History of Deckerville

The village of Deckerville was named after Charles Decker who started his lumber business here in 1870. Mr. Decker built a sawmill and a grist-mill which helped to populate the area. Deckerville was incorporated as a village in 1893. Charles Decker's son Martin became the first postmaster in 1870. Decker became a station on the Pere Marquette Railroad.

There were a great number of forest fires in the Thumb area in both 1871 and 1881. Favorable side effects of the fires was that they cleared the land of trees and brush and made it possible to quickly become a highly productive farming area.

Today, you can visit the Deckerville Historical Museum located one mile north of the village and view local pioneer and Indian history, the railroad depot, John Deere tractors and machinery, a log cabin, windmill, saw mill and barn mural.

Over the years, Deckerville has had many industries such as lumbering, fur-trading, woolen mills, flax mills, brick making, a sauerkraut factory, and at one time cheese making was a thriving industry. At the present time there are several factories, related primarily to the auto industry.

The Deckerville Community Schools holds approximately 940 students, and the Deckerville Community Hospital serves the immediate area with 25 beds. Deckerville also has its own newspaper, the Deckerville Recorder, in operation since 1892.

The population of Deckerville has remained stable at about 1,000 for a number of years. The village has been greatly modernized with paved streets, it's own sewage disposal system, a highly adequate water system, three gas stations, and a couple of fast food restaurants.

The community welcomes you to shop, relax and have fun. The Deckerville pool is open in season and Deckerville holds its annual Homecoming the first full week-end in Aug.