Web Design in Willis, MI

Willis, Montgomery County

Well-Known Places in Willis

Willis Cigar Factory Marker, Thomas Chapel United Methodist Church.

About Willis, Montgomery County

Willis is an unincorporated community in Augusta Charter Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, about 13 miles southeast of Ann Arbor. It grew after the Grand Trunk Railway built a line through the area in 1880, when settler Willis L. Potter donated land for a station. The post office became Willis on December 15, 1887. It uses ZIP code 48191.

History of Willis

• The area's first post office opened in 1833 as 'Paint Creek'; the settlement that became Willis developed just to its east.
• The Grand Trunk Railway built a line through the area in 1880, and settler Willis L. Potter donated land for the train station, turning farmland into a town.
• The post office was renamed Newcomb on September 27, 1881, then established as Willis on December 15, 1887, honoring Potter's first name; the community was officially named Willis in 1889.

The Willis Economy

• Lincoln Consolidated School District, headquartered at 7425 Willis Road, is the public school system serving Willis and surrounding townships; its predecessor districts consolidated in 1922-1923.
• Willis sits amid farmland in southeastern Washtenaw County and grew out of agricultural land after the 1880 railroad station was built.

Community Life in Willis

• Howell's general store, which predates the community, still stands and now operates as Bonehead's Restaurant.
• Racecar driver Iggy Katona lived in Willis.
• In fall 1924 the Agricultural Rural Training School No. 1 of Ypsilanti and Augusta Townships opened at the corner of Willis and Whitaker Roads, an early part of the Lincoln school system.

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