Sumner, Michigan is a small settlement in southwest Sumner Township, in western Gratiot County, near the center of the Lower Peninsula.
As an unincorporated community in Michigan, Sumner doesn't have defined boundaries, but it is concentrated along West Saint Charles Road, between the Pine River and North Ferris Road and Pitt Road. North Ferris Road leads north-northwest from West Saint Charles Road. Carpenter Creek feeds into the Pine River just south of the community.
Elm Hall, the only other named community in the township, is less than five miles to the north.
Incorporated cities and villages within twenty-five miles of Sumner include Carson City, Ithaca, Alma, Stanton, Perrinton, McBride, St. Louis, Hubbardston, Edmore, Sheridan, Maple Rapids, Shepherd, Mt. Pleasant, Union, Breckenridge, and Ashley, while the unincorporated communities of Elm Hall, New Haven Center, Riverdale, Crystal, Elwell, and Sethton are within ten miles.
Sumner is a small residential community with very few commercial interests and nothing in the way of industry. The community is known locally for its annual Sumner Daze Festival, held at the Sumner Community Center and Sumner Centennial Park each August.
Attracted by its lumbering potential, European-Americans began coming into the township in the fall of 1854. An early settler, George S. Bell, acquired four hundred acres of land on which he opened a sawmill and a store. Subsequently, the community became known as Belltown.
A village site was laid out by George and William Stratton in 1868, and recorded as Estella on September 4 of that year. When a post office was established in 1869, the office was named Sumner, and the town soon took that name.
The first school building in Sumner was a small log schoolhouse built along Ferris Road in 1855. This building, and several subsequent school buildings, were destroyed by fire. A new school building, completed in 1949, now serves as the Sumner Community Center. The last school in Sumner was closed in 1981 after which all K-12 grades were annexed to the Ithaca Schools. Today, Sumner students attend either Alma Public Schools or Ithaca Public Schools.
In 1863, James Hicks opened the Sumner Hotel on the corner of Main Street and Ferris Road. It included a large dining area and sleeping rooms to serve those working in the lumbering industries. A saloon was added in 1904. As there were objections to the saloon, a large fence was constructed to separate it from the nearby school. The hotel later became a private residence but was vacant when it was destroyed by fire in 1924.
Dr. Frederick Graham, the community's only doctor, arrived in 1891, serving the community until he moved to Alma in 1917.
Sumner once had four churches, although only three remain today.
Shortly after its Centennial celebration in 1968, the Centennial Committee acquired land between the Pine River, west of Sumner, and the race that ran north along Ferris Road, which they developed into Sumner Centennial Park, which has hosted several reunions and other events.
The focal point of this portion of our guide is the community of Sumner, Michigan. Online resources for governmental bodies within the community, as well as local businesses, industries, schools, churches, organizations, attractions, events, and recreational opportunities, are appropriate for this category, although Sumner has few of these.
Recommended Resources
Leisure Lake Family Campground
Situated on the sandy beach of a 35-acre fishing lake near Sumner, Michigan, the campground features roped-off swimming areas, no-license fishing, modern bath houses, large lots for recreational vehicles, and three sleeping cabins. Other features and amenities include fire rings, picnic pavilions, free WiFi, water, electric, and sewer, as well as picnic tables, guest parking, a camp store, dump station, and firewood delivered to the site. Propane is also available.
https://www.leisurelakefamilycampground.com/
The Sumner Township cemetery is located along North Ferris Road, north of the Sumner, Michigan community. The Find a Grave website features photographs of the grounds and of the headstones and memorials of the people interred there, along with details, such as the dates of birth and death, obituaries, and cross-references with the listings of family members. Site visitors may upload information and photographs for inclusion in the site, or adopt cemeteries in their area.
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1828/sumner-cemetery
The civil township is in western Gratiot County, near the center of the Lower Peninsula. The official township website includes a history of the township and of the community of Sumner, where the township offices are located, as well as township hours. Other resources include the rules and rental fees for the Sumner Community Center, and schedules and information about the upcoming Sumner Daze Festival, including a map. Announcements and township contacts are also posted on the site.
http://www.sumnertownship.com/
The family business is based in Sumner, Michigan, where it specializes in producing and selling seed for deer habitat, nesting grounds for birds, and wildflower fields for honey bees. Its products, which may be ordered online, include various varieties of alfalfa, clover, bones and beards, buckwheat, chicory, wheat, green fire, kale, corn, grasses, soy, radish, snow peas, sorghum, timothy, turnips, and others. Its location, telephone number, email address, and hours are posted on the site.
https://wildlifeseedsupply.com/
