Web Design in Sanford, MI

About Sanford, Midland County

Sanford is a village in Jerome Township, Midland County, on the Tittabawassee River northwest of the city of Midland. Charles Sanford bought land at the site in 1864 and the settlement was platted in 1870, but the village did not incorporate until 1963. The 2020 census counted 813 residents, and the village is still recovering from the May 2020 dam failures that severely damaged its downtown and drained Sanford Lake.

History of Sanford

• Charles Sanford of Madison County, New York moved to the area in May 1864 and purchased 213 acres along with 1,000 acres of pine land. The site had been known as the Salt-Spring Reserve before it took his name.
• The site was the location of Michigan's first salt well, supervised by state surveyor and geologist Douglass Houghton.
• The settlement was platted in 1870, and the name was shortened from Sanfordville to Sanford on July 13, 1871.

Landmarks and Places in Sanford

• Sanford Lake, the impoundment the Sanford Dam created on the Tittabawassee River. It drained in May 2020 when the dam failure restored the river's natural flow.
• The Sanford Dam, built in 1925 by Frank Isaac Wixom, who also built the Edenville Dam. It stood 40 feet high and 6,380 feet long at the crest and served power, recreation and flood control, with two 2.4 MW turbines rated at 4.8 MW together.
• The Tittabawassee River, which runs through the village and gives it both its lake and its flood risk.

The Sanford Economy

• The village's origin was pine. Charles Sanford's 1864 purchase included 1,000 acres of pine land, and the 1871 Pere Marquette station gave the settlement a way to ship it.
• U.S. Route 10, a four-lane freeway, and M-30 both serve the village, which puts it on the road corridor between Midland and the lakes country to the north.

Local reference: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org