Wilson 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 Menominee County, Michigan Wilson is located in Harris Township along U.S. Highway 2 (US 2), US 41 and the Canadian National Railway, east-northeast of

Powers, Michigan Powers is a village in Menominee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 422 at the 2010 census. Located within Spalding Township, it is part of the Marinette micropolitan area. History At an early date, the place was called ...

. Wilson has a post office with ZIP code 49896.

History

The

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

built a station at the community in 1872–73 to serve local charcoal

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

s, which was originally called Ferry Switch. The first school in Wilson opened in 1881–82. A post office, originally called Myra, opened in the community on February 24, 1881; Daniel McIntyre was the first postmaster. The post office was renamed to Wilson on November 1, 1881, after local sawmill owner Frank D. Wilson, who then became postmaster. The railway station closed in 1950.

Seventh-day Adventist Church

The central buildings in the rural Wilson community are the Seventh-day Adventist Church and school. Wilson is home to the largest Adventist church in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

. The church also operates a Junior Academy, enrolling grades 1 – 10. In the early 1900s, a group of Adventists from Wisconsin moved into the area and began farming. A church was erected in 1908 and services were originally held in French. The first minister was R.J. Bellows. In 1948, a furnace fire caused the church to be demolished, however, a new church was built and completed in 1949. A small area at the back of the church was partitioned off as a schoolroom, however, the space was inadequate and in 1947, a public school building was purchased from the Ford River Township and moved onto land across from the church. In 1964, the original school was torn down and a new three-room school with a gymnasium was built. The school is still in operation today. Many of the descendants of those who helped to establish the community by building the church and school still live in the area.About Us
Wilson Seventh-day Adventist Church

Education

Wilson is in the

Bark River-Harris School District Bark River-Harris School District is a school district headquartered in Harris, Michigan. It includes sections of Delta County and Menominee County: Bark River Township in Delta County, and the majority of Harris Township in Menominee County. ...

Hannahville Indian School Hannahville Indian School is a tribal K-12 school in Hannahville, Harris Township, Michigan. It is affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Nah Tah Wahsh Public School Academy is a charter school affiliated with the institution. The s ...

is nearby.
See clipping from

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Menominee County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan