Old Rawsonville Village, town once as big as Ann Arbor, lies at bottom of Belleville Lake

(Detroit Free Press) Lying below the waters of Belleville Lake is the former Old Rawsonville Village, a town once larger than Ann Arbor and a contender in the race to house the University of Michigan.

The ghost town was left submerged under a manmade lake, and today just a few inaccessible roads and private homes remain of the once prosperous community. At its peak, Rawsonville had a thriving inn along the Huron River, a cheese factory, two copper shops, a distillery for rye whisky, and various other shops.

The founding family

After fighting in the War of 1812, Amariah Rawson packed his wife, Betsy Carpenter, and their six children into an oxen-pulled wagon, heading west with aspirations of peaceful farm life.

The family arrived in Michigan’s Snow’s Landing (today’s Ypsilanti Township/Van Buren County) and claimed their own 160 acres on the south bank of the Huron River. ...............................(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2024/03/04/old-rawsonville-village-lies-at-bottom-of-belleville-lake/72578255007/