Armada
Michigan
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Town of Armada
Armada was nothing but brushy, low-lying swampland when federal surveyors mapped it in 1821, as part of the massive new Northwest Territories. Indians roamed the stream's bottomlands, rich with game, but the few white settlers in the area were concentrated in Romeo.
Burke's Corners was briefly renamed Honeoye after the hometown of several newly arrived residents from New York. When the village was incorporated in 1867, it received its modern name of Armada. By 1881, Armada was described as a "thriving incorporated village of 800 inhabitants". The prosperous village was home to a stave and handle factory, a sash and blind factory, a cheese industry, a flouring mill as well as a number of other businesses such as blacksmith shops, hardware stores, banks, a drug stores and so on. An evaporated fruit factory and dairies were located nearby. Four churches, a large hotel (the National Hotel), a library, and a newspaper (originally called the Telegraph then the Armada Graphic) also were located within the Village
The village was actually founded in 1833 by Elijah Burke, a man of religious fervor and a member of the Temperance movement. He began a Sunday School, which eventually spawned two churches, the Congregational and the Methodist.
In its heyday, the town of Armada boasted an opera house, a theater, seven grocery stores, a hotel and livery stable, three hardware stores, a lumberyard, a grain mill, two implement dealers, a bakery, five doctors and several blacksmiths.
The communities strong ties to agriculture helped to bring about the well known Armada Fair (an annual event since 1873). Armada Township residents also displayed a strong affinity for the "culture" of the day with the Village of Armada as its cultural center. A number of fraternal organizations (ie. the Masons and the Odd Fellows), a Literary and Science club, and the Armada Coronet Band provided social outlets for villagers and township residents. The popularity of these social outlets was reflected in the week-long cultural fair that was held yearly during the late 1800's. It was joked that "the farmers and their wives came to town during this week to get their annual dose of culture".
Burke's Corners was briefly renamed Honeoye after the hometown of several newly arrived residents from New York. When the village was incorporated in 1867, it received its modern name of Armada. By 1881, Armada was described as a "thriving incorporated village of 800 inhabitants". The prosperous village was home to a stave and handle factory, a sash and blind factory, a cheese industry, a flouring mill as well as a number of other businesses such as blacksmith shops, hardware stores, banks, a drug stores and so on. An evaporated fruit factory and dairies were located nearby. Four churches, a large hotel (the National Hotel), a library, and a newspaper (originally called the Telegraph then the Armada Graphic) also were located within the Village
The village was actually founded in 1833 by Elijah Burke, a man of religious fervor and a member of the Temperance movement. He began a Sunday School, which eventually spawned two churches, the Congregational and the Methodist.
In its heyday, the town of Armada boasted an opera house, a theater, seven grocery stores, a hotel and livery stable, three hardware stores, a lumberyard, a grain mill, two implement dealers, a bakery, five doctors and several blacksmiths.
The communities strong ties to agriculture helped to bring about the well known Armada Fair (an annual event since 1873). Armada Township residents also displayed a strong affinity for the "culture" of the day with the Village of Armada as its cultural center. A number of fraternal organizations (ie. the Masons and the Odd Fellows), a Literary and Science club, and the Armada Coronet Band provided social outlets for villagers and township residents. The popularity of these social outlets was reflected in the week-long cultural fair that was held yearly during the late 1800's. It was joked that "the farmers and their wives came to town during this week to get their annual dose of culture".