Springport was originally developed by a man named John Oyer, who arrived in late 1836 from Cayuga County, New York. Oyer helped organize the township's government. He built the first store in Springport, and erected several brick stores, as well as a hotel and a mill. For many years the community was known as "Oyer’s Corner" before the name was changed to Springport. Springport was the name of a town in Cayuga County, New York. The village was incorporated in 1882, with a population of roughly 600 people.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Springport. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1919Springport sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Springport.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Springport in 1881
Passages that mention Springport, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Jackson County, Michigan1881 · page 1078Read the page →
Read the text
The first postoffice was established in the village of Springport, — "Oyer's Corners," — in the early part of January, 1838. Augustus Gaylord was the first postmaster. The Cayuga postoffice was established the next spring, and for 20 years M. S. Brown officiated in that office as postmaster. The Otter Creek and Springport offices are now the only postoffices in the town, the former having been opened in 1839, with Daniel Griffith as the first postmaster.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Jackson County, Michigan1881 · page 1081Read the page →
Read the text
accompanied his father and three brothers, Amos H., Lewis and George D., to Michigan. They settled in Parma. His father had visited Michigan in the summer of 1835 and located a large tract of land in the south part of the town of Springport; a short time after returning, he sold this and made another purchase in the town of Parma ; both of his selections proved to be good, and now constitute some of the best farming land in the county. His father was a blacksmith by trade, and well fitted for the pioneer
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
2005
