Hell, Michigan

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Hell, Michigan
Location of Hell, Michigan
Location of Hell, Michigan
Coordinates: 42°26′05″N 83°59′06″W / 42.43472, -83.985
Country United States
States Michigan
County Livingston County
Township Putnam Township
Population
 - Total 266 (unofficial)
ZIP code 48169
Website: Hell Michigan web site

Hell, Michigan is an unincorporated community in Putnam Township of Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is near the border with Washtenaw County, about 15 miles northwest of Ann Arbor. Hell is situated five miles west of Pinckney via Patterson Lake Road. The community is served by the Pinckney post office with ZIP Code 48169. The unofficial population is 266.

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[edit] History

For several hundred years, the low, swampy area was occupied mostly by the Potawatomi tribe. Later, in the early 19th century, it was the most unpleasant part of a trail between Lansing and Dexter (which at the time contained a major farmers market) and a point on the route taken by traders portaging between the Huron River and the Grand River.

In the late 1830s, George Reeves, a New York farmer, started several businesses in the area — a general store, and a watermill, and a distillery — which became the core of a minor population center. By the 1840s, enough people had immigrated to make a 70-person school viable (assuming 19th century birth rates, this pegs the population somewhere close to its current level).

[edit] Name

There are two leading theories cited by residents for the origin of Hell's name:

The first holds that a pair of German travelers stepped out of a stagecoach one sunny afternoon in the 1830s, and one said to the other, "So schön und hell!" - roughly translated as, "So beautiful and bright!" Their comments were overheard by some locals and the name stuck.[1]

The second holds that after Michigan gained statehood, George Reeves was asked what he thought the town he helped settle should be called, and replied, "I don't care, you can name it Hell for all I care." The name became official on October 13, 1841.[2]

[edit] Miscellaneous

The country store in Hell as seen in July, 2005.
The country store in Hell as seen in July, 2005.

Hell's main export is kitsch. It has a "fully non-accredited" college that sells "signed, sealed and singed" diplomas, a motorcycle dealership, an ice cream parlor (called Screams Ice Cream) and a small general store. In the early 1930s, Pinckney, Michigan postmaster W. C. Miller began to receive requests from stamp and postmark collectors for cancellations: Hell had no post office, as Pinckney was barely three miles away. On July 15, 1961, a postal substation was established at Hell, operating from May 1 through September 30. It remains today, at the back of the general store, although the United States Postal Service does not recognize Hell as a town, but instead uses the nearby Pinckney name as the actual mailing address.

Hell Creek runs through town, and through a small dam; a bar next to the creek is known as "The Dam Site Inn." This has produced the tongue-in-cheek phrase "dammed to Hell." The dam burst due to heavy rains in the 1970s, causing Detroit-area newsreaders (including Bill Bonds) to exclaim, "There's a dam break in Hell tonight!"

Hell also sponsors a running event called "Run Thru Hell 10 Mile and 4.8 Mile Race."[3] Each participant is given a T-shirt that says "I Ran Thru Hell." The Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society hosts an annual recreational event called "One Helluva Ride."

In 1995, when the nearby Detroit Red Wings played the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals, WXYZ-TV, the Detroit affiliate of ABC (Channel 7) did a report on whether the residents of Hell would root for the Devils. Most interviewees decided to stick with the home-state Red Wings. (The Devils won in four straight games anyway.)

Kiwanis International chartered the Kiwanis Club of Hell, Michigan, on December 15, 2001, as the Michigan District's first Internet club. The club meets in private AOL chatroom, "Kiwanis Online".[4]

Hell also had a party on June 6, 2006, (6/6/6). Among other things, there was live entertainment and a costume contest. There were souvenirs, most selling for $6.66.[5]

Numerous other events take place in Hell, such as the "Blessing of the Rides," where clergy bless attendees' motorcycles. The "Vista Cruise to Hell and Back" is held at Hell Creek Ranch every Father's Day weekend by the GM Skywagon Club.[6]

  • Note: The sixth-annual "Vista Cruise to Hell and Back" has been rescheduled to the weekend of August 1-3, 2008, in order to attend the Oldsmobile Nationals car show in Dearborn, Michigan, which will be held by the Oldsmobile Club of America.

Because of Michigan's climate, people watch for Hell to "freeze over" every winter, a fact which provides amusement and yearly grist in various media. Hell residents, referred to as "Hellions," determine if Hell has frozen over by whether the water over the spillway of the dam between Screams Ice Cream and the Dam Site Inn has stopped flowing. This has happened only once in recorded history, on January 24, 2004[citation needed].

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling wrestler Chris Sabin is billed as coming from Hell, Michigan, though he is actually from nearby Pinckney.

A view of Hell
A view of Hell

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hell, Michigan USA 48169
  2. ^ All About Hell
  3. ^ Error
  4. ^ Kiwanis Club of Hell, Michigan
  5. ^ http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-party04.html
  6. ^ http://www.vistacruiser.com

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 42°26′5″N, 83°59′6″W

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Municipalities and communities of
Livingston County, Michigan
County seat: Howell
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