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Deford, Michigan

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Deford, Michigan
unincorporated community
Main Street Deford
Main Street Deford
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountyTuscola
TownshipNovesta Township
Elevation
741 ft (226 m)
Population
 • Total4,067
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
48729
Area code989
FIPS code26-21360Template:GR
GNIS feature ID624510[1]

Deford is a unincorporated community in Tuscola County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in the southeast corner of Novesta Township.[2] The Deford ZIP code 48729 serves the southern portion of the township as well as the northern portion of Kingston Township and areas in the northeast corner of Wells Township.[3]

History

When the Grand Trunk Railway was built through here in 1883, the station was named Bruce after local land owner Elmer Bruce. The community was founded in 1884 by Arthur Newton and named for his friend, Mr. Deford. A post office was also established in 1884.[4] During the early 1900s, Deford became a major center of work as it convenient location played part in its growing economy. The town expanded until 1933 when the poor economy destroyed local businesses. The town bounced back in the 1980s but support for the Class B Deford School District ran out. Ever since then Deford has been underestimated as big part of the area.

Geography

Deford is located 3 miles the south of Cass City, 6 miles north for Kingston, and 5.7 miles east of Caro. Deford is located on Deckerville Rd. and Cemetery Rd and expands out to Kingston Rd. where Main St. turns into Bruce St, and back into Deckerville Rd. west of the community. The community is near the Cass River and is home to a library, which was the old Deford High School, and several successful local businesses.

Notable landmarks

Deford Community Park.

To the north of the community is the Deford Community Park, where a statue of Elmer Bruce. The Park was dedicated to Bruce, who was the man who made Deford a place to be during the 1800s and 1900s. His passion has resulted in the expansion of the community as it is continues to grow and it is expected that the community's population will exceed Caro's. [5] The community is also known for the Deford Community Church which is considered one of the oldest in the town.[6] The community takes pride in its landmarks.


Education

During the early to late 1900s, Deford has 3 schools but money and support ran out for the school district and in 1986 all 3 school buildings were shut down and it merged with Cass City School District. Today, the High School is reopen and is in use as a library for the community. Cass City is a Class A school district. [7] [8]

  • Cass City High School 9-12
  • Cass City Middle School 6-8
  • Campbell Elementary K-5
  • Cass City Elementary K-5
  • Cass City Learning Center 9-12
  • Deford-Cass City Christian Academy (Private) K-12

Parks

Changes for the community

On July 23, 2007 Governor Jennifer Granholm announced Deford was a community chosen by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) to take part in the Blueprints for Downtowns program. The community is the only unincorporated community to receive this in the state of Michigan. Deford will receive a comprehensive, market-driven strategy toward developing an action-oriented downtown that will result in economic growth, job creation and private investments.[9] The Blueprints for Downtowns award were also received by the Cities of Clio, Ypsilanti, and the Village of Caro. Scottville received a similar award to take part in the Cool Cities Michigan Main Street program. Deford Urban Development Board or DUDB, was set up to help boast the program and so far has been the most successful of all the projects designated by the MSHDA. The Community has begun new building projects to the north, west, and south of the community.

Agriculture

Deford is a rural community that supports many cash-crop farms just outside the community. Local farmers harvest crops that include sugarbeets, corn, wheat, dry beans and soy beans. Recently, the agriculture of the area has seen an increase in the number of organically grown crops. Most of the farms are family-owned and operated and vary in size from 2 acres (8,000 m2) to over 3,000 acres (12 km2).

Media

Deford is home to 2 radio stations that are Tuscola County stations. Caro and Sandusky hold most of the media connections in the region. Deford is one of 2 communities to have its own radio station, Marlette being the other.

Economy

Deford is home to 3 restaurants, 2 car garages, a convince store with a tanning parlor, a barber's, and most notably a Burger King in downtown. [10] where over 29 businesses are located. The communities economy is considered to be one of the best in the area. [11] The community has, since 2005, set up Board of local citizens to better manage the limited financial support that the community uses for new projects. [12] Another factor that plays apart in the economy of the community is that fact that it is located around 3 major villages. Most of the people who live in Deford work outside the community with few who work inside the community limits.

Major roadways

Deckerville Road routes though Deford, Caro.
Cemetery Road routes though Deford and Kingston to the south and Cass City to the north
M-46 (Sanilac Rd) routes to the south of Deford
M-81 (Cass City Road) routes to the north of Deford
M-24 (Lapeer Road) routes to the south of Deford and runs through Lapeer.
M-53 routes and is to the east of Deford.

Surrounding municipalities

Climate

Deford's climate is much like that of Flint, approximately 30 or 40 miles to the southwest. During the winter, Deford faces heavy precipitation due to its location on the snow belt that comes through Michigan. The community is also located in a tornado prone region of the thumb area but despite these factors, Deford continues to grow. The average of precipitation that falls over the community is 30.6 inches.[13]

References

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Deford, Michigan
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Deford, Michigan
  3. ^ 48729 5-Digit ZCTA, 487 3-Digit ZCTA - Reference Map - American FactFinder, U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 census
  4. ^ Romig, Walter (1986) [1973]. Michigan Place Names. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1838-X.
  5. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=Deford&_cityTown=Deford&_state=04000US26&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010
  6. ^ http://www.defordcommunitychurch.org/
  7. ^ http://www.michigan.gov/cgi/0,1607,7-158-52927_53037_12540_13084---,00.html
  8. ^ www.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_City_High_school
  9. ^ "Governor Granholm Announces Michigan Main Street and Blueprints for Michigan's Downtowns Winners", Michigan State Housing Development Authority
  10. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ReferenceMapFramesetServlet?_bm=y&-tree_id=2304&-bucket_id=67&-_MapEvent=&-errMsg=&-redoLog=false&-_zoomLevel=&-rm_config=%7Cb=67%7Cl=en%7Ct=2304%7Czf=0.0%7Cms=ref_subst_07ec%7Cdw=0.022366819536387167%7Cdh=0.01210954272324416%7Cdt=gov.census.aff.domain.map.EnglishMapExtent%7Cif=gif%7Ccx=-83.19015303155933%7Ccy=43.5132814369657%7Czl=2%7Cpz=2%7Cbo=2441:2397:2395:2403%7Cbl=2396:2404:2442:2398%7Cft=2437:2415:2447:2425:2391:2443:2409%7Cfl=2438:2416:2448:2426:2392:2444:2410%7Cg=01000US&-PANEL_ID=rm_result&-_pageY=407&-_lang=en&-_pageX=376&-_mapY=204&-_mapX=215&-_latitude=&-_pan=&-ds_name=EC0700A1&-_longitude=&-_changeMap=ZoomIn
  11. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=ECN&_tabId=ECN1&_submenuId=datasets_4&_lang=en&_ts=246366688395
  12. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=Deford&_cityTown=Deford&_state=04000US26&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010
  13. ^ http://www.wunderground.com/US/MI/Deford.html
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