Cone is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Monroe County in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. The community is located within Milan Township. As an unincorporated community, Cone has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own.

Geography

The community is centered along Cone Road in the northwest corner of Monroe County. It is located about west of

U.S. Route 23 } U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south U.S. Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has sinc ...

and is accessible via exit 22. Cone is about southwest of the city of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and west of the city of Monroe. The community sits at an elevation of above sea level. Bear Swamp Creek runs through the community of Cone. Other nearby unincorporated communities include Mooreville to the north, Rea to the south, and Azalia to the east. The village of Britton is located to the southwest. Cone uses the Britton 49229 ZIP Code, which is mostly located in

Lenawee County Lenawee County ( ') is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 99,423. The county seat is Adrian. The county was created in 1822, from territory partitioned from Monroe County. Its g ...

to the west. Eastern portions of the community may use the

48160 ZIP Code. The community is served by Milan Area Schools to the northeast.

History

The area was first settled in 1835 by Erastus S. Cone (1798–1869), who bought farmland throughout Monroe County in the Michigan Territory. In 1836, his farmland in the northwest portion of the county became part of Milan Township. Cone had a very large family, and the name Cone became a prominent name in the area. Many settlers in the community belonged to the Cone family. The growing community became known as West Milan due to its location just southwest of the community of

. The community of Azalia—then known as East Milan—was in the opposite direction. The area received its first post office under the name West Milan on August 4, 1869. John C. Cone served as the first postmaster. The community of West Milan appeared in an 1876 map of Milan Township. The

Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary co ...

opened a railway line in West Milan in 1880. Because of the prominence of the Cone family name, the station was named the Cone Station. The post office was renamed Cone on January 27, 1882. With the opening of the railway, the community of Cone had a direct link to the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

about to the northeast. The small community began to prosper and included many businesses and a growing population that mostly belonged to the Cone family. Businesses within Cone included a blacksmith shop, brick and charcoal manufacturers, cheese factory, two churches, several stores, two sawmills, and other manufacturing companies. Despite the growing community and prosperous railway, many of these businesses disappeared after the turn of the century. The post office itself was discontinued on September 15, 1917. Today, the community consists of only a small number of houses, farmland, and a grain elevator and silos. The railway line is currently operated by Norfolk Southern Railway but no longer has a station in the area. The Rice Cemetery is located near the Cone community. The cemetery has burial sites of many early Cone residents, including some

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

veterans.

References

{{Monroe County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Monroe County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan Populated places established in 1835 1835 establishments in Michigan Territory