Erie, Michigan

The rural community of Erie is located within Erie Township in southeast Monroe County about {{convert|4.0|mi|km|1}} north of the Ohio state line and {{convert|2.0|mi|km|1}} west of the Lake Erie shoreline.{{cite web|last=Michigan Economic Development Corporation|url=https://www.michigan.org/city/erie|title=Monroe County Convention and Tourism Bureau: Erie|date=2025|accessdate=April 12, 2025}} The community sits at an elevation of {{convert|591|ft|m}} above sea level.

The community is centered along M-125, which is known locally as South Dixie Highway. Other nearby major roadways include U.S. Route 24 (South Telegraph Road) just to the west and Interstate 75 to the east, which is directly accessible via exit 5 (Erie Road). Two unsigned connector routes also runs through the area; Connector 75 connects Interstate 75 to M-125, and Connector 125 connects U.S. Route 24 to M-125. Other nearby unincorporated communities include Vienna to the southeast, Ottawa and Vienna Junction to the south, Yargerville to the northwest, Samaria and Temperance to the west, and Hillcrest Orchard to the north. The nearest incorporated municipalities are the cities of Luna Pier to the east and Toledo, Ohio to the south. The nearest airport is the Erie Aerodrome located about {{convert|1.5|mi|km|1}} southwest of the community, although this airport is no longer in operation.{{cite web |url = http://www.airnav.com/airport/M84 | title = M84 - Erie Aerodrome - FAA information effective February 11, 2010 | publisher = FAA data republished by AirNav | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20100407125938/http://www.airnav.com/airport/M84 | archivedate = April 7, 2010}}

Erie contains its own post office that uses the 48133 ZIP Code. The post office is located at 9780 South Dixie Highway in the center of the community.{{cite web|last=U.S. Postal Service|url=https://tools.usps.com/locations/home.htm?location=1437835|title=Erie Post Office|date=2025|accessdate=April 17, 2021}} The ZIP Code serves the majority of Erie Township, as well as very small portions of southern La Salle Township and eastern Bedford Township. The ZIP Code also serves the southernmost areas of the city of Luna Pier.

The community is served by Mason Consolidated Schools, which contains three schools—elementary, middle, and high school—on one main campus just north of the community. The district serves a much larger area extending beyond the community.{{cite web|last=Michigan Geographic Framework|url=http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/mgdl/pdfmaps/CountySchools/SD_BYCO_esize_MONROE%20COUNTY.pdf|title=Monroe County School Districts|date=15 November 2013|access-date=April 14, 2025}} The parochial St. Joseph Church School is located at 2238 Manhattan Street and is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. The Erie Township Hall is located in the center of the community at 2065 Erie Road.{{cite web|last=Michigan Township Association|url=https://www.michigantownships.org/twp_details.asp?fips=26320|title=Erie Township, Monroe County, Michigan|date=2025|accessdate=April 10, 2025}} The building also contains the Erie Branch Library of the Monroe County Library System.{{cite web|last=Monroe County Library System|url=https://mymcls.com/branch/erie-branch-library/|title=Erie Branch Library|date=2025|accessdate=April 12, 2025}} The Erie Fire Department is located right next door at 2048 Manhattan Street.{{cite web|last=Erie Township|url=https://erietownshipmi.gov/fire-department/|title=Erie Township: Fire Departments|date=2022|accessdate=April 19, 2025}} The {{convert|3221|acres|ha|adj=mid}} Erie State Game Area is located just to the east along the shores of Lake Erie.{{cite web|last=Michigan DNR|url=https://www.michigandnr.com/publications/pdfs/huntingwildlifehabitat/sga/Erie_SGA_map.pdf|title=Erie State Game Area|date=April 2, 2019|accessdate=April 15, 2025}} Bay Creek is a small river that runs through the community on its way to Lake Erie.{{GNIS|620781|Bay Creek}}

