Land at Scotts was first deeded to Dan Wheeler in 1835. Samuel Scott settled here in 1847 and the community became known as Scotts Crossing, later shortened to Scotts. A post office named Scotts opened on February 19, 1872, with Servetus Bathrick as its first postmaster. The community was platted by Bathrick in 1874.
On May 2, 2015, a 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck West Michigan, with the epicenter less than one mile NW of Scotts. The quake was felt from Wisconsin to southern Ontario, and revealed a previously unknown fault line stretching from Kalamazoo to Coldwater.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
