Cone is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Monroe County in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

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

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and west of the city of

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

. 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 REA or Rea may refer to: Places * Rea, Lombardy, in Italy * Rea, Missouri, United States * Rea River, in Fiordland, New Zealand * River Rea, a river in Birmingham, England * River Rea, Shropshire, a river in Shropshire, England * Rea, Hunga ...

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 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 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 ...

. 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 con ...

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 List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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 A grain elevator or grain terminal is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lowe ...

and silos. The railway line is currently operated by

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

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 is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

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