Town Name: Harvard
Population: No longer recorded, but there are still a few homes in the settlement.
Reason for Becoming a Lost Town:
Like many small towns created with or growing dramatically with the coming of the railroad, access to better roads, automobiles and trucks allowed more easy travel to nearby commerce centers of Greenville or Cedar Springs. Also, Rural Farm Delivery by the post office eliminated the need for many small post offices. Small towns like Harvard fizzled to a shadow of their former selves.
Town History:
Harvard was a post office and railroad station in Oakfield township, Kent County. It was originally settled as Griswold. The Harvard Post Office opened August 22nd, 1888. The 1897 Michigan State Gazetteer listed a population of 30, a post office, blacksmith, railroad express and telegraph agent, a hotel, two general stores, barber shop, a drug and hardware store, and a sawmill. By 1907, the population was up to 150 and the town boasted the addition of a physician, three saloons and telephone service. Harvard was 48½ miles from Ashley. It had a small railroad depot on the Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon Railroad.
Notes of Interest:
Today, Harvard’s single commercial business is a Tavern and the town is otherwise only a small collection of homes.
