The Village of Vanderbilt, Michigan is in Corwith Township, northern Otsego County, in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula.
I-75 runs through the western portion of the village, with an exit onto Old Highway 27, which runs through the center of town. Other routes to or from the village include McGregor Road, Nowak Road, Sturgeon Valley Road, and Yuill Road. Cities and villages within twenty-five miles of Vanderbilt include Gaylord, Wolverine, Boyne Falls, and Boyne City, while the unincorporated communities of Thumb Lake and Green Timbers are within ten miles of the village.
Vanderbilt's peak population was 605 in 1990. Since then, it has declined each census year, to 498 in 2020.
Vanderbilt came about when the Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw Railroad changed its original plant to build its track through Berryville, and decided to take another route, through land owned by the Vanderbilt family.
Around 1875, John G. Berry purchased land along the originally planned route of the railroad, about three or four miles from Vanderbilt. In 1877, he founded a town there, and became the first postmaster of Berryville on January 16, 1878. The Berryville post office operated until 1907.
When Mr. Berry learned that the railroad had changed its planned route, he moved his businesses to the current site of Vanderbilt.
Cornelius Vanderbilt, a member of a wealthy New York family, purchased the Michigan Central Railroad, which was originally the Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw Railroad, and the new town was named for the Vanderbilt family. The Vanderbilt post office was established on June 24, 1880, with Dr. Henry C. Peckham as postmaster. The railroad came through to Vanderbilt in 1871, establishing a depot there, and Vanderbilt was incorporated as a village in 1901.
With the benefit of the railroad, the village grew quickly. By the turn of the 19th century, Vanderbilt had several residences, some stores, a two-story school building, two churches, a few boarding houses, a Masonic Lodge, a sawmill, and a planing mill.
Vanderbilt had a forest product industry, shipping lumber harvested in the surrounding area to market, as well as supporting businesses that turned the lumber into other products, such as bowls, posts, barrel staves, wagons, furniture, and brooms.
Shortly after its incorporation as a village in 1901, the village had a telephone company, electricity to operate a shingle mill, and then enough electricity to power other businesses, residences, and street lights. In 1913, the Vanderbilt school expanded to serve grades 1-12, and a new schoolhouse was built in the 1950s, with additions added in subsequent years.
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Michigan was in Vanderbilt on February 9, 1934, when temperatures fell to -51 F.
Today, Vanderbilt is a small town, but it supports small but vibrant commercial enterprises, as well as light manufacturing. The township hall is located in Vanderbilt, and the village still has an operating post office, a school, a few churches, and recreational facilities.
The North Central State Trail, a 62-mile recreational rail trail that largely parallels I-75, runs northward from Gaylord to the top of the Lower Peninsula at Mackinaw City, connecting to the North Western State Trail. It serves the towns of Gaylord, Vanderbilt, Indian River, Cheboygan, and Mackinaw City, following what was formerly the northernmost section of the Michigan Central Railroad.
The Vanderbilt branch of the Otsego County Library is housed at the Corwith Township Hall in downtown Vanderbilt, and the Vanderbilt Area School District serves K-12 students in the village. Its campus is located just inside the eastern boundaries of the village.
Residential land use occupies just under thirty percent of the total land area in the village. Most of its residential development is on small lots in the village's platted areas, although some single-family homes are on larger lots within the village.
Commercial development comprises between three and four percent of the village area, largely concentrated along Old Highway 27. Industrial areas cover about eight percent of the village, mostly in the north-central part of town.
Nearly twenty percent of the land area in the village is forested, mostly on land that was not considered suitable for farming when the village was first settled.
Club Stream flows through the southern part of Vanderbilt.
The focal point of this portion of our guide is the village of Vanderbilt, Michigan. Online resources representing governmental entities, such as the municipality and township, as well as businesses, industries, schools, churches, organizations, attractions, events, entertainment venues, and recreational opportunities within the village are appropriate for this category.
 
 
Recommended Resources
Located along East Winters Road, west of Old 27 Highway North, the Vanderbilt, Michigan cemetery is also known as Resurrection Catholic Cemetery and Saint Mary's Cemetery. Directions and a map are posted, along with photographs of the grounds and of the memorials of people interred there, transcriptions, and other details are included. Graves may be found by name, year of birth, or year of death. Find a Grave allows readers to upload photos and information to the site.
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1985039/resurrection-cemetery
Offering a K-12 public school curriculum, the school district operates out of one campus in the eastern portion of the village. General information about the district and school is set forth, along with information about its school organizations, community programs, and staff resources. Breakfast and lunch menus, a family and school relationship handbook, and a district calendar are set forth. The address, map, telephone number, and staff directory are featured on the site.
https://www.vanderbiltareaschool.org/
Also known as Corwith Cemetery and Evergreen Hills Cemetery, the graveyard is situated along Yuill Road in northern Vanderbilt, Michigan. The Find a Grave website provides tools that allow site visitors to share photographs and information about the cemetery and the people who are interred there. Photos of the grounds and of individual memorials are presented, with transcriptions, obituaries, and cross-references with interred family members. Virtual flowers may be uploaded.
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1885/vanderbilt-cemetery
Formed in 1955 through the merger of the Vanderbilt Congregational Church and the First Methodist Episcopal Church, the history of the congregation is told. Associated with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), a statement of beliefs is published on the site, which includes a calendar of events, external links to its archive of video and audio sermons, and information about its food and clothes closets. A phone number, email address, and online contact form are included.
https://www.vanderbiltcc.org/
Situated in Corwith Township, Otsego County, Vanderbilt was settled in 1875 and incorporated in 1901. The official municipal website posts schedules of community events, activities, and official meetings, along with agendas and minutes. Board members are listed, including contacts for some of them. Its parks, including Trailhead Park, Custer Park, and Memorial Park, are featured and may be reserved for events. An online form is included. Schedules for the Community Farmers Market are included.
https://www.vanderbiltvillage.com/