BlockWillard, Michigan
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Beaver Township. It lies in ZIP code area 48611. It stands on Waldo Drain. The Survey maps it on the Willard quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 11 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1954 USGS Midland quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Midland quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Midland quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Willard quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1966 USGS Midland quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Midland quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
969 words on this townshipHistory of Bay County Michigan, published 1883 names this settlement in its chapter on Beaver Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
The township of Beaver was organized by an act of the Legis¬ lature in 1867, and comprised all that part of Bay County known and described as townships Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen and Twenty, north of Range Three east. The first town¬ ship meeting was ordered held at the house of Levi Willard, on the first Monday in April, and Levi Willard, Josiah L. Wellington and Oscar H. Kellogg, appointed inspectors of election.
Passage source: History of Bay County Michigan, published 1883.
Levi Willard was born in Portage County, Ohio, in 1825. His father was a native of Maryland; born of Danish parents on their route to settle in the United States. Mr. Willard lived to age of sixteen in Summit County, Ohio. He then worked by the month on a farm for three years. He then learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for twelve years. At the age of twenty-nine he married Miss Sarah Ingraham, of Medina County, Ohio. In 1856 he came to Michigan and bought land on Section Thirty-three, Town Fifteen north, Three east, being now in the township of Beaver. The following year he settled thereon, and commenced improve¬ ment. He remained the only settler in the township for nine years. About 1865 settlers began to come in, and in 1867 the township was organized. Mr. Willard was elected the first supervisor in 1868, and has held the office for six years since that term. Also the office of justice of the peace nearly all the time since the organ¬ ization of the township. He has been identified with all the improve¬ ments of the community. During the time of his services as super¬ visor he was on important committees, and did his work well. As a pioneer, few have had more hardships to endure or more obstacles to overcome, but with a determination to succeed he has remained. He now has fifty acres improved; a good brick residence, extensive barns and a fine orchard of various fruits. He has had four sons and four daughters. The eldest son takes to farming. Two are carpenters. Three daughters are teachers. All have a good, prac¬ tical education.
Passage source: History of Bay County Michigan, published 1883.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Fires near this place
16 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 16 fires within 5 miles of Willard between 2008 and 2020, burning about 17 acres in total. 4 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 July 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | AUBURN-WILLIAMS FD 330 - 2019 |
| 2 July 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 22 June 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | LARKIN TOWNSHIP FD 0000095 - 2019 |
| 7 May 2019 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | LARKIN TOWNSHIP FD 0000071 - 2019 |
| 3 May 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | GARFIELD TOWNSHIP VFD 0020032 - 2020 |
| 24 May 2008 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | MIDLAND 09 |
| 16 May 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | LARKIN TOWNSHIP FD 0000113 - 2018 |
| 3 April 2020 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | AUBURN-WILLIAMS FD 160 - 2020 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
10 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Willard in 10 storm reports between 2002 and 2025: 6 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2014 | Hail | Willard | $2,000,000 | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Willard | $2,000,000 | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Willard | $500,000 | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Heavy Rain | Willard | $10,000 | Strong thunderstorms dumped very heavy rain across Williams Township in the western part of Bay County. The Williams Township Supervisor reported that 3.7 inches of rain fell in parts of the township during the storm and much of that occurred in the first hour or so. A number of farm fields, even tiled ones, were overwhelmed by the large amount of rain. At least one farmer reported crop damage when his field washed out. Also, a number of homes in the Garfield Subdivision ended up with water in the basement. This event was very localized and no roads or bridges were washed out in the area. Damages to crops were roughly estimated at $25K. Additional property damage was roughly estimated at $10K. |
| August 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | Trees and power lines observed down, as well as a collapsed barn. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | Wires reported down, causing a grass fire. |
| September 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Willard | - | Spotters reported that thunderstorms blew several large tree limbs onto the road. |
| July 2014 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Willard | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seidlers | 1.5 miles | 11 | |
| North Williams | 2.2 miles | 11 | |
| Loehme | 2.6 miles | 11 | |
| Duel | 3.6 miles | 11 | |
| Beaver | 3.7 miles | 11 | |
| Fisherville | 4.4 miles | 11 | |
| Auburn | 4.9 miles | 11 | |
| Three Churches Corner | 5.3 miles | 11 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1616490. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.