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Johannesburg, Michigan is an unincorporated community in the central-western portion of Charlton Township, Otsego County, in the northern Lower Peninsula.

As an unincorporated community Johannesburg does not have defined borders, but the community is centered on the area where M-32 East meets Heatherton Road, and turns either west or south, depending on the direction the driver is traveling, and continues south along M-32 to the point where it meets Finnegan Road, and turns east. Johannesburg Lake is to the north, and Kujawa Lake is northeast, both of which are in the area generally considered to be part of the community.

Johannesburg is a small town in the midst of the Mackinaw State Forest. The only incorporated city or village within twenty miles of Johannesburg is the city of Gaylord, 12.7 miles to the west. The unincorporated community of Vienna Corners is about five miles away, along the eastern border of Charlton Township, and the communities of Chester and Sparr are within ten miles. The Johannesburg post office serves the census-designated place known as Lewiston, about fourteen miles to the southeast.

The settlement of Johannesburg formed around the lumber and milling operations of the Johannesburg Manufacturing Company, which was operated by Rasmus Hanson, Nels Michelson, and Ernest Salling, and later other members of their families. The community was named for Johanna Hanson Bay, sister of Rasmus Hanson, who was president of the company. His mother's name was also Johanna Hanson, but his sister and her husband, Rasmus Bay, moved to Johannesburg to manage the company's store.

The Michigan Central Railroad constructed a complex of branches and spurs that made up the Johannesburg Branch, for which the Johannesburg Manufacturing Company was the primary customer. Due in part to the decline in harvestable timber in the area in the early 1900s, the company shut down its milling operations and the Johannesburg Branch of the railroad was abandoned in 1929, one month before the big stock market crash.

Hanson, Michelson, and Salling operated several lumber businesses in North Michigan, Johannesburg being the last one that they founded together. By the time the community was formed, the company's founders were elderly. Hanson's and Michelson's sons managed the operations in Johannesburg, and Frank Michelson built a large home there, while Thorwald W. Hanson became the town's first postmaster on January 7, 1901.

Although it was later unincorporated, Johannesburg was incorporated as a village n 1901. At its peak, Johannesburg had a population of about seven hundred. Most of the homes and commercial buildings were owned by the company, or by family members of its founders. Mary Rasmussen, sister of Rasmus Hanson, and her husband, built a hotel, which was the largest commercial building in town. Frank Michelson built another large brick building that housed several businesses and later became the public school. When the company closed, it sold the homes and buildings that it owned, The company store building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009, after several years of vacancy.

Today, the unincorporated community hosts the Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools, which includes Lewiston, a census-designated place. Although the community remains small, agricultural, and largely rural, it has a couple of churches and restaurants, a market, and a gas station.

Johannesburg sponsors a popular Fourth of July fireworks show each year. Since 1998, another annual event is held on a farm between Johannesburg and Vienna Corners. Known as Farmfest, it was the subject of a documentary filmed over the course of twenty-one years.

The focus of this section of our guide is on the small community of Johannesburg, Michigan. Online resources for any businesses, industries, schools, churches, organizations, attractions, or events within the community are appropriate topics.

 

 

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