M15 Communities

Ortonville Community

Campgrounds: Clearwater on M-15
Cemeteries: Bald Eagle (M-15); Carmer (State Park Road); Eaton (Honert Road); Hummer Rock (Granger Road); Ortonville (M-15); Pet Memorial Park (M-15); Seymour Lake (Sashabaw); Shurter (Perry Lake Road.
Churches: Christ the Shepherd Lutheran; Church of St. Anne’s Catholic; Ortonville United Methodist; Ortonville Baptist

Library: Brandon Public Library, 304 South Street Parks: Brandon Township Community Park; Crossman Park; Narrin Park; Ortonville Recreation State Park; Sherman Park; Restaurants: A & W; Frosty Boy; Bullfrog’s Sports Bar; MacPhee’s; O’Malley’s Galley Tours: Cook’s Farm Dairy Events: Creekfest in June; Septemberfest; Beets, Beats, & Eats Friday nights in downtown Crossman Park.

Old Mill Historical Park on Kearsley Creek

Old Mill Amos Orton traveled to Michigan from Hadley Falls, New York. He packed his wife Emily, two children and as many household possessions as he could carry in a covered wagon, hitched his ox and set out to begin a new life. They arrived in Groveland Township and set up homesteading.

Mr. Orton went on to build the Grist Mill in Ortonville in 1856. Ortonville’s Grist Mill is a true gem within the village of Ortonville. Built 150 years ago, the original millwas 36x46 feet, three stories high with a rubble stone basement. The water wheel that once was a part of the mill was powered by the flow of Kearsley Creek. The mill pond that was once behind the mill has long been filled in, but the creek continues to flow along next to the Old Mill.

Efforts to maintain this building’s historical integrity, while bringing it into the modern century, has required community involvement. The Grist Mill today serves as a meeting place for the historical society, a museum, a coffee shop, and a luncheonette during special occasions.

Mann School House The Mann School house was carefully moved and rebuilt behind the Old Mill in the end of the last century. The building beautifully demonstrates the era of one room school houses. Children today visit from local Brandon schools to reflect on the educational past in Ortonville. Tours of the school house can be scheduled by appointment and during special events..

Old Town Hall Built over 130 years ago, the hall boasts an original stage. The historical society, through it’s Folk with Shades of Blue music committee, has been hosting acoustic music jams and performances since November of 2002. Musicians rave about the stage acoustics. The hall provides an intimacy unlike any other between the performer and the audience.