Old Alton Church, photo courtesy of The Western Michigan Genealogical Society
Town Name: Alton
not recorded
Reason for Becoming a Lost Town:
The railroad came to town, but stopped at nearby Mosley instead.
Town History:
The village of Alton, also at times known as Vergennes, was first settled beside Wood’s Creek in the 1832 at what is now Three Mile Road and Lincoln Lake Road. A blacksmith shop was built on the current cemetery grounds. The first of schoolhouse in the township was erected in 1839, also on the cemetery grounds. It was occasionally used for funerals. After a fire in 1845, it was replaced by the second school which still stands east and across the road. A post office was established in 1851. In 1865, the flour mill pictured above was constructed on a dam just south of the village center. A second dam and sawmill were constructed west of town. A rake factory and wagon shop followed soon followed. The Church of Alton was constructed in 1868, and is now a museum. By the end of the 19th century, the town had a population of 100 and had added a fine general store, meat market, machine shop, a cheese shop and several fruit evaporators. The future looked bright as the Grand Rapids, Belding and Saginaw Railroad was built north from Lowell to Belding in 1899, passing just north of the village. What was the boon for most villages in the railroads path turned out to be the bane for Alton. The trains first stopped where the line crossed Lincoln Lake Road, ½ mile north of the village. Plans to build a depot there, however, fell through as the grade was just too steep to stop and restart heavy freight trains. Instead, the railroad established a station at what would become Mosley, a mile north and half mile east. Businesses began springing up there and when the grocery store was moved to Moseley, other business followed. The post office was transferred to Vergennes in the southwest corner of the township on June 11th, 1900.
Notes of Interest:
The Alton Church now houses the Alton Historic Church Museum
