The Michigan Small Town of Mulliken: 1880s-2020s

What is there to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon.....play softball? Go fishin’? Do yard work? Nah. A roadtrip to Mulliken is the ticket.

Mulliken is located in Eaton County, away from city life and the rat race.....which is where many of us wish we were.

Mulliken’s genesis goes back to 1888, when a new village was the idea of newcomer Thomas Potter. He made sure a post office was implemented right away, and not long afterward, here came the Detroit, Lansing, & Northern Railroad laying track through town.

Get our free mobile app

The railroad was built by a man named Mulliken, so naming the new town was the easiest thing to do without much thought...just name it after this guy.

A few years after the village became incorporated in 1903, a couple of town events began taking place, giving Mulliken some unwanted press.

A train wreck occurred in June 1908 that received quite a bit of notoriety. As reported in the Sunfield Sentinel on June 4, 1908 (edited): “The train was speeding along at a 40 miles per hour clip.....and then left those rails and plowed into the mud on the north side of the track. The engine turned on its side and was half buried in a mud hole, while the coaches...were all thrown from the tracks except the parlor car. No one was killed.....eight or ten of the passengers were hurt but none seriously except an oldish lady who suffered considerable from the shock”.

While the dust was still settling on that disaster, another one followed on its heels in 1909. A fire blazed through the Hotel Mulliken, destroying it completely. It was never rebuilt, and the lot remains vacant at the corner of Main and Railroad streets.

The town of Mulliken may not be on your radar, but a typical small town like this is a pleasure to visit. Take advantage of the small town / Mayberry-esque atmosphere, support the local mom & pop shops, and imagine yourself living here back in the early 1900s... Take a look at some old (and current) photos below...