If you grew up in Stockbridge many decades ago, where did you go for a super ice cream cone? Dairy Queen? Panther Queen? Spadafore’s? The traveling ice cream truck? Heck no. We would have our folks drive us north on M-52 to Millville and get one of those double or triple decker ice cream cones at the general store across the road from the Millville Church!
The Michigan town of Millville in White Oak Township, Ingham County, barely exists. In fact, it probably wouldn’t at all if not for the old-timer memories. The village is all but disintegrated except for the current church and township hall. When most people drive by the site, they are not even aware there was once a little village there. Sure, they see the church with the name “Millville” as part of the church title, but most figure it’s just a name. Today, it’s considered one of Michigan’s ghost towns, even though nobody writes about it or takes the time to delve into any history on Millville.
Millville’s beginnings took place in 1835 when Daniel Dutcher became the first settler. In 1836, James Reeves arrived, was a guest of Dutcher’s for a while, and eventually bought Dutcher’s land where the future village was located. The land changed hands a couple of times afterward; Reeves later moved to Stockbridge after selling the land to Nelson Osborn, who turned around and sold it to Elias Clark. It was Clark who constructed a sawmill here, giving the village its name: “Millville”. The village’s post office was implemented a half mile south in White Oak.
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Soon, White Oak Township boasted more businesses: a cooper shop, grist mill, two general stores and a post office. According to a 1939 atlas (seen in the gallery below), there was even a schoolhouse there. I tend to believe the old general store where we bought our ice cream cones was built in the late 1800s…