition in the southeast part of
the section on July 10, 1874. The first store of any consequence
was established by John Sherman, who opened a general stock of
goods. The old part of the present Onondaga Hotel was built
about 1847 by Percy Howland for a grocery, and the post office
was kept there. It was purchased by Cyrus Baldwin, and converted into a hotel, and afterward sold to Henry S. Willis, who