Where Did It Go? The Once-Prosperous Village of Stittsville, Mich

Stittsville.

It's located in Norwich Township, Missaukee County.
And it doesn't seem to show up on maps anymore.

All the old businesses are gone, including the church and schoolhouse. All that's left are some empty structures, a few residents and a cemetery. There was a post office at one time, but it's long gone.

Stittsville was named after a bunch of Stitts.
1) Reverend William J. Stitt, who settled in 1878.
2) James Stitt, who opened a general store.
3) John T. Stitt, who bought out the store from his brother James.

They all came from Canada and settled the town which they dubbed Norwich but soon decided to name it after themselves...thus, "Stittsville".

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You wouldn't know it to look at it, but Stittsville was a thriving community, complete with a barber, bicycle repair & sales, blacksmith shops, chemical plant, drug store, two general stores, hardware store, hotel, I.O.O.F. hall, livery, planing mill, saloon, and saw mill.

So what happened? Many of the structures were destroyed by fire, the rest were demolished by disheartened townsfolk.

Stittsville's main source of income was no surprise: it was a logging town that went bellyup like hundreds of other northern Michigan lumber towns.

If you're ever in the area and remember the name Stittsville in Missaukee County, you may want to drive thru, even though there's not much to see. But just being in an empty place that was once a prosperous town might make you more curious about our state and its history.