Nothing Left but Dirt Roads: Oregon, Michigan in Lapeer County

Yes, Virginia...there IS an Oregon, Michigan.
Well, at one time there was.

This once-upon-a-settlement was founded in Lapeer County in 1836. Richard Bronson was the first settler, of which a nearby lake was named after him; aptly called Lake Bronson. The township organized under the name ‘Oregon’ in 1846, 13 years before the actual state of Oregon achieved statehood.

In October 1873, the Lake Bronson settlement acquired a post office with Sarah Carpenter as first postmaster. The postal station was named 'Oregon’ and was housed within a depot for the Detroit & Bay City Railroad.

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The railroad depot was named ‘Carpenter’s Station’ (later ‘Carpenters’ then ‘Carpenter’) after landowner Samuel Carpenter; this is how it appeared on atlases and maps of the time. You can see a couple of those in the gallery below.

With the closing of the post office in 1905, it only was a matter of time before the promise of a town named Oregon was shattered. To this day it is not listed on maps under either ‘Oregon’ or Carpenter’.