The History of Stevensville

Excerpts taken from the publication "Stevensville & Area" and the Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce website.

Thomas L Stevens was born at Tyngsboro, MA, on March 23, 1815. It was in 1869 when Thomas Stevens purchased 160 acres of land in the, now Stevensville, area from H. Nash for $8,000. He resold part of this acreage to the Chicago and West Michigan Lake Shore Railroad Company for the sum of $1 in exchange for having a depot built here and naming it the Stevens Depot.

A village plat was laid out in May of 1870 by Thomas Stevens and he called it Stevensville. At that time, there were a few stores centralized in this area and several futuristic-minded business men who saw potential for a community settlement with governmental means for development. The plat was legally recorded on April 3, 1872, at the Berrien County Court House which was in Berrien Springs at that time. Thence, the village was started and a group of men began to form a village council that could have a voice in the events which affected the families of this settlement. Passing a resolution, the Senate of the State of Michigan proclaimed the Village of Stevensville a chartered village in March of 1893. 

Thomas Stevens, having passed away in 1891, did not see his great accomplishment blossom into a State authorized municipality. However, in 1884, he did realize a census count that acknowledged the village and recorded it as having 117 residents.

The strongest influence on the formation of a village was the railroad company laying a rail line through this land. With the building of a depot which assured a railroad stop to pick up fruit, the area's strongest industry.

After much clearing of this wooded land and enduring the hardships of the times, the pioneers and early settlers in this area began to dream about a community settlement. Because these determined people needed, and depended on each other for survival and spiritual strength, religious societies began to meet in farm houses.

Small stores providing basic supplies were made available in conjunction with the grist mills. As business-minded residents saw the potential of a community budding, other stores and businesses began to sprout in a central area.The establishment of the Stevensville Post Office in 1872 gave an aura of permanency to the village, which encouraged its growth and development.

This community and surrounding area have experienced tremendous changes and growth throughout the years. The effect of these significant events and persons has set a standard of value in heritage of the area, and serves as a legacy to succeeding generations.