Chief Okemos / Okemos Village
Posted by: 
S5280ft
N 42° 42.997 W 084° 25.746
16T E 710515 N 4732551
At the southeast corner of Okemos and Hamilton Roads. Plenty of parking in the Bank parking lot.
Waymark Code: WMHJ5
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 07/16/2006
Views: 30
CHIEF OKEMOS
Okemos was born in Shiawassee County around 1775. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Sandusky during the War of 1812 and won the respect of the Saginaw Chippewa people. Chief Okemos later signed several treaties on behalf of the Chippewa, including the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw. During the 1830s and 1840s Okemos led a band of Indians, most likely Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi people, who lived south of here along the Red Cedar River. The band traded with white settlers in the area, including Freeman Bray, who founded the village of Hamilton in 1840. By 1850 the band had dispersed as some people were forced by the U.S government to live on reservations, Chief Okemos eventually relocated to Shimnicon, an Indian settlement in Ionia County. He died near DeWitt in 1858.
OKEMOS VILLAGE
Native Americans led by Chief Okemos lived in this vicinity when white settlement began in 1839 with the arrival of Sanford Marsh and Freeman Bray. A post office named Sanford was established the following year. Bray founded the village of Hamilton in 1940, and he recorded the plat in 1851. In 1859 the state legislature renamed the village Okemos in honor of the Indian leader. By 1874 hotels and stores dotted the Detroit-Grand River plank road (present-day Hamilton Road), and sawmills, gristmills, and planning mills operated at the site of present-day Ferguson and Wonch Parks off of State Road (now Okemos Road). Okemos gradually developed into a trade center for agricultural activity in the area. In 1923 Grand River Road became a state trunk line and was rerouted north of its original location.
Historical Name: Chief Okemos, Sanford Marsh and Freeman Bray
Parking nearby?: yes
D/T ratings: 
Registered Site #: Local site #2133
Historical Date: Not listed
Description: Not listed
website: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:Take a photo of your GPS at the marker. We'd prefer a photo of you with your GPS, but we realize that sometimes that's just not possible or preferable.
Also include a bit about your visit to the marker.
NEW: Instructions for logging Missing Marker Visits.
If the Marker is missing, but still listed here, you must provide a photo of you at the actual item historically honored. (This should be the waymark's "default" image). Indicate in your log that you took your photo at the Historical Location instead of the marker, because the marker was missing. Please also still include a bit about your visit to the site.