August 6, 2025 • 6 mins
This episode traces North Adams, a Hillsdale County village that grew up along the rails and wired itself for the future. We open with the town’s most retold story—blacksmith Henry Taylor, a former slave who became a respected tradesman and was said to carry his anvil and once walk off with a potbelly stove. From there, we move down Main Street to Maccabee Hall, Barden’s Hotel, and C. J. Knapp’s store, then over to the 1912 Municipal Lighting Plant that brought electric light to homes and storefronts.
We also cover a tough year: April 23, 1927, when sparks from a chimney ruined the village school. Classes shifted to Town Hall, the Odd Fellows hall, and the Congregational Church while a new building was planned. A 1927 newspaper snapshot rounds out daily life—about 500 residents, three churches, a 12-grade school on the University of Michigan list, a library of 900 books, and a full block of shops and services.
We also cover a tough year: April 23, 1927, when sparks from a chimney ruined the village school. Classes shifted to Town Hall, the Odd Fellows hall, and the Congregational Church while a new building was planned. A 1927 newspaper snapshot rounds out daily life—about 500 residents, three churches, a 12-grade school on the University of Michigan list, a library of 900 books, and a full block of shops and services.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You're listening to the end of the road in Michigan, where we tell the stories that
(00:04):
built our towns and shaped our days.
The story of North Adams' Michigan often begins with a single name, Henry Taylor.
He arrived after the Civil War, he had been enslaved, then free, and he brought his
skill as a blacksmith to this small village in Hillsdale County.
People here still told how Henry tucked his anvil under one arm and carried it like a toolbox.
(00:29):
One day a shopkeeper said he could have the store's potbelly stove if he could haul it away.
Henry bent his knees, lifted the cast iron, and walked off down the street.
That picture stayed with the town. North Adams grew beside the rails.
In the early 1870s, a station went up before the village was even platted.
(00:51):
Trains brought mail, newspapers, and passengers. They also took out wheat, hay, and livestock.
The Depot platform became a meeting place, a front porch to the wider world.
Children counted cars, farmers waited with wagons, travelers stepped down and asked for main street.
(01:11):
Main street answered. The photographs show a tight line of storefronts, brick and frame,
with striped awnings, display windows, and deep doorways.
On the corner stood Maccabee Hall, a building with shops at street level and a fraternal lodge upstairs.
A sign on one window promised one price to all. Nearby were the C.J. Naps store and Bardens hotel.
(01:40):
Saturdays brought teams and families into town. Errins, gossip, and a soda at the counter filled the
afternoon. There was culture too. Like many Michigan villages, North Adams had an opera house,
a hall where traveling shows and community events shared the same stage. Graduations,
(02:00):
lectures, and concerts all played to hometown crowds. In 1912, the village made a major step. A brick
municipal lighting plant rose just off main. It turned on electric lights for homes, stores, and
streets. The building's cornice carried the date like a headline. Nightwork became easier. Shopkeepers
(02:22):
ran small motors. A few bulbs on a porch pushed back the dark. For a town this size, it was a confident move.
A 1927 newspaper profile captured North Adams in a single column. Population, about 500. Churches,
Methodist, Congregational, and Baptist. The 12-grade school was on the University of Michigan
(02:47):
approved list and staffed by seven teachers and a superintendent. The library held about 900 volumes.
Commerce filled the blocks. The paper listed two drug stores, a meat market, three groceries,
two hardware stores, and a furniture and undertaking establishment. There were two garages,
(03:08):
a battery shop, dry goods, a feed mill, plus a lumber and coal yard. A weekly newspaper covered
the births, ball scores, and board meetings. A Hillsdale Jackson bus line ran through town.
For daily life, residents had nearly everything within a short walk. Education sat at the center of
(03:28):
that picture. But on April 23rd, 1927, disaster struck. Sparks from a chimney set the school on fire.
Photographs show a before and after view. The neat brick building on one side, a gutted shell on the
other. Only the safe school records and a few items from lower rooms were saved. Insurance covered
(03:52):
$22,000. Classes could have stopped, but they did not. Students and teachers moved into Town Hall,
the Odd Fellows Hall, and the congregational church. Lessons continued while plans formed for a
new modern building. Parents, pastors, and large members turned their rooms into classrooms.
(04:12):
The school year finished on time. Look again at the street scenes from this era. Men in straw
boaters, women in white summer dresses, children with penny candy. Flags hang from balconies.
Band days and parades fill the intersection. A one-room school photo shows a teacher with
(04:34):
her class lined up under a shade tree. Another view of West Main Street in the 1920s catches early
trucks sharing the road with model teas. You can sense the steady rhythm of a farm town that works
hard during the week and gathers downtown whenever it can. Henry Taylor's story still moves through
these images, a blacksmith who built a living here after bondage, a man strong enough to shoulder
(05:00):
an anvil and carry a stove. His life marked a turning point, both personal and local. It said that
North Adams could be a place to start over and be known for your work. The rails kept the village
connected. The lighting plant brought new comfort. Stores changed owners, but the pattern held,
(05:21):
church on Sunday, meetings upstairs, a stop at the counter for a soda, a glance at the train times
posted at the depot. When the school burned, the town adapted. When the evening grew dark,
electric bulbs came on. Peace by peace North Adams moved forward, not with speeches,
with a station, a powerhouse, classrooms and borrowed rooms, and the memory of a blacksmith who lifted
(05:45):
what others thought could not be lifted. You've been listening to the end of the road in Michigan.
