MICHIGAN GHOST TOWN: Ingham County's Lost 'Eden'

Not completely a ghost town, Eden might show up on selective maps, but NOT on Google Maps. It's hard for anyone to find if they don't know where to look.

Eden is located between Mason & Leslie, just east of the Barnes Road exit. It lies in Vevay Township, the signs of which most of us have seen. The township was surveyed in 1824, 1825 and 1826, thus beginning the history of Eden.

Why was this village called "Eden"? Because the area was considered to be beautiful, almost like their own "Garden of Eden."

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Business did well in Eden; they had their own blacksmith shop, church, general store, post office, railroad station, school and shoe store.....plus two grain elevators were built to accommodate the huge demand for buying and shipping. So what happened? Where did all the businesses from Eden disappear to? They disintegrated and fell to the wayside, thanks to the ever-growing companies & accessible businesses that kept popping up in Mason, Leslie, Lansing and Jackson.

The Eden cemetery is still in use, with old graves from the 1800's as well as into the 2000's. The cemetery is tucked away where it's difficult to find (SEE PHOTOS BELOW) but is worth exploring.

To this day, Eden still lives up to it's name: a beautiful, serene place to visit that's only a few minutes away. The shops, depot, and businesses are gone, making it difficult for anyone to know this was once a busy place. Take a few minutes to visit this once-booming little Michigan town (just the cemetery, some homes and a church are all that remain) and appreciate it for what it once was.