Vintage Photos of Pinckney, 1900-1940s

There was a great hilly area just west of Pinckney where we used to go sledding every winter. Simply WONDERFUL hills surrounded by woods and pine trees, away from houses and other buildings. What a great spot!

Now, as an adult, I’ve tried to locate those same hills, now swallowed up by the trees and foliage…so much so, that I can’t find the area, no matter how many times I’ve tried. I drive down the same skinny dirt road and park in the same place and get out and walk…and walk…and walk so far that there is no way I’ll come across it. I’ve even tried satellite mapping it to no real avail. All the new trees that have grown there over the decades make it almost impossible to locate.

Sledding as a kid was my first introduction to Pinckney.

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William Kirkland was the man responsible for the town’s name. A former girls’ school teacher from Detroit, Kirkland arrived in 1835 after buying the holdings of the Sanford Marble Company and re-organizing it as the William Kirkland Company. He also purchased 160 acres of land from Colonel Solomon Peterson, the area’s first settler in 1828. Soon, Kirkland formed a new village on his new chunk of property; this village would be forever known as “Pinckney,” named after his brother, Charles Pinckney Kirkland, a New York attorney.

Kirkland’s brother-in-law, James Stansbury, was appointed first postmaster when the post office opened in February 1837.

Pinckney was finally incorporated as a village in 1883. Pinckney still thrives and survives in Livingston County's Putnam Township. Take a look at the gallery below for some vintage pictures and a few “then-and-now” photos!

Meantime, I’ll go back again soon and continue looking for those dang sledding hills…