The Ghost Town of Shultz: Barry County, Michigan

The tiny burg of Shultz lies in Hope Township, within Barry County. As with many Michigan villages that are referred to as "ghost towns", the current residents may not like the term, but the circumstances define Schultz as being one.

Shultz was born as a railroad station along the Chicago, Kalamazoo & Saginaw Railway, and had it's own post office from 1888 thru mid-1933. Not much else is known about it, except it had a few business establishments, all of which are gone, demolished, or have been turned into homes.

There are a couple of old schoolhouses, one located east of town, the other located west. The old Shultz church still stands, smack dab in the old downtown area, now being used as a home.

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The township in which Shultz stands has a little more history to it. From the 1830's–1840's, Hope Township was a hotbed of missionary work the Protestants were doing with the Potawatomi tribe. It was organized in 1850, a year after the area's first sawmill was constructed.

The township's post office was dubbed 'Cedar Creek' after being established in 1850; it closed down during December 1904. The village of Cedar Creek sits quietly, 5.5 miles south of Shultz. The post office also doubled as a general store.

There was a major train wreck in Shultz back in 1909 that still strikes a chord over 115 years later. Two trains collided head-on when a freight train met a passenger train going in the opposite direction, crashing at the.Shultz depot.

^{There are a nice handful of historic old buildings to see if you journey around the Hope Township area. When you do, don't expect to find any businesses or restaurants to stop at in Shultz.}

Some structures may be private property. Respect them as such.