View full sizeThis pre-1945 image depicts the north side of Miller Road in downtown Swartz Creek.
The businesses, from left to right are: telephone office, Paul's Tavern. Bank of Swartz Creek, Lovegrove's 5 & 10 cent store, Fortino's Market, Fuller's, Poplar Market, a barber shop and Helen's Tavern. SWARTZ CREEK, Michigan — Residents of Swartz Creek have a special birthday to celebrate this year — the city's.
This year marks the 175th anniversary of the Miller Settlement, which established Swartz Creek. And although the town has grown and changed, it's still the "most convenient city in Genesee County," said Bill Morgan, head of the Swartz Creek Historical Society.
“If you park at City Hall, you can visit the senior center, the library, the police department, the fire department, the veterans memorial, Chase Bank, the historical cemetery and St. Mary’s Church,” he said. “You can walk downtown and visit a stained glass shop, Hank and Don’s (Tavern), have dinner at a restaurant, go to the grocery store, go to the drug store, visit Assenmacher’s bike shop, contact a lawyer and walk back to the car without walking a quarter mile.”
The 175th anniversary will be the theme of the annual Hometown Days celebration, said Larry Bush, the event chairman.
“It’s a rallying point,” he said. “We have the biggest little festival in Michigan.”
It will be held from June 2 to 5 and will feature a free magic show, a wrestling show and a yet-to-be announced animal exhibit, Bush said.
“A family can go out there and without spending a nickel can entertain a family for an entire day,” Bush said.
Adam and Margaret Miller moved to the area in 1836 from New York, building a small cabin. The Millers later built a larger cabin about a quarter mile away, according to information from the Swartz Creek Historical Society.
The first school was built in 1840 and the first Methodist Church was built on Morrish Road in 1863, according to the society.
The village was plotted in 1877. Swartz Creek didn’t have a kindergarten through 12th grade school until Mary Crapo was built in 1928, according to the society.
In 1959, Swartz Creek adopted a city charter and organized its first police department. The next year, I-69 opened, according to the society.
In honor of the 175th anniversary, the society will create souvenir historical postcards, Morgan said.
City manager Paul Bueche said recognizing the anniversary allowed citizens to see how the city “fits into Genesee County.”
“I think for the community, it goes back and shows where the root of the community is and how it grew out of that,” Bueche said. “If they can go back and examine those and understand the path the community took in getting where it is today, I think it provides valuable information as to how to proceed in the future.”