Onondaga, Michigan

Onondaga is an unincorporated community in Onondaga Township in the southwestern corner of Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the Grand River at 42°26′39″N 84°33′44″W approximately 20 miles south of Lansing and approximately 15 miles northwest of Jackson.

History

European-American settlement began in the mid-19th century, with most migrants coming from New England and New York. The township and community were named after the Iroquois nation of Onondaga, historically based in New York. A post office was first established at the place about 1844, with Perez Howland as the first postmaster. In 1847 Perez Howland built a grocery. A post office was operated from the grocery. Cyrus Baldwin subsequently purchased the building and converted it into the "Onondaga Hotel".

The first store of any consequence in the place was established in 1867 by John Sherman. The European-American plat of the village of Onondaga was laid out by John Sherman and others, on July 13, 1870. Several buildings had previously been erected, but the place dates its permanent growth from this time.

It was also about that date that the Grand River Valley division of the Michigan Central Railroad was built through the town, which brought more settlers and businesses. Sherman donated land for the depot.

The first church, called the First Congregational Church of Onondaga, was built in 1877.

Onondaga is the city of license for Lansing's NBC affiliate WILX-TV, and has its transmitter just west of the community.

External links

• History of Onondaga Township from History of Ingham and Eaton Counties, Michigan by Samuel W. Durant, Published 1880 (the history section of this article incorporates material from this article)
• History of Onondaga Township PDF copy of Chapter 14 from The Pioneer History of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, Secretary of the Ingham County Pioneer and Historical Society, published 1923