Dildine, a Ghost Town Out in the Ionia County Countryside

This little Michigan ghost town lies in Easton Township, Ionia County. It's the former town of Dildine...is it pronounced 'Dil-DYNE' or 'Dil-DEEN'? No idea what the pronunciation is for sure. Dildine is not even referred to as a town anymore...it's more of a hamlet.

It was named in 1899 when a post office was established, and named after the Dildine family who owned several pieces of land in the area, as you will see for yourselves in the atlases pictured below.

When the Dildines moved in as far back as the 1840s, the community had no name.  An 1875 atlas shows a couple of Dildine family members: William, who owned a couple of parcels of land, and a “D. Dildine”. It was William who first settled on this land in 1843.

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The 'town' had a Methodist church and a one-room schoolhouse as far back as the 1870s and both buildings are still there at the intersection of Dildine Road (naturally) and Bellamy Road, which appears to be where the center of 'town' was. The post office opened in 1899 but lasted only three years, closing in 1902, with Manly Lansing as postmaster.

There are a handful of old farmhouses around but no stores or shops whatsoever. Manly Lansing is said to have also been a storekeeper, so I'm guessing there might have been a store somewhere here...or maybe he worked in another town.

The gallery below shows the old church and school that still await your visit.