A Lone Schoolhouse Remains in the Lost Village of Shiloh, Ionia County

Shiloh, located in Orleans Township, Ionia County, has no business section to speak of. It is mostly an empty village with a few residents and a church.

Shiloh was settled in 1876 as an as-yet-unnamed station on the Ionia & Stanton Railroad and grew to a population of 75 about 20 years later.

In January of the following year, it was given a post office under the name ‘Smith’s Crossing’ and changed to ‘Shiloh’ on the very last day of the year: December 31, 1977. The name was chosen to commemorate the Civil War’s Battle of Shiloh.

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The post office permanently closed down in April 1935.

Eventually, Shiloh had a barber, two blacksmiths, church, doctor, dry goods store, general store, grist mill, grocery store, justice of the peace, planing mill, post office, potato buyer, two sawmills, schoolhouse, shipper, and shoemaker. All but the church disappeared once the railroad was abandoned and shut down. The old schoolhouse still stands, however it is being used as a residence.

The loss of the post office put the finishing touch on Shiloh's heyday. The Shiloh Community Church is the only establishment in Shiloh: no stores, no gas station, no restaurant. Google Maps claims there’s a market there, but I sure as heck didn’t see one.

If you choose to explore the area, you might be able to find remnants of the old town, like foundations and other bits & pieces along the old railroad grade. There are nothing but houses there now, but you can still drive thru the area that was once a business district.

The route is Long Lake Road to Heth Road to Drake Road back to Long Lake Rd....less than a mile total. The old schoolhouse still exists in pretty good shape, at the intersection of W. Long Lake Road & Decker Road.