Cannonsburg, Michigan
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Cannonsburg is an unincorporated community within Cannon Township, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan.
It was founded in 1842 on an old Native American trail. In 1844 and 1845, mills were erected by Edwin B. Bostwick, with H.T. Judson as architect. As an inducement to settlement, the community was platted in 1848 (or 1845 by some accounts). Bostwick, a business agent of eastern railroad and steamboat financier LeGrand Cannon, was instructed to give a lot to each resident who was not otherwise provided for. Twenty-five lots were given away and the town was named in honor of Cannon, who acknowledged the honor with the gift of a small cannon engraved with his name and the date. A local legend has it that the cannon was buried in a local swamp after misfiring and killing a young man.
A post office was established on May 7, 1844, with the spelling as Cannonsburgh. The spelling was changed to Cannonsburg on February 5, 1894. Although it had long been at the center of township business, in recent years the population of the township has shifted so that it is more concentrated to the north of M-44 and along the eastern border. The township offices now have a Rockford postal address and are located on M-44.
Built at the site of the Bear Creek Rapids (near the intersection of Cannonsburg and Honey Creek Roads), Cannonsburg, at its 19th century peak, boasted a gristmill, woolen mill, cider mill, sawmill, cooper shop, two wagon shops, three blacksmiths, a hotel, a school, bootmakers, painters and carpenters.
[edit] Sources
- History and Directory of Kent County, Michigan, Containing a History of Each Township and the City of Grand Rapids. Compiled and Published by Dillenback and Leavitt, County History, Directory and Map Publishers, Grand Rapids: Daily Eagle Steam Printing House, 1870. pp. 43-46.
