“Hey, kids! Put on your Sunday best – we're going to Mulliken!”

Mulliken sits quietly in Eaton County's Roxand Township, playin' it cool and happy to be away from big city life.

The village's beginnings date back to 1888, when Thomas E. Potter arrived and decided to kick up a new community. A post office began operating that same year, with first postmaster Albert Lawrence.

When the Detroit, Lansing, & Northern Railroad came through, the town finally found their name. The railroad – which later became the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad – was built by a contractor whose name was Mulliken.

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The village became incorporated in 1903. The village may be known for being relatively peaceful, but there were a few instances that stirred up some excitement. A train wreck in June 1908 was reported in the Sunfield Sentinel in the June 4, 1908 edition (edited): “The train was speeding along at a 40 miles per hour clip.....and then left those rails and plowed into the mud on the north side of the track. The engine turned on its side and was half buried in a mud hole, while the coaches...were all thrown from the tracks except the parlor car. No one was killed.....eight or ten of the passengers were hurt but none seriously except an oldish lady who suffered considerable from the shock”.

The following year, 1909, a fire blazed through the Hotel Mulliken.

Mulliken is a typical Michigan small town and is a pleasure to visit. Walk around downtown and take advantage of some of the local businesses, and get a feel of what it was like living in a small town 120 years ago.

Take a look at some old photos below!

Vintage Photos of Mulliken

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