Mooreville 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 ...

Washtenaw County Washtenaw County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 372,258. The county seat is Ann Arbor. The county was authorized by legislation in 1822 and organized as a county in 1826. Washtenaw ...

in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

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

Geography

Mooreville is located in York Township in

about northwest 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 ...

just north of the county line with

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

. The rural community is centered along Mooreville Road at an intersection with Stony Creek Road running west and Dennison Road running east. The Saline River meanders through the community. In addition to Milan, the other nearest city is

Saline Saline may refer to: * Saline (medicine), a liquid with salt content to match the human body * Saline water, non-medicinal salt water * Saline, a historical term (especially US) for a salt works or saltern Places * Saline, Calvados, a commune in ...

about the northwest. Other nearby unincorporated communities include Azalia and

Cone A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines con ...

to the south, Stony Creek to the northeast, and Benton and Macon to the west. Mooreville does not have its own post office anymore and is served by the Milan 48160 ZIP Code, in which the name Mooreville is not used for mail delivery. The community is served by

Milan Area Schools Milan Area Schools is a school district headquartered in Milan, Michigan. The district is part of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District but most of its 89 square miles are located in neighbouring Monroe County Monroe County may refer to sev ...

. In 2021, the Mooreville Riverbend Preserve was inaugurated as an

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

along the Saline River. The land was previously private property but was purchased by the township and the Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission at a cost of $89,000. The park consists of a rustic parking lot and walking trail along the riverbend of the river, and future plans include a small boat launch, paved parking lot, fishing deck, and other amenities.

History

Road signage for the community states Mooreville as being established as early as 1826, which was the same year that

was established in the

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

. The first recorded resident to the area was John L. Moore around 1830, which makes Mooreville one of the county's oldest settlements. Moore came from the state of New York and settled near the Saline River. A post office named Mooreville opened on January 5, 1833 with Moore serving as the first postmaster. The post office was renamed York on May 2, 1834 after the newly established township, in which many of the first settlers came from New York. In some records, the community is spelled as Mooresville. When Moore settled in the area, he built his log cabin at the corner of what is now Stony Creek and Mooreville Road. Isaac Hathaway built the first

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

in Mooreville in 1832. The Baptist Church of Mooreville was founded in 1832 and consisted of about 10 members with Moore later building the first church on his own property. In 1838, a second sawmill was built, and the community "furnished all of the lumber for buildings in Washtenaw County at the time." The community also became an important stop along the stagecoach route that connected

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin language, Latin given name Adrianus (given name), Adrianus or Hadrianus (disambiguation), Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria (river), Adria from the Venetic language, Venetic and ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

, and

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 th ...

. The Mooreville Methodist Church was founded in 1849 and also constructed on Moore's property along the Saline River. By 1881, the community was thriving and outpacing nearby

in prosperity. Mooreville contained a cheese factory, cider mill, a steam-powered sawmill, two general stores, five churches, several shops, a saloon, hotel, and school. In the 1880s, the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railway and 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 con ...

began constructing railway lines through the area. The railway lines bypassed Mooreville in favor of Milan, which led to the decline of Mooreville and a surge of development and growth for Milan. The remaining businesses and churches soon left Mooreville. The York post office in Mooreville closed on April 30, 1907. Automotive magnate

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...

planned to purchase several plots of land along the Saline River in hopes of damming the river, as well as restoring the dilapidated hotel. He was unable to purchase all the private property necessary and instead built his mill in Milan. The Mooreville Methodist Church was the last operating church in the community when it closed by 1962 and fell into disrepair. By 1972, the community had about 50 residents.

Images

File:Mooreville, Michigan road signage.jpg, File:Mooreville Cemetery (Michigan).jpg, File:Mooreville Methodist Church (Michigan) in decay 2022.jpg,

References

{{Washtenaw County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Washtenaw County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan Populated places established in 1826 1826 establishments in Michigan Territory