Samaria, Michigan
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Samaria, Michigan
|settlement_type = Unincorporated community
|nickname =
|motto =
|image_skyline = Samaria_Post_Office,_1344_Samaria_Road,_Samaria,_Michigan_-_panoramio.jpg
|imagesize = 275
|image_caption = U.S. Post Office in Samaria
|image_flag =
|image_seal =
|image_map =
|mapsize =
|map_caption =
|image_map1 =
|mapsize1 =
|map_caption1 =
|pushpin_map = Michigan#USA
|pushpin_label = Samaria
|pushpin_map_caption =Location within the state of Michigan##Location within the United States
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = Michigan
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Monroe
|subdivision_type3 = Township
|subdivision_name3 = Bedford
|established_title = Settled
|established_date = 1872
|established_title1 = Platted
|established_date1 = 1884
|timezone = Eastern (EST)
|utc_offset = -5
|timezone_DST = EDT
|utc_offset_DST = -4
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m =
|elevation_ft = 643
|coordinates = {{coord|41|48|29|N|83|34|42|W|type:city_scale:30000_source:GNIS|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type = ZIP code(s)
|postal_code = 48177
48182 (Temperance)
|area_code = 734
|blank_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank_info = 637149{{GNIS|637149}}
|blank1_name =
|blank1_info =
|website =
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Samaria is an unincorporated community in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is located within Bedford Township. As an unincorporated community, Samaria has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own but does have its own post office with the 48177 ZIP Code.{{google maps |url = https://www.google.com/maps/place/Samaria,+MI+48177/@41.8134274,-83.5984686,14.21z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x883b7e1076e4ece5:0x551b86de69bd6f15!8m2!3d41.8113019!4d-83.5829463 |title = 48177 ZIP Code map |access-date = November 19, 2020 }}
Geography
Samaria sits at an elevation of {{convert|643|ft|m}} above sea level. The community is located about {{convert|15|mi|km}} southwest of Monroe in south-central Monroe County.{{cite web|last=Monroe County Convention & Tourism Bureau|url=https://www.michigan.org/city/samaria#?c=44.4299:-85.1166:6&tid=1156&page=0&pagesize=20&pagetitle=Samaria|title=Pure Michigan: Samaria|date=2020|accessdate=November 5, 2020}}
The community is centered along Samaria Road about halfway between U.S. Route 23 to the west and U.S. Route 24 (Telegraph Road) and M-125 (South Dixie Highway) to the east. M-151 ran through the center of Samaria east to U.S. Route 25 before M-151 was truncated in 1965, and both highways were soon after decommissioned altogether.{{cite MDOT map |year = 1965 |section = N13 }}
It is about {{convert|5|mi|km|1}} north of the Ohio state border from the city of Toledo. The communities of Temperance and Lambertville are located just south of Samaria.
The community is mostly served by Bedford Public Schools, while some students in the northern portion may attend Mason Consolidated Schools.{{cite web|last=Michigan Department of Information Technology|author-link=Michigan Department of Information Technology| url=http://www.michigan.gov/documents/CGI-MonroeCISD_67836_7.pdf| date=March 2008| title=Monroe ISD public school boundaries| accessdate=November 23, 2020}}
History
Bedford Township, where Samaria is located, was established on March 23, 1836 after previously being part of Erie Township since 1818. The community was previously known as Weeksville after early residents Samuel and Mary (Mason) Weeks. The Wabash Railroad built a line through the area in 1872.{{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| page=497}} In May 1878, a railway station was built in Samaria.{{GNIS|2438806|Samaria Station}}{{cite web|last=Bedford Township|url=http://bedfordmi.org/residents/history.php|title=Township History|date=2012|accessdate=November 22, 2020}} The community was officially platted in 1884.{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WDFPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3AIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4979%2C3388951 | title=Some Historical Facts On Bedford Township | work=Toledo Blade | date=May 6, 1986 | accessdate=2 May 2015 | pages=N2}}
The area received its first post office under the name Samaria on January 17, 1879 with Samuel Weeks serving as the first postmaster. The post office has remained in operation ever since, and the current office is located at 1344 Samaria Road.{{GNIS|2438805|Samaria Post Office}} The post office uses the 48177 ZIP Code and is primarily used for post office box only with a very small delivery area.{{cite web|last=UnitedStatesZipCodes.org|url=https://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/48177/|title=ZIP Code 48177|date=2020|accessdate=November 9, 2020}} The majority of the surrounding area is instead served by the Temperance 48182 ZIP Code.{{google maps |url = https://www.google.com/maps/place/Temperance,+MI+48182/@41.7891433,-83.6590507,12z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x883b7e2600437155:0x87c1c5f2097d05b3!8m2!3d41.7598544!4d-83.570964 |title = 48182 ZIP Code map |access-date = November 19, 2020 }}{{cite web|last=UnitedStatesZipCodes.org|url=https://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/48182/|title=ZIP Code 48182|date=2020|accessdate=November 9, 2020}}
The single railway line continues to run through the community. It is currently operated by Ann Arbor Railroad, connecting Ann Arbor to Toledo, but the line no longer contains a station in the area.{{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=October 3, 2022}}
Images
File:Grace United Methodist Church, 1463 Samaria Road, Samaria, Michigan - panoramio.jpg|{{center|Grace United Methodist Church in Samaria, founded in 1894}}
File:Samaria Station (Michigan).jpg|{{center|Historic image of the former Samaria Station prior to 1920}}