Place:Dimondale, Eaton, Michigan, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog

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Dimondale is a village in Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,234 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Windsor Charter Township. Dimondale is a suburb of Lansing, which is northeast of the village in Ingham County.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The Potawatomi originally had a permanent camp along the Grand River in the Dimondale area before white settlement began in the 1830s. Relations between white settlers (most of whom were from New York and New England) and the Potowatomie were generally cordial with local residents permanently deeding of land near the river to the local Indians. The local band held the deed to the leased land until the Potowatomie were forced west by the Indian Removal Act.

Isaac M. Dimond came to the area in 1848 and, as one of his enterprises, in 1850 began to construct a dam, just east of Silver Creek on the Grand River near the center of section 15 of Windsor Township. By 1852, the dam was completed and a saw mill was in operation. He built a grist mill in 1856. On August 6, 1856, Hosey Harvey surveyed the village in order for Dimond to have it platted with the name "Dimondale". An unusual feature of the village plat was that its streets ran Northeast to Southwest (e.g., Bridge St.) and Northwest to Southeast, while most roads in the surrounding area in Michigan ran North-South and East-West. Its borders make a rough diamond shape on a map.

A post office named "East Windsor" had been established in the eastern part of Windsor Township in about 1860. This office was transferred to Dimondale and renamed in 1872. In 1878 the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway came through and the area was given a station referring to it as Dimondale. By 1880 the settlement had seven shops: a sawmill, a grist mill, two millinery shops, a planing mill, and several machine shops. In 1906, Dimondale incorporated as a village.

From 1929 to 1963, Dimondale had its own high school, until it merged with the Holt School District. This occurred after the school district ran into tax issues due to the sparse business landscape in the village. The final Superintendent for Dimondale was Harvey E. Wood, a school administrator who later moved to Holt's system as the Transportation Manager, then eventually to Ingham Intermediate School District (IISD) as Vice Superintendent. Dimondale almost merged with the Eaton Rapids School district, however due to Mr. Wood's prior mentor/student relationship with Holt's Superintendent (Maurice Pernert), the merge with Holt's school system took place.

In 1962, Interstate 96 was built through Windsor Township, bringing many new businesses to the area.

In the 1960s–70s, Dimondale served as a regionally and nationally recognized hotspot for championship horseshoe pitching, earning it the nickname "Horseshoe Capital of the World." The Dimondale Horseshoe Club was founded in 1964 and the village played host to the 1965 Michigan state tournament. In 1970, DHC merged with the Chief Okemos Sportsman's Club, which is still in existence. Dimondale natives and accomplished horseshoe pitchers James Compton, Gilbert Kimball, Pat Smith, Victor Benson, Fred Smith Sr., and Fred Smith Jr. have been inducted into the Wolverine State Horseshoe Pitcher's Association (WSHPA) Hall of Fame. The greatest horseshoe pitching legend emanating from the clay courts of Dimondale tells how Fred Smith Jr. would have his brother Norman place his chin atop an opposing stake while Fred would proceed to pitch ringers that would clang just inches below Norman's smiling face.

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