This area of Forest Township was first settled as early as 1899 when the Detroit and Mackinac Railway built a rail line through the area on its route from Bay City to Cheboygan. A small lumber settlement began to grow along the Black River, and a post office first opened on April 18, 1899. James A. Kelley served as the first postmaster, and the community adopted the name Tower. The name was chosen in honor of Ellen May Tower, who was the daughter of Civil War veteran and current resident Judge Samuel S. Tower. Originally from Byron, Ellen served as a nurse in the Spanish–American War. While serving in Puerto Rico, which at the time was controlled by Spain, she died of acute pericarditis from typhoid fever. At the age of 30, she died on December 9, 1898—one day before the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the war. As such, she became the first American servicewoman …
Passages that mention Tower, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history and antiquities of the Tower of London, with memoirs of royal and distinguished persons, deduced from records, state-papers, and manuscripts, and from other original and authentic sources1830 · page 74Read the page →
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Tower with the fatal axe borne before him,* and conducted to the great hall at Westminster, where he was tried for high treason and felony. The former of these charges he clearly disproved, but on the latter, which was founded on his having entertained designs against the lives of the duke of Northumberhmd/ the marquis of Northampton, and the earl of Pembroke, he was found guilty by his peers ; among whom these three noblemen themselves were not ashamed to sit in judgment.
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The history and antiquities of the Tower of London, with memoirs of royal and distinguished persons, deduced from records, state-papers, and manuscripts, and from other original and authentic sources1830 · page 204Read the page →
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of the many seminary priests confined in the Tower about that time, and of whom great numbers were banished,® and others executed."* It may be seen by the ancient plan of the Tower, annexed to the first edition, that, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, there was a building called the Wardrobe, forming part of the palace, which extended westward from the Broad Arrow Tower, and communicated with, and gave name to, a strong round Tower, that
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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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