File:Erie, Michigan (1910).jpg

File:Erie, Michigan fire (1916).jpg

The area was first settled as early as 1790 by French settlers who moved south from the Frenchtown settlement (present-day city of Monroe). The settlers cleared an area along the Maumee Bay in what was then the American Territory Northwest of the River Ohio. Gabriel Richard traveled from Detroit and founded a church here that was named St. Joseph sur la Baie Miami, and Richard held sermons here between 1798 and 1820. In 1819, the first log church was built here along Bay Creek, and a new frame church was constructed in 1826.{{cite web|last=St. Joseph Catholic Church|url=https://www.stjosepherie.com/history|title=St. Joseph Catholic Church: Our History|date=2025|accessdate=April 15, 2025}} The community, which was located further inland, was given a post office named Bay Settlement on April 18, 1827 when Erie Township was formally organized. Benoni Newkirk served as the first postmaster. On March 5, 1835, postmaster Salmon Keeney had the office name changed to Erie.{{sfn|Romig|1986|page=185}}

The area transitioned through several jurisdictions beginning with the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio. In 1800, it became part of the Indiana Territory, and five years later, it became part of the Michigan Territory. Monroe County was organized in 1817 as the second county in the territory. In 1835, the Toledo War took place in the area, as the state of Ohio to the south and the Michigan Territory disputed the area known as the Toledo Strip, which was part of the original boundaries of the Michigan Territory. In 1836, the Toledo Strip was granted to the state of Ohio, and this made Erie one of the southernmost communities in the new state of Michigan. Although the community was renamed Erie, the name Bay Settlement was still common, as the name later appeared on an 1849 state map.{{cite web|last=Historic Pictoric |url=https://www.historicpictoric.com/products/historic-map-1849-new-michigan-with-its-canals-roads|title=Historic Map : 1849 New Map of Michigan with its Canals, Roads & Distances–Vintage Wall Art|date=2025|accessdate=April 18, 2025}} A new brick St. Joseph Catholic Church building was constructed in 1851.{{cite web|last=Historical Marker Database|url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=172354|title=St. Joseph Sur La Baie|date=16 April 2023|accessdate=April 16, 2025}}

Around 1849, the area received its first railway line when the Michigan Southern Rail Road built a line southward from Monroe to Toledo. This line ran just east of Erie but provided a vital transportation route through the area, especially when the Michigan Central Railroad opened a depot at Vienna in 1882, and passenger service began the next year.{{cite web|last=Michiganrairoads.com|url=https://www.michiganrailroads.com/stations-locations/122-monroe-county-58/1502-vienna-mi|title=Station: Vienna, MI|date=2025|accessdate=April 14, 2025}}{{sfn|Romig|1986|page=574}} By 1896, the Toledo Division of the Pere Marquette Railway also constructed a railway line through the area just west of Erie, and the community would receive its own train depot that year as well.{{cite web|last=Michiganrairoads.com|url=https://www.michiganrailroads.com/stations-locations/122-monroe-county-58/1478-erie-mi|title=Station: Erie, MI|date=2025|accessdate=April 14, 2025}} The railway line appeared on an 1896 map of Erie Township, and Erie became the location of a large engine facility used by the Pere Marquette Railway.{{cite web|last=Historic Map Works, LLC|url=https://historicmapworks.com/Map/US/473501/Erie+Township/Monroe+County+1896/Michigan/|title=Erie Township from Monroe County 1896|date=2025|accessdate=April 9, 2025}}{{cite web|last=Michiganrailroads.com|url=https://www.michiganrailroads.com/stations-locations/122-monroe-county-58/1491-ottawa-yard-erie-mi|title=Location: Ottawa Yard, Erie, MI|date=2025|accessdate=April 16, 2025}}

