The Mayberry-esque Michigan Thumb Town of Mayville

The Andy Griffith Show was set in Mayberry.
Leave it to Beaver was set in Mayfield.
This little community in Tuscola County is set in Mayville.

Sitting in Fremont Township, this Michigan Thumb town originally began forming two miles southwest on October 16, 1860. A post office opened on that date called “May” and lasted until 1865. Then along came Dexter Choat who decided to settle two miles northeast of May. Noting the name of the May post office, he named his newly-settled land “Mayville”.

The May post office was moved to Mayville, keeping the name ‘May’ for another 25 years. The powers-that-be finally caved in 1890 and adopted the name ‘Mayville’ for the post office. The railroad was laid in 1882 and Mayville was incorporated in 1887.

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Train wrecks seem to be a frequent occurrence in many Michigan towns during the late 1800s-early 1900s, and that included Mayville.

In 1903, a couple of passenger trains collided head-on, injuring seven and killing two. Possibly not wanting to take the blame for such a scheduling error, the company determined that the accident was due to a “mistake in orders”.

The old train depot still exists, although not in its original location. It was moved in 1986 in order to save it from being demolished and is now being used as the Mayville Area Museum. It is located at 2124 Ohmer Road, just south of downtown.

Photos are below.