Richmond Township
(excerpted from Leeson's History of Macomb County, Michigan, pp.778ff.)

The township of Richmond was organized under Legislative authority March 6, 1838. The new township comprised within its boundaries Town 5 north, of Range 14 east. The first meeting was held at the house of George Perkins, or rather on the wood-pile close by. The name of the township was proposed by Phillip Cudworth. Hiron Hathaway was elected Supervisor; George Perkins, Clerk; Durfee Simmons, John Hicks and Jesse Huff, Assessors; William Simmons and John Goodar, Overseers of the Poor; Jesse Welden and Russell Peters, Commissioners of Highways; Jesse Welden, James Flower, Horace Ewell and W.P. Simmons, Justices of the Peace; Jeremiah Robinson, J.S. Durfee, Constables; Jeremiah Robinson, Collector; Durfee Simmons, Pliney Corbin and Ben Elsworth, Commissioners of County Schools; P. Cudworth, C.C. Davis and H.M. Curtiss, Fence Viewers; and John Bates, Poundmaster.

The first clearing made in what is now called Richmond was in Section 30, by Edwin Rose. The entry of this land bears date December 1, 1832, and has since been known as the Goodar farm on Clay street. Another entry is made on the same day, and located on the same section, by John Hale. The next entry is dated May 13, 1833, by Anson Pettibone, still owned by the family. Charles Hicks settled on the ridge in 1834, and Phillip Cudworth in 1835. John Hicks, the Beebes, Mr. Halt Perkins and others moved in soon after. The township was organized and named after the township of the same name in Ontario, N.Y., at the suggestion of Phillip Cudworth. This was done in the spring of 1838, on the wood-pile of Mr. Perkins, who had settled on the ridge. The meeting to organize the town was called to meet at his house, and, the house being small and the meeting large, it was adjourned to the wood-pile, where elbow room was plenty, and the young township was brought into being and properly named there.

This [Richmond] village was settled in 1832. It is located near the junction of the Michigan Air-Line and Grand Trunk Railroads, thirty-nine miles northeast of Detroit, fourteen northeast of Mt. Clemens, seventeen miles west of the St. Clair River, and five miles south of Memphis.  The Methodist, Baptist, Free Methodist and Congregational societies have houses of worship within the village.  A weekly newspaper named the Richmond Review is published by Del T. Sutton. The post office is conducted by Henry P. Beebe. Among the business men of the village are W.H. Acker, George W. Kenfield, D.T. Obert, Orrin B. Reed, John G. Akin, B.F. Doty, R.S. Reeman, Daniel G. Gleason, Hosea Fuller, D.L. Harrison, John M. Johnson, James W. Cooper, David L. Rapelye, Alex Caster, A. B. Batty, J.L. Sutton, D.J. Lathrop, Theo Miller, A.W. Reed, Joseph Connell, W.E. Walton, John Welsh, A.Y. Wright, Thomas A. Leach, Seth Lathrop, Christian Kihen and Simon H. Heath.

Memphis was settled in 1835, and incorporated as a village in 1865.  In 1878, its population was stated to be 800, while at present that portion of it in Macomb County is only 600.  This village is prettily located on Belle River, on the line between Macomb and St. Clair Counties, twenty-seven miles northeast of Mt. Clemens, twenty-two miles southwest of Port Huron, and seven miles north of Richmond, and about the same distance northeast of Armada. There are three churches in the village, viz.: The Congregational, Methodist and Adventist, with a graded school.  The first effort to reclaim the land now occupied by the village of Memphis was made by the Wells family, one member of which still lives just north of the village.  James Wells, the father, was born in Albany in 1772, a descendant of one of two brothers who emigrated from England and settled in New York shortly prior to the war of the Revolution.  His family consisted of three sons and three daughters, of whom one son and one daughter are living.   Their house, a comfortable log one, covered with shingles, was the first structure of any kind to succeed the wigwams of the Indians, and, in good old pioneer style, for all purposes of hospitality or for meetings, the latch-string was always out.

The village of Memphis was incorporated in the South Schoolhouse, on the 4th day of April, 1865. The name was given some ten years previously.  A portion of the citizens wished the young village to have the name Birney, after J.G. Birney.  Others wanted the name Belleview, as the Belle River passed through the place.  The name Memphis, however, prevailed, which was given after the Egyptian city, and custom has made firm the name then suggested.  An election was held on the date above given, at which the following were chosen: Sherman S. Eaton, President; Lewis Granger, Linus Gilbert, Oel Rix, Solon Spafford, Joseph M. Beach, Hiram Burk, Trustees; L.G. Sperry, Clerk; Orrin Granger, Treasurer.

Click here for more Richmond history from the City of Richmond web site.

Click here to visit Ursula's Page for lots of links to transcribed records from the Richmond area.

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