Winn 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 ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in Isabella 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 CDP had a population of 166 at the 2020 census. The community is located within Fremont Township. As an unincorporated community, Winn has no legal autonomy of its own but does have its own post office with the 48896 ZIP Code.

History

Fremont Township was sparsely settled at the time when it was formally organized in 1863, and the area's population grew enough to warrant a new log house post office. Mr. Winn settled in the area and established the first post office under his name on December 19, 1867. Franklin Williams served as the first postmaster, and he also agreed on the name Winn for the new community. In 1875, Ohio native William Dush settled in the area about southwest of Mount Pleasant in order to exploit the area's lumber resources. He began officially

plat 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 bea ...

ting the community of Winn, which was registered with the state on October 26, 1876. The community was first mapped in section 15 of an 1879 map of Fremont Township. The community was listed dually as Dushville and Winn. Dush was a businessman who built a steam-powered sawmill, while the surrounding area became prominent farmland. The community began to grow, and the post office name was changed to Dushville on January 26, 1882 with himself serving as postmaster. At this time, the lumber industry was declining, and the community recorded a population of around 200 residents. Dushville began transitioning away from lumber and grew to include several general stores, blacksmith shop, boarding house, church, and a

Good Templars The International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT; founded as the Independent Order of Good Templars), whose international body is known as Movendi International, is a fraternal organization which is part of the temperance movement, promotin ...

lodge. In 1885, the community recorded around 250 residents. Soon after, the community was ravaged with several fires that destroyed Dush's general store and supplies, as well as his sawmill. He rebuilt the sawmill but moved away from the community and resettled in Broomfield Township to the northwest, only to die in a sawmill explosion in 1888. The name of the community was interchangeably called Winn and Dushville. An unorganized area north of the community was unofficially referred to as Hardscrabble, allegedly due to conflicts with other property owners and William Dush. After Dush's death, the community petitioned to have the post office changed back to Winn, which became official on January 14, 1898. In 1910, the community of Winn recorded its highest population of 310 residents and also included numerous businesses and surrounding farmland. In 1946, the Morey Brothers moved to the area and reestablished the lumber industry in the community. By 1951, the Morey Mill reached a peak and was referred to as the biggest sawmill in

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan cor ...

in terms of size and output. Their lumber products were used for flooring and furniture and shipped all over the county.

Recent history

On the centennial anniversary of the community's official platting in 1976, Winn received recognition from numerous politicians, including governor

William Milliken William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving governor in Michigan history, servin ...

and senator Robert P. Griffin, among others, who congratulated the community on its longevity. For the 2020 census, Winn was included as a newly-listed

. Winn continues to remain an unincorporated community with no legal autonomy of its own.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the Winn CDP has a total area of , all land. Winn is centrally located in the state's

Lower Peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

in rural Isabella County about southwest of the city of Mount Pleasant. The community sits at an elevation of above sea level. Winn is centered along Winn Road and Blanchard Road in central Fremont Township. There are no major highways serving the community, as U.S. Route 127 is about to the east. In addition to Mount Pleasant, the other nearest incorporated communities are the villages of Shepherd to the east and Edmore to the southwest. Other unincorporated communities include Beal City to the north,

Lake Isabella Lake Isabella also called Isabella Lake, is a reservoir in Kern County, California, United States created by the earthen Isabella Dam. It was formed in 1953 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Kern River at the junction of its two f ...

and Remus to the northwest, Blanchard to the west, Cedar Lake and Vestaburg to the south, and Elwell to the southeast. The

Isabella Indian Reservation The Isabella Indian Reservation is the primary land base of the federally recognized Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation, located in Isabella County in the central part of the U.S. state of Michigan. The tribe also has some small parcels of off-rese ...

is to the north but does not include the area of Winn. Cedar Creek, which is a tributary of the Chippewa River, flows through the northern portion of the community. The Winn post office uses the 48896 ZIP Code, which is used primarily for post office box services only. The Winn post office is located at 2855 West Blanchard Road in the center of the community. The Mount Pleasant 48858 ZIP Code serves most of the community. Areas to the south and east may be served by the Shepherd 48883 ZIP Code, and the Blanchard 49310 ZIP Code serves the areas immediately to the west. The Fremont Township Fire Department is located within Winn at 8375 South Winn Road. The Winn Community Center is home to the Fremont Township offices and is located at 2783 West Blanchard Road. The Chippewa River District Library has a rural branch located in Winn. The Fremont Township Community Library was established in 1981 and has occupied its current location at 7959 South Winn Road since 2017.

Demographics

Education

The community of Winn received its first school in 1881 when the county's school districts were reorganized. District 7 was established as the largest district in Fremont Township. A two-story schoolhouse was constructed to serve the community. Students from other surrounding districts came to Winn to seek a higher education, as most schools only served students up until eighth grade. District 7 eventually grew to serve students up to the eleventh grade by 1925. The district served the community, but the population outgrew the schoolhouse. With no funds or agreement to build a new school, the district dissolved and merged with the Shepherd Public School System. Winn continues to be served entirely by

Shepherd Public School District The Shepherd Public School District is located in the Village of Shepherd in southern Isabella County in Michigan. The district is about north of Lansing and about south of Mt. Pleasant, home of Central Michigan University where many Shepherd ...

to the east in the village of Shepherd. Winn Elementary School is located within the community. Some of the surrounding areas may be served by Montabella Community Schools in Montcalm County or Mt. Pleasant City School District in Mount Pleasant.

Notable people

Henry Wiles Henry Wiles (born March 11, 1984) is an American Flat Track racer from the United States who has competed in the championship since 2003, winning the Peoria TT event a record 14 times in a row, 2004 through 2018. He is married to Kristen Overfi ...

, motorcycle racer, born in Winn.