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 ...
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 Huron Charter Township. As an unincorporated community, Willow has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own.
Geography
The community sits at an elevation of above sea level.
According to road signage, the community is centered along Willow Road between Waltz Road on the west and a double set of railroad tracks to the east. Willow is located close to three divisions of the
Huron–Clinton Metroparks
The Huron–Clinton Metroparks system is a regional park system in Metro Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan. The park system includes 13 parks totaling more than arranged along the Huron River and Clinton River forming a partial ring around ...
Willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...
. The Huron River flows near the community, and Interstate 275 is slightly east but has no access from Willow Road. The community of
Waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...
Huron Charter Township, where the community of Willow is located, was established in 1827.
The area presently known as Willow received its first post office named Woodville in 1852. The name of the post office was changed to Smithville from 1858–1872, when it was changed to
Waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...
briefly from 1872–1873. The Waltz post office was moved to another location from 1874–1954, and the former post office served under the name Belden from 1873–1892. The post office was finally renamed as Willow in 1892 until it was discontinued in 1915. The
Pere Marquette Railway
The Pere Marquette Railway operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and southern parts of Ontario in Canada. It had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections in ...
built a line through the area around 1872. Willow once contained a railroad station. The railway line is currently used by CSX Transportation but contains no stations within the area.
The community of Willow currently uses the New Boston post office with the 48164 ZIP Code. The name Willow is no longer accepted or used for mailing purposes. Willow is informally defined as a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
within the township, although it has no legal recognition as an
incorporated municipality
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...