On the morning of September 20, 1916, Erie suffered a major fire that became known as the Great Fire of 1916. Different accounts vary as to the origins of the fire, but it may have been caused by a local blacksmith shop. Strong winds allowed the fire to travel quickly through the business district and also spread to outlying farms. Within minutes, the entire northwest portion of the community was engulfed in flames. Since the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, the recently built St. Joseph School was spared, while many students were in school at the time. An older church and railroad boarding house would also burn down. The fire spread quickly and destroyed 16 buildings, including two saloons, three grocery stores, the post office, and several shops. Several houses and barns also burned down. At the time, the community had no fire department. In the end, losses exceeded $100,000 ($2.93 million in 2025 dollars) and nearly half the community burned down.{{cite news |publisher = The Daily Telegram |url = https://www.lenconnect.com/story/lifestyle/nature-wildlife/2016/09/20/when-great-fire-1916-nearly/25413305007/ |title = When the Great Fire of 1916 nearly destroyed the town of Erie |date = 20 September 2016 |access-date = April 18, 2025 }}

The railway industry continued to expand in the area, and in 1924, the Ottawa rail yard was constructed just to the southwest. The Erie train depot was slightly relocated to accommodate the yard. Ten additional rail lines were constructed in the yard for a total length of {{convert|47|mi|km}} of tracks, as well as a capacity of 17 engine bays and 3,500 cars. The yard operated 24 hours a day.

File:Saint Joseph Church Erie Michigan.JPG

File:Erie Michigan 1953 tornado.jpg

The main roadway through Erie was originally a plank road called the Erie & Toledo Plank Road, as it appeared on an 1876 map of Erie Township.{{cite web|last=Historic Map Works, LLC|url=https://historicmapworks.com/Map/US/65292/Erie+Township++North+Maumee+Lake++Half+Way+Creek++Vienna/Monroe+County+1876/Michigan/|title=Erie Township, North Maumee Lake, Half Way Creek, Vienna from Monroe County 1876|date=2025|accessdate=April 19, 2025}} This route would later become part of the eastern segment of Dixie Highway in 1915 and soon after part of the original state highway M-56 in 1919.Michigan State Highway Department (December 1, 1926). Official Highway Condition Map (Map). [c. 1:823,680]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. In 1926, M-56 through Erie was renamed as U.S. Route 25 (US 25) as part of the inaugural United States Numbered Highway System and would provide direct road access to Port Huron in the north all the way south to South Carolina.{{cite map |author1 = Bureau of Public Roads |author-link = Bureau of Public Roads |author2 = American Association of State Highway Officials |author2-link = American Association of State Highway Officials |date = November 11, 1926 |title = United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials |url = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_System_of_Highways_Adopted_for_Uniform_Marking_by_the_American_Association_of_State_Highway_Officials.jpg |scale = 1:7,000,000 |location = Washington, DC |publisher = United States Geological Survey |oclc = 32889555 |access-date = November 7, 2013 |via = Wikimedia Commons |name-list-style = amp }} In 1973, this final segment of US 25 was decommissioned and reassigned as state highway M-125, named locally as South Dixie Highway.{{cite MDOT map |year= 1973 |link= yes |section= N13 }}{{cite MDOT map |year= 1974 |link= yes |section= N13 }}

Other major roadways in the area include U.S. Route 24, known locally as South Telegraph Road, which was commissioned in 1925.{{cite book |last= Barnett |first= LeRoy |year= 2004 |title= A Drive Down Memory Lane: The Named State and Federal Highways of Michigan |location= Allegan Forest, MI |publisher= Priscilla Press |pages= 210–11 |isbn= 1-886167-24-9 |oclc= 57425393}} This highway runs just west of the center of the community. By 1945, a divided highway designated as Alternate US 24 (US 24A) was opened from the Ohio state line north through Erie.{{cite MDOT map |date = 1945-10-01 |section = N13 }} In 1957, this section of US 24A was approved as the first Michigan segment of Interstate 75 and was completed and designated as such in October 1959.{{cite news |title = Interstate 75 Road Markers Are Unveiled |work = The Herald-Press |location = St. Joseph, Michigan |agency = Associated Press |date = October 13, 1959 |page = 3 |oclc = 10117184 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21745135/interstate_75_road_markers_are_unveiled/ |access-date = July 10, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }}