Today's episode, North Adams, from legendary strength to early 20th century progress,
is a bite-sized peak at small towns vital to Michigan history. See the photos on our Facebook
Reels and if this story spoke to you, share the episode and leave a review so others can find it.
You're listening to the end of the road in Michigan, where we tell the stories that
(00:04):
built our towns and shaped our days.
The story of North Adams' Michigan often begins with a single name, Henry Taylor.
He arrived after the Civil War, he had been enslaved, then free, and he brought his
skill as a blacksmith to this small village in Hillsdale County.
People here still told how Henry tucked his anvil under one arm and carried it like a toolbox.
(00:29):
One day a shopkeeper said he could have the store's potbelly stove if he could haul it away.
Henry bent his knees, lifted the cast iron, and walked off down the street.
That picture stayed with the town. North Adams grew beside the rails.
In the early 1870s, a station went up before the village was even platted.
(00:51):
Trains brought mail, newspapers, and passengers. They also took out wheat, hay, and livestock.
The Depot platform became a meeting place, a front porch to the wider world.
Children counted cars, farmers waited with wagons, travelers stepped down and asked for main street.
(01:11):
Main street answered. The photographs show a tight line of storefronts, brick and frame,
with striped awnings, display windows, and deep doorways.
On the corner stood Maccabee Hall, a building with shops at street level and a fraternal lodge upstairs.
A sign on one window promised one price to all. Nearby were the C.J. Naps store and Bardens hotel.
(01:40):
Saturdays brought teams and families into town. Errins, gossip, and a soda at the counter filled the
afternoon. There was culture too. Like many Michigan villages, North Adams had an opera house,
a hall where traveling shows and community events shared the same stage. Graduations,
(02:00):
lectures, and concerts all played to hometown crowds. In 1912, the village made a major step. A brick
municipal lighting plant rose just off main. It turned on electric lights for homes, stores, and
streets. The building's cornice carried the date like a headline. Nightwork became easier. Shopkeepers
(02:22):
ran small motors. A few bulbs on a porch pushed back the dark. For a town this size, it was a confident move.
A 1927 newspaper profile captured North Adams in a single column. Population, about 500. Churches,
Methodist, Congregational, and Baptist. The 12-grade school was on the University of Michigan
(02:47):
approved list and staffed by seven teachers and a superintendent. The library held about 900 volumes.
Commerce filled the blocks. The paper listed two drug stores, a meat market, three groceries,
two hardware stores, and a furniture and undertaking establishment. There were two garages,
(03:08):
a battery shop, dry goods, a feed mill, plus a lumber and coal yard. A weekly newspaper covered
the births, ball scores, and board meetings. A Hillsdale Jackson bus line ran through town.
For daily life, residents had nearly everything within a short walk. Education sat at the center of
(03:28):
that picture. But on April 23rd, 1927, disaster struck. Sparks from a chimney set the school on fire.
Photographs show a before and after view. The neat brick building on one side, a gutted shell on the
other. Only the safe school records and a few items from lower rooms were saved. Insurance covered
(03:52):
$22,000. Classes could have stopped, but they did not. Students and teachers moved into Town Hall,
the Odd Fellows Hall, and the congregational church. Lessons continued while plans formed for a
new modern building. Parents, pastors, and large members turned their rooms into classrooms.
(04:12):
The school year finished on time. Look again at the street scenes from this era. Men in straw
boaters, women in white summer dresses, children with penny candy. Flags hang from balconies.
Band days and parades fill the intersection. A one-room school photo shows a teacher with
(04:34):
her class lined up under a shade tree. Another view of West Main Street in the 1920s catches early
trucks sharing the road with model teas. You can sense the steady rhythm of a farm town that works
hard during the week and gathers downtown whenever it can. Henry Taylor's story still moves through
these images, a blacksmith who built a living here after bondage, a man strong enough to shoulder
(05:00):
an anvil and carry a stove. His life marked a turning point, both personal and local. It said that
North Adams could be a place to start over and be known for your work. The rails kept the village
connected. The lighting plant brought new comfort. Stores changed owners, but the pattern held,
(05:21):
church on Sunday, meetings upstairs, a stop at the counter for a soda, a glance at the train times
posted at the depot. When the school burned, the town adapted. When the evening grew dark,
electric bulbs came on. Peace by peace North Adams moved forward, not with speeches,
with a station, a powerhouse, classrooms and borrowed rooms, and the memory of a blacksmith who lifted
(05:45):
what others thought could not be lifted. You've been listening to the end of the road in Michigan.
Today's episode, North Adams, from legendary strength to early 20th century progress,
is a bite-sized peak at small towns vital to Michigan history. See the photos on our Facebook
Reels and if this story spoke to you, share the episode and leave a review so others can find it.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.