History of Marysville

The first fort in our area was built in 1686. Fort St. Joseph was erected by a man by the name of DuLuth. The forts duty was to block the English from traveling between Toronto and Michlimackinac.Upon the abandonment of Fort Niagara, DuLuth felt that there was no longer a need for Fort St. Joseph.DuLuth decided to move on and set fire to the fort. Later in 1814, Fort Gratiot was built by the Americans nearby the charred remains of Fort St. Joseph. This forts' duties were to keep peace with the Indians and to protect the outposts of Mackinac and Sault Ste. Marie.

In 1780 Duperon Baby, a British Indian agent, erected a sawmill and dam along the creek six miles of Fort Gratiot. The conditions were ideal as the forest lands in this area were dense and uncut, also with natural timberlines and water transportation routes. Baby was a loyal British subject and therefore seized operation of his mill in 1783 when the British surrendered at Yorktown. Thus began the sawmill era. The next sawmill in our area was built by Antoine Morass in 1786, along a stream two miles south of Baby Creek. This mill attracted enough people, that by 1790 the first settlement was established.

In 1817, Zephanian W. Bunce arrived to build his home on the stream that became known as Bunce Creek. Bunce built his first sawmill in 1818 near his home. He performed various official duties and soon learned to trade with the Indians. Bunce was joined for a short time by his brother Joseph in 1825. Joseph was forced to return to New York in 1830 due to health reasons. Before leaving, Joseph along with Governor Cass convinced U.S. Congress to build military roads from Detroit to many of the outposts of the territory. They were able to bend the route slightly to meet at Bunce Creek on it's way to Fort Gratiot. This road was called the Fort Gratiot Turnpike. Z.W. Bunce married Louisa Ann Duryea in September of 1827, and opened a store and trading post at Fort Gratiot. This store operated until the stock ran out.Bunce and his wife then went back into the sawmill business.

By this time, Bunce's small mill had grown into a flourishing village called Bunceville.Bunceville contained the post office for Fort Gratiot and Desmond (which is now known as Port Huron).Bunceville was also a port-of-call for passenger steamers between Chicago and Detroit.Lumbering was the main industry to dominate our regions economy for 100 years. A man by the name of Colonel Andrew Mack arrive in the mid 1830's.Colonel Mack bought the land which is now part of the Marysville Golf Course, and set-up a sawmill, small general store and wood refueling station, to serve new steam-powered vessels in the Great Lakes Waterway. “Macks Place” became a popular trading post and stopping point for river traffic. Due to this popularity, “Macks Place” won a post office until Colonel Macks death in 1854.

Edward Vickery arrived in 1843 and bought land on the river at the foot of what is now Huron Blvd. This area became known as Vickery's Landing.Upon Colonel Mack's death, Vickery took over the post-office. After Vickery moved in 1860 Vickery's Landing changed to Vicksburg. Miron Williams, a shipbuilder, settled in Vicksburg in 1854. In the late 1850's Williams ordered a piano that was mistakenly delivered to Vicksburg in Kalamazoo County.This caused Williams to convince the post-office to change the name to one that was not duplicated. In 1859, Williams made the change to Marysville in honor of his wife and daughter.

Williams daughter, Emma, married to Henry G. McMorran. In 1880, McMorran along with Neson Mills, formed the Riverside Turnpike Co., which built the all-weather toll road from Pt. Huron City limits to Bunce Creek. The toll was .10 for 1-horse rigs and .20 for a team. In 1900 a new industry was born. Due to success in Marine City and St. Clair, a Port Huron company drilled wells into a salt bed south of Bunce Creek.Ten years later Morton Salt Co. bought the local businesses. In 1918-1919, two more industries came to the area. These were the predecessors of Pressed Metals of America and St. Clair Rubber Co.

During this time, a storm force a large luxury yacht to seek refuge in Marysville. The owner of this yacht was none other than Henry Fords right hand man, C. Harold Wills. The moment Wills stepped foot on Marysville soil, he fell in love. On March 15, 1919 Wills parted company with Ford, and received a $1.5 million severance bonus. A few days later, Ford's labor relations expert, John R. Lee, also left. Wills and Lee emerged and bought more than 2,000 acres of land in Marysville. Soon after Wills doubled his purchase to 4,200 acres. This was all of Marysville except for a few scattered individual holdings!

At this time Marysville was only a population of about 200. On November 15, 1919 Wills and Lee laid the cornerstone for the factory that would soon build the Wills Sainte Clair motor car. The Marysville Land Company was established to build the thousands of houses for Wills' employee's. Wills made it clear that his city plan was for a wholesome community for his workers. The village population soared from 200 in 1919 to 2,000 in 1921. The first Wills V-8 car rolled off the assembly line on February 19, 1921. By 1922 Marysville's population had grown to 3,000. This year marked the completion of Detroit Edison's new Bunce Creek power plant. In 1927 the Wills company folded due to constant changes and unfilled orders. More than 80 Wills cars currently exist.

In 1933 Wills sold his factory to the Chrysler Corporation which has provided employment to our community for over 60 years. World War II began, and Dow Chemical built a factory for extracting magnesium from salt deposits for aircraft construction. They only operated until the end of WW II, but this site became known as the Marysville Industrial area. We could not truly appreciate our city without giving recognition to those who constantly put their lives on the line to keep Marysville as the wholesome community that Wills had planned.

The Marysville Police Department first operated January 1, 1925. They had a small office in the old Municipal Building, which is now the Museum. The department consisted of one Chief of Police. In 1970 they moved to the old bank building on Huron Blvd., and then in 1978 to the City Building on Delaware St. On March 23, 1998 the Police Department moved to the new Marysville Safety Building. The department now consists of 16 sworn officers; Chief of Police, Assistant Chief, five Sergeants and nine patrolmen. The department works jointly with the schools in programs, such as D.A.R.E. The patrol cars have up-to-date equipment, including in-car cameras, and cutting edge computers. The police department enjoys being in the new building with ability to function and grow in the 21st Century. The Marysville Fire Department was established in 1919. They received their first motorized fire truck in 1920. In 1924, the first fire station was built and they received their first full time fire-fighter.President Roosevelt initiated the WPA in 1933. This program built the second fire station, located on Huron Blvd. The department recently moved to the new Safety Building on Delaware St. The Marysville Fire Department was the first in St. Clair County to initiate 9-1-1.EMS service begun in 1976, and was upgraded to Advanced Life Support Paramedic Service in 1994. The Fire Department currently has a Chief, an Assistant Chief, two Captains, six fire-fighters/paramedics, 15 part time - paid personnel and a secretary.