The railroad continued to operate in Erie until the Ottawa Yard closed in 1961 when the operations were transferred to another rail yard just to the south in Walbridge, Ohio. Rail transport from Detroit to Ohio was now able to travel more efficiently by bypassing the Ottawa Yard, and all of the extra rail lines were removed—leaving only the main dual lines. Rail and freight services continued to operate out of the Erie train depot as late as 1964 until that depot was also closed and later demolished. The nearby Vienna train depot was also closed and demolished. Erie no longer has train service, although the rail lines to the west and east continue to be used. The dual lines to the west are currently operated by CSX Transportation, while the triple lines to the east are operated by Canadian National Railway and Norfolk Southern Railway.{{cite web|last=Michigan Department of Transportation|author-link=Michigan Department of Transportation|url=https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/MDOT/Travel/Mobility/Rail/Michigan-Railroad-System-Map.pdf?rev=27681eac5dd14479a882318441cf94f9|title=Michigan's Railroad System: Railroads Operating in Michigan|date=March 2017|accessdate=April 13, 2025}}

Eighteen years after the devastating fire, the community opened its first fire department in 1934. The St. Joseph Catholic Church remains in operation and continues to hold services at the brick church built in 1851. It is Monroe County's second-oldest continuously operating church building after St. Mary's Church in Monroe, which began operating in 1839. It is also noted as the fourth-oldest church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit.

During the Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence on June 8, 1958, an F4 tornado caused significant damage during its {{convert|5.4|mi|km|1|adj=mid}} path through Erie. The tornado traveled eastward from Temperance toward Lake Erie shortly after midnight, causing four deaths and 18 injuries. It also caused at least $250,000 in damages ($3.0 million in 2025 dollars).{{cite web|last=NOAA|url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=10039415|title=Storm Events Database (10039415)|accessdate= April 14, 2025}} During the 1974 Super Outbreak, an F3 tornado formed very briefly just west of the community during the early morning on April 3. This tornado traveled for only {{convert|0.3|mi|km|1}} but still caused $250,000 in damages ($1.6 million in 2025 dollars). There were three injuries but no casualties.{{cite web|last=NOAA|url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=10038604|title=Storm Events Database (10038604)|accessdate= April 14, 2025}}

• Elroy M. Avery, educator and politician, born in Erie[http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohstemplate.cfm?action=detail&Page=0004453.html&StartPage=452&EndPage=481&volume=4&newtitle=Volume%204%20Page%20452 Ohio History - The Scholarly Journal of the Ohio Historical Society] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102841/http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohstemplate.cfm?action=detail&Page=0004453.html&StartPage=452&EndPage=481&volume=4&newtitle=Volume%204%20Page%20452 |date=2007-09-29 }} Volume 4, page 453 (Sketches of Life Members), 1895
• Gertrude Crampton, author and educator who lived in Erie while teaching at Mason Consolidated Schools{{cite news

|url=https://www.monroenews.com/story/news/2017/06/21/four-inducted-into-county-hall/20482093007/

|work=The Monroe News |date=21 June 2017|title=Four inducted into county Hall of Fame |first=Dean |last=Cousino

|accessdate=April 14, 2025}}

• Paul Toth, professional baseball player in Major League Baseball, lived in Erie{{cite web|title=Ex-Pitcher Paul Toth Dies at 63|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-23401178.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105211623/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-23401178.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2012|website=HighBeam Research|accessdate=April 15, 2025|agency=Associated Press|date=March 23, 1999}}
• Jack Vergiels, educator and politician, born in Erie{{cite news|last1=Vogellas|first1=Ed|title=Vergiels, longtime state lawmaker, dies at 72|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/vergiels-longtime-state-lawmaker-dies-at-72/|accessdate=April 17, 2025|work=Las Vegas Review Journal|date=16 December 2009}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |first1=Walter |last1=Romig |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |series=Great Lakes Books Series |type=Paperback |orig-date= 1973 |date=October 1, 1986 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn = 978-0-8143-1838-6 |location=Detroit, Michigan| pages=185, 574}}

{{Monroe County, Michigan}}

Category:Unincorporated communities in Michigan

Category:Unincorporated communities in Monroe County, Michigan

Category:Populated places established in 1790

Category:1790 establishments in the Northwest Territory