Bridgewater, a historic hamlet
The Hamlet of Bridgewater on a rainy afternoon in March. Photo by Sara Swanson.
by Sara Swanson
What do you know about Bridgewater, not the township but the hamlet? If you are like many Manchester-area residents, you may know it as the spot on Austin where you have to slow down to 35mph on your way to Saline, or your knowledge may extend to the Bridgewater Bank being a good place to get a burger, or the Depot a place to stop for essentials to hold you over until your next grocery trip. What you may not know is that the Hamlet of Bridgewater is the oldest non-native settlement in the Manchester area, pre-dating the settlement that would become the Village (and then City) of Manchester by four years.
The Hamlet of Bridgewater was first settled in 1829 by Col. Daniel Hixon and his wife, Maria, who traveled from Tecumseh to Bridgewater on the Indian Trail. Daniel, New York-born and veteran of the Black Hawk War, went on to serve as a representative in the Michigan legislature in 1843 and 1855, and as a State Senator in 1853.
Bridgewater Township originally encompassed what is today both Bridgewater and Manchester townships and was named “Hixon Township,” after Hixon. In 1832, Hixon Township was divided into Bridgewater and Manchester townships, and Bridgewater Township was named “Bridgewater” by its first supervisor, George Howe, in honor of a village of the same name in Oneida County, New York.
The hamlet, however, was not called Bridgewater from the start; the young settlement was given a post office under the name Columbia Lake in 1833. The post office was renamed Bridgewater in 1843 after the township.
You may wonder why Bridgewater’s historic township hall is not located in the hamlet? Bridgewater Township had two settlements in the 19th century. Another settlement known as River Raisin had grown up near the intersection of Hogan Road and Wilbur Road. In 1856, when the hall was built, both the Hamlet of Bridgewater and the Hamlet of River Raisin had railroad stations and post offices. The township hall is located near the defunct Hamlet of River Raisin.
Though the Hamlet of Bridgewater has never incorporated and become a village, it does have its own separate plan in the Township’s master plan, with zoning recognizing its commercial and industrial past and potential future. Currently the Hamlet of Bridgewater has a mix of homes and commercial buildings, including a store, tavern, businesses, and St John’s Lutheran Church.
Village vs. hamlet
It may seem pedantic to refer to the settlement of Bridgewater as a hamlet instead of a village, but in Michigan, “village” is a legal term.
In Michigan, a village is an incorporated municipality with its own, independent government, providing services, while remaining part of a township. A hamlet is an unincorporated, but named settlement lacking formal government or defined boundaries, administered directly by the township. A city, like a village, has its own independent government but is not a part of a township.
While “village” is a legal term in Michigan, “town,” on the other hand, is not a legal term in Michigan. If you want to refer to driving to Bridgewater Depot as “going into town” you would not be technically incorrect!
While having multiple historic, now defunct, hamlets, the Manchester area has one other current hamlet besides Bridgewater, and that is Fredonia, on Pleasant Lake in Freedom Township.
Close up of the hamlet of River Raisin. 1895 Map of Bridgewater Township by Geo. A. Ogle & Co. Credit: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.
Close up of the hamlet of Bridgewater. 1895 Map of Bridgewater Township by Geo. A. Ogle & Co. Credit: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.
Next time you are slowing down to 35mph on your way to Saline, take a look around and try to see the history still present, just under the surface!
You must be logged in to post a comment Login