Eaton Rapids

History

The Potawatomi people established a village in the area of what is now Eaton Rapids in about 1774. This was part of their wide territory in historic times. The area constituting Eaton Rapids was first settled by Euro-Americans around the year 1835, who were drawn there because of the timber and water power in the area. It became a center of industry. The following year, a sawmill was constructed near Spring Brook in Spicerville; it provided the lumber settlers used to build Eaton Rapids. In 1837, the Old Red Mill was constructed by the mill company; it used waterpower from the stream to grind corn. The mill company later used wood from Spicerville to construct their own sawmill along the Grand River, as well as a wool carding mill. Eaton Rapids became an island city after a canal, or "race", had been dug in the 1840s channeling water from the Grand River to Spring Brook. While this provided greater water power for the mills located on Spring Brook just before it united with the Grand River, it also caused some concern about the quality of drinking water from regular, shallow wells. Morgan Vaughan, a prominent Eaton Rapids resident writing in 1870, described the situation: "A dam was erected and a deep race excavated to throw the available waters of the river into the creek, from which they could be the more easily trained to motive power. But that which promised so well at first, proved the bane of the town's prosperity. The digging of the race and raising the streams on two sides of the town plat, had the effect to so saturate the triangular piece of land within it, that nothing but surface water could be obtained from the shallow wells, and a state of dearth and unhealthiness prevailed, by no means desirable." Enos Beebe Frost, (E.B. Frost), built a hotel…

Geography

Eaton Rapids is on the northward course of the Grand River as it flows from Jackson to Lansing. There it turns westward at its confluence with the Spring Brook. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. *Grand River * connects with I-94, to the south near Albion; and with I-96, north, just south of Lansing. * connects with I-69, west in Charlotte; and with US 127 and I-94, to the southeast just north of Jackson. * provides access from Eaton Rapids to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) National Home near Onondaga.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,418
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  4,645
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,614
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,588
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  4,174
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,155
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,144
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,937

Largest nearby schools

• Eaton Rapids High School
  High · EATON RAPIDS · 615 students · 17.6:1 ratio
• Eaton Rapids Middle School
  Middle · EATON RAPIDS · 453 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Greyhound Intermediate School
  Elementary · EATON RAPIDS · 382 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• Dimondale Elementary School
  Elementary · DIMONDALE · 333 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• Parkview Elementary School
  Elementary · CHARLOTTE · 319 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Potterville Elementary School
  Elementary · POTTERVILLE · 312 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• Lockwood Elementary School
  Elementary · EATON RAPIDS · 307 students · 14:1 ratio
• Potterville High School
  High · POTTERVILLE · 229 students · 19.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2015-06-30
  5 km NNE of Burlington, Michigan
• M 4.2 — 2015-05-02
  5 km S of Galesburg, Michigan