 City Hall c. 1960 |
 Sanborn Map |
as well as personal opinions and experiences
A non profit educational website.
from my personal experience growing up in and working for the
City of Grand Rapids
I'm working on an updated version of this website.
Feel free
to to visit that at
http://babs27.wordpress.com/
|
City Hall c. 1960 |
Sanborn Map |
City Hall c. 1960 from the corner of Ionia Ave and Lyon St
Parking Ramp # 1 and the Association of Commerce Bldg to the right where the
Camp Fire office was for many years.
Note the gas company on the left. When they moved to this building they gave
their old furniture to the police department which was still being used when I
worked there in 1980.
The traffic lights are still on the side poles and the telephone wires are
underground.
BobAnna
The politicians claimed they would listen to citizens who had a plan to save this building before replacing it with a parking lot but the politicians lied. So at the next primary for the Grand Rapids Board of Education who was busy tearing down homes nearby, every incumbent was thrown out resulting in the birth of Heritage Hill.
1 chain = 100 links = 4 rods = 66 feet.
10 chains squared = 40 rods squared = 208.7 ft sq = 43560 sq feet= 1 acre
Before 1912, house numbers were selected in a hodgepodge
manner by the occupants.
Streets located west of the Grand River were designated as West, with streets
being designated North or South from Bridge Street.
Streets located east of the Grand River were designated as East, with streets
being designated North or South from Fulton Street.
In 1912 a quadrant system was developed - NW, NE, SW, SE from the corner of
Division and Fulton.
Odd numbers for the west and south sides of the streets.
Even numbers for the east and north sides of the streets.
Numbers were assigned to the land, generally three numbers per city lot. The
numbers would usually start with a new hundred at each cross street.
Specifically, numbers increased by two digits for each 13.2 feet on one side of
a street
so that they increased by 800 each mile from Division Avenue or Fulton Street.
Official City of Grand Rapids - for current income tax, parking, assessor
1888 - Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
1895 - Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
1912 City Directory list of address changes as assigned by City Engineers
1994 City Engineers Quarter Section Maps
Annotated Annexation Annotated Map overlaid on
township/sections
Catholic Churches and Cemeteries historically located in the central city.
Photographers any name ever used in City Directories 1856-1979
History of Central High School
G
Grand Rapids Public Schools - By street location
Kent County street name changes by old name 1943-
Record of Earlier ones disappeared about 2000
Kent County Range and Town lines
permanent parcel numbers
Ancestry.Com A fool and his money are soon parted
E
Genealogy and the City of Grand Rapids
Geography and the Grand Rapids Services Page
How township sections are arranged
Maps covering the city from before it was created to now
If your query landed you on this site, the information may be too embedded for you to find easily. Feel free to just email me and ask me your question. Babs27@comcast.net
This is a work in progress. Last Update Jan 2011
In-depth information beyond a list
I believe that genealogy, geography and history are inter-twined and accuracy is very important. And accuracy depends on your ability to see the source in its own time-line not yours.
As an example: In my time-line Herpolsheimer's Store was at the corner of Fulton and Division while Wurzburg's Dept Store was at the corner of Ottawa and Monroe. . In my mother's time-line Herp's was at the corner of Ottawa and Monroe while Wurzburg's was near the corner of Crescent and Monroe. Do not assume your time-line fits the source's time-line or you will make mistakes and look foolish except to other fools. .
This page covers specifically the CITY of Grand Rapids and
presents a "nest" of
information that can be used in your own projects
to understand the past in its timeline.
First annexation in 1850: Grand Rapids Township (formerly Kent Twp) T7N R11W - Walker Township T7N R12 W
The township lines that divide these four townships correspond to Division Avenue and Hall Street.
First annexation in 1891: Paris Township T6N R11 W - Wyoming TownshipT6N R12
Small photos are also links. Click on the photo and it will
get bigger. Once at the bigger site it may be necessary to scurry over the
lower right hand corner to get a little square X to
pop up
Barbara Vander Mark , Real Property Appraiser II, retired.
I created this web site and its contents using my own knowledge, experience and original sources whenever available. This is my web site and I am responsible for its contents. I would like to thank my fellow City of Grand Rapids employees who provided me with the raw data and their knowledge and expertise. Special thanks to Bruce Sullivan, Personnel, for rescuing me, twice. Special thanks to Bill Hill the know-it-all reference librarian who truly does KNOW IT ALL except how to do genealogy.
What started my quest of creating this web site: The rise and reliance on
Name Matching which is just
I mean no offense but I have to admit I am annoyed that Name Matching even extends to geography. Another genealogy site has implied that Kent County, Kent Twp - same name, same entity; Grand Rapids City, Grand Rapids Township - same name, same entity. Does that mean that since Grand Rapids, Michigan and Grand Rapids, Minnesota have the same name they are the same entity? Well, I can drive to London, Ontario. Can you drive to London, England without getting wet?
And I owe Singary for the sample of her excellent and award-winning Tom Berenger web-site (guess who's my favorite actor?) and her advice in uploading. Thank you Jenny! www.geocities.com/tomberengeronline/ and to Ted Pack who is a smart-ass just like me! And a computer programmer. http://www.tedpack.org/begingen.html Check this site for how to begin genealogy, the smart-ass way.
And thanks to Kim Rush and Steve Smith for helping me improve this site
Although I have consulted Baxter's History of Grand Rapids, I have not copied this secondary source assuming what Baxter meant in 1891 is what it still means in 2000, but have made an effort to confirm and update the information with independent sources. See my essay on Primary vs. Secondary.
And you can read Baxter for yourself. Books Online - Kent County, Michigan - Histories, Directories, Biographies, Gazetteers