The Small Town of Gregory: Livingston County, Michigan

GREGORY INFO IN A NUTSHELL:

Out of all the villages formed in Unadilla Township, except for Kaiserville, Gregory was one of the last. Plainfield, Unadilla, and Williamsville were already in existence.

In 1875, the area now known as Gregory was surrounded by farm land owned by George Abbott, R. Webb, H.F. Lyman, and P. & H. Gregory. As you'll see in the photos below, the town of Gregory didn't exist yet, according to the 1875 atlas.

Then, in 1884, the Grand Trunk Railroad cut a branch through the farm of Halstead Gregory. A depot was erected, and soon the necessity for a post office was evident.

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Halstead not only became the first postmaster that same year, but he also built himself a store near the depot to take advantage of the travelers who came through.

The village was ultimately named after the Gregory family. By 1915, the Gregory farm land had been purchased and owned by the Howlett family. In the photos below, the 1915 atlas now shows Gregory as a good-sized community.

The area surrounding Gregory had a good share of schoolhouses, most of which are gone or renovated into homes. The gallery below shows three locations of former one-room schoolhouses.

The railroad is long gone, but the village of Gregory has survived, with farming the source of economy that helped it sustain all these years. There are enough businesses there to fill whatever need you have if you drive through during  a Michigan roadtrip!