Scottville

White settlers came to this area around 1860. In 1876 a station on the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad opened. In 1879 James Sweetland built a sawmill adjacent to the railroad, which precipitated the establishment of a post office for the community of Sweetland. He sold the mill a year later to the firm of Crowley and Scott. Sweetland was informally known as Mason Center because of its location at the county’s geographical center. In 1882 Hiram Scott and Charles Blain platted the village. According to legend, the men determined the name of the village with the toss of a coin. Scott won the toss and named the village Scottville. Charles Blain named the streets, the first of which were Blain, Crowley, State, and Main. Scottville was incorporated as a village in 1889 and as a city in 1907. Today Scottville remains the agricultural center of Mason County.