Allegan County Heritage Trail Tour
The Allegan County Tourist Council has developed a self-guided tour so that people can discover and have adventures into the history, sights and sounds of Allegan County. This tour will allow people to see historic villages and towns as well as bountiful farmlands and orchards which were and still are the backbone of this rural county. More information on the Heritage Trail Tour can be found at www.allegancounty.org/heritagetrail/. This tour has numerous stops, but it is not necessary to do them in order, they can be completed in any order.
We plan to place caches at each historic stop along this tour. Our goal with this series is to have fun, but also to enjoy the beautiful sites of Allegan County. We also hope that we can bring some history of the area to people who are interested. Now let’s get on with our journey.
Welcome to Fennville
According to legend the settlement of Fennville was established where two corduroy roads crossed in the swamp. Corduroy roads, from the French “corde du roi” because they originally created in France for the king’s travel, were the roads were formed by logs placed transversely across the path. The fabric corduroy got its name because its undulations resemble that of the logs forming the road.
In the mid-1860’s most of Fennville occupied the high ground. Later, as farmers drained the swamp, the main downtown area was developed.
Fennville was originally called Fenn’s Mills, named for Elam Fenn of New York who had come here in 1851 and erected a sawmill at the site of Fennville in 1860. But the first train conductors had trouble announcing the name and it slowly changed to Fennville. Fennville was a railroad shipping center for a large fruit growing and mint production operation in the 1920’s. Some of the operations can still be seen today.
You are looking for a nano on the edge of town. After finding this cache, please head west and explore the town of Fennville. Stop at the city park, on the west side of downtown and read the Heritage Trail information marker. After reading the information marker, search for The Checker Board (GCXV12) which is real close. Have Fun!!
Sorry no FTF prize on this one.