150 years of Vicksburg at a glance

1831 – John Vickers builds mill on Portage Creek at the present-day site of Clark Park.

1835-36 – Tavern house and blacksmith shop built, marking beginning of a village.

1842 – First school built of logs, located on present-day Kalamazoo Avenue.

1843 – Village platted for first time as Vicksburgh – with an “h”.

1845 – Post Office on Gourdneck Prairie moved to Vicksburgh.

1849 – Village re-platted under the name Brady.

1850 – Village consists of store, blacksmith, frame school, flour and lumber mills, lodging, tavern house and post office.

1869 – Brick school built on Maple Street.

1870 – Beginning of two decades of construction of retail buildings in village.

1870 – Vicksburg’s oldest church, present-day United Methodist Church, constructed.

1871 – 1872 – Two railroads reach the village.

1871, Oct. 18 – County Board of Supervisors petitioned to organize Village of Brady.

1871, Oct 19 – Petition amended and accepted to change name to Vicksburgh.

1872 – McElvain House Hotel built, southeast corner of present-day Main and Prairie.

1879 – Vicksburg Commercial begins publication.

1894 – Village’s first bank established.

1897 – Water and Power Plant provides first electricity and municipal water to residents.

1897 – Vicksburg Telephone Exchange established.

1897 – Fire Department established, Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1.

1899 – Frame train depot burns to the ground.

1902 – Fanny Wallace Bair builds Library on Maple Street. It’s later named for her.

1903 – Frakes and Citizens’ Additions added to village.

1903 – Carson Durkee builds an automobile, many people see their first car.

1904-1905 – Lee Paper Company built and first Polish workers hired.

1904 – Brick Union Depot constructed.

1904 – Housing boom in the village, with many homes constructed.

1905 – Hobard Addition added to village.

1906 – Bowie, Godshalk and Dell Additions added to village.

1909 – New brick two-story school built on Kalamazoo Avenue.

1913 – First automobile agency established, Tobey Bros. Ford Agency.

1916 – First hospital, located on northwest corner of Kalamazoo Ave and South Street.

1916 – Village’s first engine-propelled fire truck ordered.

1916 – Street signs erected; house numbering system set up.

1917 – House -to-house mail delivery begins.

1918 – First village casualty from World War I reported: Roy Canavan.

1922 – Golf course built between Vicksburg and Schoolcraft, Vixcraft Golf Course, now States.

1924 – Hospital on North Main St. opens in the former Peter Franklin home.

1931 – Vicksburg’s two banks merge, then soon close due to the Great Depression.

1933 – A money exchange opens to provide change and cash checks.

1936 – A branch of First National Bank established in Vicksburg.

1936 – Vicksburg to Kalamazoo bus service begins.

1941-1942 – World War II brings on rationing, sends many men off to war.

1946 – Vicksburg Foundation established.

1947 – 21 one-room school districts consolidate with the Vicksburg District.

1947 – One-room schools close, then a few re-open to lessen crowding.

1952 – New high school built on Highway Street.

1952 – Harding’s Market opens village’s first self-serve grocery at 112 South Main.

1953 – First Rotary Showboat presentation.

1956 – Southland Mall built in Portage, beginning retail decline in Vicksburg.

1956 – Vicksburg water treatment facility completed on Highway Street.

1958 – Sunset Elementary School opens.

1959 – Harding’s Market opens new modern store on West Prairie Street.

1960 – New post office opens on North Kalamazoo Avenue.

1960 – Middle School on East Prairie opens.

1968 – Vicksburg Ambulance Service formed.

1969 – New hospital opens on North Boulevard Street.

1970 – Commercial buildings on west side of North Main demolished, park established.

1971 -Vicksburg celebrates “One Hundred Years of Progress.”

1971 – Little League is established in Vicksburg.

1971 – Passenger train service to and from Vicksburg ends.

1975 – McElvain Hotel/Vicksburg Hotel refurbished, becoming Vicksburg Community Center.

1975 – Alley on west side of South Main Street transformed into Liberty Lane.

1980 – Village hires first full-time village manager.

1981 – First Old Car Festival is held.

1983 – Vicksburg Community School Foundation established.

1986 – Main Street receives a facelift, with wider sidewalks, new lights, and trees.

1987 – A large addition added to Fanny Bair Library along Michigan Avenue.

1990 – Ground broken for industrial park on West Prairie St.

1990 – Union Depot dedicated as a Historical Society Museum.

1995 – Performing Arts Center opens.

1996 – Professional Medical Building opens on North Boulevard.

1996 – Village Market Place opens.

2001 – Paper mill closes.

2003 – Angels Crossing Golf Course opens.

2006 – Bulldog Stadium and Sports Complex opens.

2013 – Vicksburg Quilt Trail completed.

2014 – Community Pavilion dedicated.

2015 – Cultural Arts Center opens.

2016 – Nature Trail project gets underway.

2016 – Local hospital closes.

2017- Hill’s Drug Store closes after 72 years in business with same name.

2018 – Paper City LLC acquires papermill buildings.

2018 – Last locally-owned car dealership sold.

2021 – Village-wide infrastructure improvement project.

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