Local History

A post office in the home of Andrew J. Green, some two miles north, was opened as Springdale on July 17, 1874.  The Ashleys, father and two sons, built the Ann Arbor Railroad, through here, and in 1889, James M. Ashley platted and recorded the village as Harriette, formed by combining his father's name, Harry, with that of his fiancée, Henriette Burt.  The post office was moved here but still called Springdale.  In 1890, Mr. P. D. Gaston and Mr. W. W. Campbell platted the Gaston and Campbell additions to the village.  In 1891, it was incorporated as the village of Gaston.  The railroad officials threatened to close the station unless the old name was restored and it was renamed Harriette on May 18, 1892, with the spelling changed to Harrietta on May 7, 1923. 

Informational excerpts from Michigan Place Names, by Walter Romig, L.H.D.

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