Charleston was a settlement in

Allendale Township Allendale Charter Township is a charter township of Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 Census, the township population was 26,583. Major commuter routes into the city (M-45 (Michigan highway), M-45 an ...

Ottawa County, Michigan Ottawa County ( ) is a Counties of the United States, county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, United States 2020 Census, the population was 296,200. The county seat is Grand Haven, Michigan, Grand Haven ...

. It began as a trading settlement to exchange goods with the local Native Americans in 1810, constructed by

Pierre Constant Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

. According to the Honorable William M. Ferry, "The first trader who located in what was Ottawa County--then embracing Muskegon county--was Pierre Constant, a Frenchman, of the type that advanced guard of pioneers--Marquette, LaSalle, Joliet, and Tonti--who, two hundred years before, invaded and brought to the world the great Northwest. onstantwas of the chevalier order of men--brave, honorable, and undaunted, amid all dangers. In 1810, he engaged with the British Fur Company, then having a depot at Mackinaw, as a trader; and with his supply of merchandise coasted along the shore of Lake Michigan, and established a trading post on Grand River, near what is now called Charleston, and another on the banks of

Muskegon Lake Muskegon Lake is a fresh-water lake in Muskegon County, Michigan, USA. Located in the lower peninsula at the mouth of the Muskegon River, Muskegon Lake forms a broad harbor along the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan, approximately wide by ...

." Charleston was

platted In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

in 1836. However the sawmill was removed in 1872 and the village ceased to exist.

References

External links

* * {{authority control 1810 establishments in the United States Former populated places in Michigan Former populated places in Ottawa County, Michigan