Best Web Design in Potterville, MI (2026)

Web Design for Potterville, Michigan

Potterville is a city of about 3,055 in Eaton County, roughly 12.6 miles southwest of downtown Lansing at the intersection of M-100 and I-69, named for Linus Potter, who walked in from Detroit in the 1840s carrying his two small children. It has built a genuine national identity around an unlikely food: Joe's Gizzard City on West Main Street has been deep-frying chicken gizzards since 1960, got two visits from Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and inspired Gizzard Fest, a three-day June festival that draws 20,000 to 30,000 people to a town of three thousand. It is also one of the more disaster-tested towns in mid-Michigan, having survived a downtown fire, a lightning strike, an earthquake and a 35-car train derailment.

AppWT serves Potterville and the surrounding Michigan area from Livonia, Michigan.

About Potterville

Also known as. Gizzard Capital / Home of Gizzard Fest. Potterville, not Pottersville (the town's own running correction against the 'It's a Wonderful Life' mix-up).

History. Linus Potter (born 1798) came from New York and settled the area in the mid-1840s. He and his wife Diana reportedly landed at Detroit and walked the entire distance, carrying their two small children. Linus died suddenly in 1846, reportedly from over-laboring in his harvest field and drinking too freely of cold water. His widow Diana and their seven children stayed and built the community that carries the family name. The post office was established in 1870, with James Potter as postmaster. The Grand Trunk Railroad depot on the north side of Main Street was the town's economic engine, with two trains a day running east and two running west. An 1881 fire destroyed much of the downtown commercial district. In July 1994, lightning struck the beach at Fox Park, injuring 22 people. That September, an earthquake was centered on the town's east side. On Memorial Day 2002, a 35-car train derailment forced the evacuation of the town because of propane leaks. The Potterville Chamber of Businesses launched Gizzard Fest in 1999.

Local economy. Manufacturing is the largest employment sector for residents (about 342 workers), followed by retail trade (about 206) and health care and social assistance (about 196), per Data USA. Median household income was about $64,693 in 2024, up roughly 4.2% year over year. The city functions substantially as a commuter community for Lansing and Charlotte, with immediate I-69 access just south of town and M-100 running through it. Joe's Gizzard City at 120 West Main Street is the town's best-known business and a genuine tourism draw, operating since 1960 and sponsoring Gizzard Fest. Gizzard Fest itself is an economic event of real scale, drawing an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 visitors annually to a city of about 3,000. Potterville Public Schools operates an integrated campus (elementary, middle, high school, administration and preschool) and is a principal local employer.

Culture and community. Gizzard Fest, running since 1999, is the town's signature event -- a three-day June festival organized by the Potterville Gizzard Fest Committee, with a different theme each year. The Gizzard Eating Contest is the centerpiece: 12 contestants, $10 entry, two pounds of fried gizzards eaten as fast as possible, $100 and a spot on the winners' plaque for first place. Check-in at 2:30 p.m., contest at 3:00 p.m. Saturday. The festival also runs the "Another Clucking 5K" charity race, a parade, a pageant, a car show, a cornhole tournament, a softball tournament, a motorcycle ride, a pancake breakfast, carnival rides, line dancing lessons, live music and fireworks. Admission is free. Potterville Public Schools teams are the Vikings; school colors are maroon and gold. Joe's Gizzard City is a deep-fry institution -- golden-fried gizzards, monster burgers, deep-fried olives, and deep-fried Reese's peanut butter cups. Fox Memorial Park's dark-sky public observatory supports local astronomy programming.

What makes Potterville distinct. A town of 3,000 hosts a festival that pulls 20,000 to 30,000 people -- and it is about chicken gizzards. Guy Fieri has filmed at Joe's Gizzard City twice, first in 2007 and again for a January 2009 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives feature. The owner talked him into the position that gizzards, done right, might be the best part of the chicken. Potterville is constantly confused with Pottersville, the nightmare alternate-reality town in "It's a Wonderful Life." The two are unrelated -- Potterville predates the 1946 film by a century and takes its name from a real settler. The town's founder died in 1846 from what was recorded as overwork in the harvest field combined with drinking too much cold water, leaving his widow Diana to raise seven children and effectively build the town. Two natural disasters hit within roughly two months in 1994: a lightning strike at the Fox Park beach that injured 22 people in July, and an earthquake centered on the town's east side in September. In 1876 this small town claimed to be the largest manufacturer of natural-resource products of any community in the country. Joe Davis, the national play-by-play voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Fox Sports (including the World Series), was born in Potterville in 1987 and was a two-time all-state quarterback at Potterville High School. His father Paul coached football there and is in the Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. Fox Park has a public observatory -- dark skies are a real amenity this close to Lansing.

Potterville Landmarks and Local Life

• Fox Park Public Observatory - Built in 1999 at Fox Memorial Park, it is run by the Eaton County Parks Department with local amateur astronomers and has a 16 inch telescope.
• Potterville City Hall - The city government offices at 319 North Nelson Street house the city manager, clerk, treasurer, assessor, police department and public works.
• Lake Alliance Park - A softball and baseball complex at 515 Alliance Drive with five lighted fields, a 24 acre lake with boat launch, disc golf, nature trails and a sledding hill.
• Fox Memorial Park - A 100 acre Eaton County park at 3981 East Gresham Highway with a kidney shaped lake, swim beach, fishing pier and nature trails.
• Potterville City Park - Located downtown at 425 North Hartel Road with a little league ball field, the Imagination Station play structure, two pavilions and restrooms.
• VFW Memorial Park - A park on West Main Street with a war monument, a walking path, a shrub garden and benches.

Potterville at a Glance

U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023.

• Median household income: About $62,054
• Housing: About 62% of occupied housing units are owner-occupied
• Housing: About 46% of housing units are single-family detached homes