Michigan · St. Joseph River Valley
Cass County
One city, four villages, fifteen townships, and a lake around every bend.
Project Scroll is an independent local-history website. This is not an official page of Cass County or of any township, city or village in it. For official business, contact the county or local offices directly.
Welcome
Cass County, Michigan
Cass County sits in the middle of the St. Joseph River valley, along the Indiana line. It was created in 1829 and named for Lewis Cass, then governor of Michigan Territory, and its county seat, Cassopolis, was platted in 1831 near the county’s center.
About 51,600 people live here today (51,589 at the 2020 census), in the city of Dowagiac, the villages of Cassopolis, Edwardsburg, Marcellus and Vandalia, fifteen townships, and a scatter of crossroads hamlets that each have a story of their own. Pick a place to begin.
Cities and villages
DowagiacCity · Born of the railroad, named for its creek, warmed by Round Oak stoves.
CassopolisVillage · The county seat that was won in a race through the rain.
EdwardsburgVillage · The prairie crossroads where Cass County began, then began again.
MarcellusVillage · A railroad bet in the woods that became a fishing town.
VandaliaVillage · A Quaker mill village where two freedom roads met.
Crossroads and hamlets
AdamsvilleCommunity · Two rival plats, one busy mill, and the old Chicago Road.
JonesCommunity · A railroad crossing that grew into Newberg Township's main street.
SumnervilleCommunity · The old mill village where Cass County's first settlers rest.
UnionCommunity · A stagecoach stop on Baldwin's Prairie that never stopped serving.
Townships
Calvin TownshipTownship · Free Black farmers and Quaker neighbors built this township together.
Howard TownshipTownship · Oak openings, a spring-fed lake, and a town named for a sweetheart.
Jefferson TownshipTownship · Ohio pioneers, a road marked with burnt sticks, and Dailey's cornet band.
LaGrange TownshipTownship · Prairie farms, a pioneer boatbuilder, and the county seat's home township.
Marcellus TownshipTownship · Cass County's last township, carved from deep woods and small lakes.
Mason TownshipTownship · Old Chicago road farm country, with a schoolhouse worth the trip.
Milton TownshipTownship · Delaware families, a prairie tavern, and a chapel from 1840.
Newberg TownshipTownship · Hilly lake country where a misspelling became a name.
Ontwa TownshipTownship · Prairie, lakes and the mother township of southern Cass County.
Penn TownshipTownship · Young's Prairie, Quaker farms and a county seat that got away.
Pokagon TownshipTownship · Where Cass County began, and where a famous hymn was first sung.
Porter TownshipTownship · Stagecoach taverns, salted oil springs and Cass County's biggest township.
Silver Creek TownshipTownship · A creek that shines over marl, and lakes that drew the summer crowds.
Volinia TownshipTownship · Prairie farms, a famous farmers' club, and a county historian's home.
Wayne TownshipTownship · Named for General Wayne: swamp roads, big farms, a mastodon.