The Shadow Town Hidden in the Countryside: Butternut, Michigan

Here's another prosperous Michigan town that went under, thanks to the railroad closing down. The small town of Butternut is now all but a ghost town, with a handful of buildings still standing from a time when it boomed...back in the late 1800's.

Butternut was settled around 1888 and made it's money by shipping lumber and minerals by train. Once the rails were gone, so were the days of Butternut's prosperity.

Along with the granary, Butternut had a church, depot, dry goods store, general store, schoolhouse, and a few other shops. All that's left of the original downtown buildings are a couple of storefronts, church, and the former Eagle Hotel.....maybe one or two others that have been renovated into homes.

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Yes, there are a few people living here...but as you can see by the pictures in the gallery, the downtown area is almost next to nothing.

If you travel to Butternut - and you SHOULD before someone decides to demolish these great old historic buildings - take S. Main and turn west on North Butternut Road. Down that dead end street you'll see the old granary and other old buildings along what used to be the old Toledo, Saginaw & Muskegon Railroad (later re-named Grand Trunk Western) that are mere ghosts, thanks to the demise of the railroad.

Butternut is located in Bloomer Township, Montcalm County, out in the middle of nowhere.....but only four miles west of Carson City, off M-57.

Visit this forgotten Michigan ghost town on your next Michigan roadtrip and remember: always get permission to investigate any abandoned structures you come across!