Ever Hear of The Small Town of Burnips in Allegan County, Michiga

Burnips is a community in Salem Township, in Allegan County.

It began as an intersection settled by landowner James Burnip. He built the first general store in 1856 and soon began selling off parts of the land for others to build homes and/or business structures. In 1868 a post office was established and the name "Burnip's Corners" was created.

At the intersection just south of Burnip's Corners was another community named Salem Center. The Little Rabbit River ran through this area and a couple of mills were constructed on the east side of the river - a saw mill and a grist mill.

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In 1915, Burnip's Corners was changed to simply "Burnips" which it remains to this day. Salem Center appears to have disintegrated, while Burnips still shows up on maps.

There are some sites that say Salem Center was the original name of Burnips, but looking at Allegan County & Salem Township historical atlases, it shows that they were TWO separate communities, just a few hundred feet away from each other (SEE PHOTOS BELOW).

Burnips still has a few great old buildings still standing, among the nice handful of residential areas. It's another little hidden, historical Michigan community that deserves to be recognized and visited. Drive-thru someday and get some pics of that great old general store!