Mayfield, Michigan

{{For|the unrelated townships of the same name|Mayfield Township, Michigan (disambiguation){{!}}Mayfield Township, Michigan}}

{{Short description|Unincorporated community in Grand Traverse County, Michigan}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Infobox settlement

| name = Mayfield, Michigan

| settlement_type = Unincorporated community

| nickname = "Birthplace of the Adams Fly"

| motto =

| image_skyline =

| image_size = 275

| image_caption =

| image_flag =

| image_seal =

| pushpin_map = Michigan#USA

| pushpin_label = Mayfield

| pushpin_label_position = left

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| coordinates = {{Coord|44.626|N|85.530|W|region:US-MI_type:city_source:GNIS|display=inline,title}}

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = {{Flagu|United States}}

| subdivision_type1 = State

| subdivision_name1 = {{Flag|Michigan}}

| subdivision_type2 = County

| subdivision_name2 = {{Flagicon image|Flag of Grand Traverse County, Michigan.svg}} Grand Traverse

| subdivision_type3 = Township

| subdivision_name3 = Paradise

| government_footnotes =

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| established_title = Settled

| established_date = 1868

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| unit_pref = Imperial

| elevation_footnotes = {{cite gnis|631772|Mayfield}}

| elevation_ft = 837

| elevation_m =

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| timezone = Eastern (EST)

| utc_offset = -5

| timezone_DST = EDT

| utc_offset_DST = -4

| postal_code_type = ZIP code(s)

| postal_code = 49666

49649 (Kingsley)
49696 (Traverse City)

| area_code = 231

| blank_name = GNIS feature ID

| blank_info = 631772

| website =

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}}

Mayfield is an unincorporated community in Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan.{{Cite web |title=Geographic Names Information System |url=https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/search/names/05bd2208-4158-5705-b783-f232c59186d9/summary |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=edits.nationalmap.gov}} It is located in Paradise Township between Kingsley and Traverse City along South Garfield Road (County Road 611). As an unincorporated community, Mayfield has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own.

History

The land on which Mayfield sits has long been territory under the Council of Three Fires; the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi.

In 1868, a sawmill was built upon Swainston Creek, a tributary of the Boardman River. Later, a grist mill was built, and the settlement was named Beulah. However, in 1869, the community was awarded a post office under the name of Mayfield, named after the adjacent township.{{Cite book |last=Romig |first=Walter |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=1986 |isbn=0-8143-1837-1 |location=Detroit |pages=359}} In 1872, a line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was extended from Cadillac via Walton and Mayfield to Traverse City.{{Cite web |title=michiganrailroads.com - Evolution Map - Lower - 1872 |url=http://www.michiganrailroads.com/evolution-of-michigan-railroads/176-evolution-lower-peninsula/evolution-1870s/4367-evolution-map-lower-1872 |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=www.michiganrailroads.com}}

In 1922, Leonard Halladay, a Michigan fly tyer from Mayfield, conceived the popular Adams Fly as a general mayfly imitation. It was first fished by an Ohio attorney and friend of Halladay, Judge Charles F. Adams on the Boardman River near Traverse City. Charles Adams reported his success with the fly to Halladay who named the fly after his friend.{{cite book |last=Schullery |first=Paul |title=American Fly Fishing-A History |publisher=The Easton Press |year=1996 |location=Norwalk, CT}}{{Cite web |last=Barritt |first=Amy |title=Famous Fly for Fishing calls Mayfield Home |url=https://gtjournal.tadl.org/2015/famous-fly-for-fishing-calls-mayfield-home/ |access-date=2022-12-14 |language=en-US}} For this reason, Mayfield is known as the "Birthplace of the Adams Fly".{{Cite web |date=2016-08-14 |title=Mayfield, Michigan: Birthplace of the Adams Fly |url=http://www.dankennaleyflyfishing.com/mayfield-michigan-birthplace-of-the-adams-fly/ |access-date=2020-01-07 |website=Dan Kennaley FlyFishing |language=en}}

In 1961, Mayfield Pond, the small impoundment on Swainston Creek, was washed out in a rainstorm, subsequently leading to the failure of the Keystone Dam, upstream on the Boardman River. In 1987, the pond nearly failed again, but a washout was prevented.{{Cite web |last=admin |title=When Earthen Dams Fail: Washouts Along Northern Michigan Rivers |url=https://gtjournal.tadl.org/2016/damsfail/ |access-date=2022-12-14 |language=en-US}}

See also

References