The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The first settlers arrived in Independence Township in the mid-1820s and early 1830s, primarily from New Jersey and New York. The first settler to purchase and settle land in the township was John W. Beardslee (b. 1799, d. 1883), from Sussex County, New Jersey.
Independence Township was named by one of its earliest settlers, Joseph Van Sycle, who came to the area in 1834 from Independence Township, New Jersey.
While initially the township was primarily agricultural, the many lakes in the area were beginning to draw vacationers out of Detroit and other cities. In 1851, the railroad came through Clarkston, which prompted hotels to be built in the township to accommodate the resort vacationers coming to the area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start Independence’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Independence’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Independence, decade by decade
2000
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Historic places
National Register · via Wikidata
From Wikimedia Commons (3) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.