Ingham County’s First Town: Stockbridge, 1830s

Ingham County was made from parts of Shiawassee and Washtenaw Counties as early as 1829, mainly Washtenaw.

The first settler in the area (that would become Stockbridge) was Herman Lowe in 1835. After Michigan became the 26th state in 1837, another early settler platted the town in 1838: Elijah Smith, who named the village ‘Pekin’ after his hometown in New York.

Get our free mobile app

Also in 1838, Ingham County became its own entity and formed its own government. As settlers traveled east to west, it was on the east side that the first settlement was made – and that was what is now known as Stockbridge. The name ‘Pekin’ was changed (thank goodness) to ‘Stockbridge’ by Silas Beebe, who also became Stockbridge’s first postmaster. Beebe got rid of the earlier ‘Pekin’ plat and made a new one under the ‘Stockbridge’ name.

Stockbridge was incorporated as a village in 1889 and has remained that way ever since: not a town, burg, hamlet, or even a city...just a pleasant mid-Michigan village.