Blood, Trauma, and Biohazard Cleanup in Eaton Rapids, MI

Eaton Rapids is nicknamed the Island City because its downtown sits on an island - complete with a public park - in the Grand River.

The Potawatomi people had a village at the site from about 1774, long before Euro-American settlers arrived around 1835, drawn by the timber and water power.

A sawmill went up near Spring Brook in 1836, and the Old Red Mill began grinding corn with water power in 1837.

A canal, or mill race, dug in the 1840s diverted Grand River water into Spring Brook and created the island that defines downtown Eaton Rapids.

In 1869, artesian wells sunk more than 160 feet deep struck mineral water said to be 'magnetic,' and health seekers poured into town from across the country.

With at least fourteen mineral wells and grand hotels like the 250-guest Vaughan House, Eaton Rapids earned nationwide fame as 'The Saratoga of the West.'

The 2020 census counted 5,203 residents in Eaton Rapids, living in 2,188 households.

In 1921, John B. Davidson Sr. opened a textile mill that became the only mill in Michigan to spin its own yarn - and supplied 95 percent of the wool yarn for major league baseball uniforms until the mill burned in 1969.

Medovue, a 17-room Tudor Revival mansion built in 1927 for Oldsmobile president Irving Jacob Reuter, now operates as the English Inn on 15 acres along the river.

The Grand River turns westward at Eaton Rapids, at its confluence with Spring Brook.