Ida, Michigan is an unincorporated community in north Ida Township, Monroe County, in the southeastern Lower Peninsula.
It is also a census-designated place (CDP), for the purpose of the United States Census. As a CDP, its boundaries extend north into Raisinville Township, east to the LaSalle Township line, and south to Albain Road.
However, as a community, the Ida post office covers most of the township, as well as portions of Raisinville Township to the northeast and LaSalle Township to the east. The community of Ida is south of Ida Road, along Lewis Avenue, with several side streets to the east and west.
Besides Ida, there are three other unincorporated communities in Ida Township, each served by the Ida post office. These are Ida Center, Lulu, and Yargerville. As these are small communities that do not, at this time, have enough online resources to warrant their own categories in this directory, topics related to these three communities may be listed in this category.
Ida Center is near the center of the township, three miles south of Ida, in the area of Ida Center Road and Lewis Avenue.
Four miles southwest of Ida, Lulu is centered on Lulu Road and Douglas Road, slightly northwest of the center of the township. The first permanent settler in Lulu was Henry Y. West, who acquired forty acres of land there in 1853. A post office was established at Lulu on June 29, 1880, with Paul Nill, a storekeeper, as the first postmaster. Named for the daughter of an early settler, the Lulu post office operated until July 15, 1941. The Toledo & Ann Arbor Railroad opened a station at Lulu in 1880. Although the station is no longer there, the railroad still passes through.
Centered on the intersection of East Morocco Road, Wood Road, and Minx Road, Yargerville is 6.6 miles south-southeast of Ida, along the eastern boundary of Ida Township with LaSalle Township. Homes in Yargerville are mostly on the east side of Minx Road and the south side of Wood Road, although there are other homes and businesses off of Eat Morocco Road, west of Minx Road. The community of Yargerville was founded around a grist mill, a sawmill, and a general store operated by Richard W. Yarger, for whom it was named. He also became the community's first postmaster when an office was established in his store on January 30, 1890. The Yargerville post office closed on October 15, 1906.
The fifth community in Ida Township was Federman, which was in the northwest portion of the township, west of Ida. Federman had its founding as a railroad station at the crossing of a branch of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern and the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan Railroad in 1884. The station included a manual ground interlocker, which was operated by the Monroe Branch of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern crews, and realigned for Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan trains after crossing. Federman had a post office from June 22, 1899 to August 31, 1906, with Jay Bates as postmaster. Although there are still some houses in the area, Federman is no longer a dot on most maps.
Although the chief focus of this category is on the community of Ida, online resources for any of the above communities would be appropriate here.
The town of Ida began as a stagecoach stop between Monroe and Adrian in the early 1800s. Following old Indian trails, the stage roads were not well maintained, and were notorious for mud holes during wet weather. Travelers would often travel only about six miles a day because of the poor road conditions, so there were several stops along the route. The community grew around one of these stops, known as the Wayside Inn, which opened around 1825.
In 1837, Ida Township was organized, and named for Ida M. Taylor, a local civic leader, and the community took the name of the township.
Early settlers were farmers who came mostly from the eastern and middle states, and includes the families of David Brainard, Anthony Briggs, John Campbell, Alonzo Durrin, Mathew Fredenburg, Joseph Gregory, Josiah Kellogg, Chauncy Owen, William Richardson, John W. Talbot, and George Willard. By 1839, the Michigan Southern Railroad line began running trains from Monroe through the area, which encouraged others to settle the area. Cabins and farms were built around the Wayside Inn, along the railroad to the west, and along the old road. A post office was established in Ida on July 11, 1844, with William L. Riggs as postmaster. The post office was closed in 1852, but was reopened the following year, and continues in operation.
Ida was platted as a village in 1868, but never incorporated.
Cities and villages within twenty miles include Petersburg, Maybee, Dundee, Monroe, Deerfield, Luna Pier, Britton, and Carleton. Unincorporated communities within ten miles include La Salle, Grape, Strasburg, Diann, and Dundee.
Categories
Services & Industries |
Recommended Resources
Founded in 1982 by the Ida Civic Club, and sponsored by local area service organizations and businesses, the annual December event may differ from year to year, but likely includes a craft show, a children's lunch with Santa, and a three-unit parade, as well as several activities for people of all ages, music, fireworks, and skating. It highlights a Parade of Lights, which is a two-and-a-half-hour extravaganza featuring more than a hundred parade units with thousands of lights.
http://www.christmasinida.com/
Held on the third Saturday in May, the annual event is sponsored by the Ida Civic Club and includes a variety of activities that may include a craft and vendor show, a book sale held by the Ida Library, food, live music, and a circa 1860 baseball game, as well as community-wide garage sales, and other events. A vendor or crafter space application form may be accessed here, along with a printable flyer, a yard sale list, a village map, and a numbered township map. Contacts are included.
http://idacommunityday.ida-michigan.com/
Offering a PK-12th-grade curriculum through three school buildings - Ida Elementary School (K-4), Ida Middle School (5-8), and Ida High School (9-12) - on a campus in southeastern Monroe County, serving a rural area and the small village of Ida, Michigan. School administrative contacts are published on the site, along with its strategic plan, a calendar of events, online registration, and policy information. Its academic, athletics, band, and other programs are outlined, and contacts are posted.
https://www.idaschools.org/
The civil township is in Monroe County, in the southeastern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Its principal population center is the community of Ida, in the upper part of the township. The official township website publishes township meeting agendas and minutes, planning and zoning maps, the members of the planning commission, and the Ida Master Plan. Other resources include building permit information, rental information for its community room, property and tax data, and contacts.
https://www.idatownship.org/
The community website features news and information from Ida and Ida Township, along with a guide to local businesses, area notaries, cemeteries, and churches, with addresses, directions, contacts, and web addresses, where applicable. Items available for sale are highlighted on the site, with information on where or how they can be purchased. Community projects and events are featured, such as its Monarch Butterfly Project, Christmas in Ida, and others, and local businesses are featured.
http://ida-michigan.com/
Situated on a small farm on Minx Road, east of Ida Center and north of Yargerville, in rural Ida Township, Michigan, the farm provides food to the food insecure in Southeastern Michigan and Northwestern Ohio, teaching them to be disciples of God, and equipping them to make disciples. Its statement of faith, history, information on what it means to be a Christian, and a calendar of events, including praise and worship services on the farm, campfire church services, and Bible studies.
https://mwfarmministries.org/
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
Created as a result of the 1964 merger of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Ida, St. Matthew's Lutheran Church of Raisinville Township, and West Ida Immanuel Lutheran Church, the congregation began construction on its current church in 1966, with the new building dedicated the following year. Affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the congregation's beliefs, new visitor introductions, membership policies, a map, and directions to the church are offered.
https://princeofpeaceida.org/
