Once Upon a Time There Was a Community Named 'Headache, Michigan'

Ever hear of the Michigan town of 'Headache'? Not many have.....mainly because it wasn't around long - like only one month!

The only thing left in this little shadow town is a grocery/gas station. It sits at the junction of W. Gordonville and N. Meridian roads in Midland County. This little area once had a Methodist church, garage, grocery store, restaurant, and school. All the original buildings are gone. The church burned down in 1954 and it was decided not to re-build in that same area. Funds were raised for a new church and it was built around the corner on East Gordonville Road.

The first residents to come here were Canadian lumberjacks to cut what was left after all the white pines had been chopped & sawed down by members of the earlier surrounding lumber camps.

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On August 10, 1875 it was decided that a post office was necessary. The process of trying to come up with a name appeared to be harder than usual, so they decided upon the name “Headache.” That name lasted for only ONE MONTH. Then it was changed to “Bradford” after the postmaster. No building was constructed – the post office was operated out of the Hoxie Grocery Store. The post office was moved to the home of state rep Duncan Wayne in the summer of 1910.

By now the town needed a church and school...so in 1902 money was co-donated by Stewart and William Gordon under one condition: the town had to be re-named for them. So the town was then dubbed “Gordon Village” and shortened to “Gordonville” which it remains to this day.

Gordonville also had a saloon and halfway house/stagecoach stop. The school finally opened in 1903 and a few years later there was a student body of 66. One year later there were 79.

There is a little hidden, secret cemetery not far from the brick house just south of the grocery. It's the Whitman Cemetery, with the three graves of one of the town's premiere families. James, Ella, and their 12-year-old daughter, Ula. It sits somewhere in the wooded area, hidden and protected from the public.

Take a look at this interesting little town in the gallery below!