Willis, Michigan
Willis is an unincorporated community in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan.[1] The community is located within Augusta Charter Township. As an unincorporated community, Willis has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own but does have its own post office with the 48191 ZIP Code.[2]
Willis, Michigan | |
|---|---|
Looking west along Willis Road | |
Willis Location within the state of Michigan Willis Willis (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 42°09′30″N 83°33′31″W / 42.15833°N 83.55861°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| County | Washtenaw |
| Township | Augusta |
| Established | 1887 |
| Elevation | 686 ft (209 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code(s) | 48191 |
| Area code | 734 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1616527[1] |
Geography edit
Willis sits at an elevation of 686 feet (209 m) above sea level.[1] The community is located about 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Ann Arbor in the southeastern corner of Washtenaw County.[3] It is centered along Willis Road between Potterville Drive to the east and Bunton Road to the west. The community of Whittaker is a few miles to the southwest.
Willis is served by Lincoln Consolidated School District.[4]
History edit
The area received its first post office under the name Paint Creek in 1833. The community of Willis was originally known as Potter after early settler Willis L. Potter and developed just to the east of Paint Creek. Willis owes its creation to the building of a Grand Trunk Railway line in 1880. The Paint Creek post office was renamed Newcomb on September 27, 1881 and finally established as Willis on December 15, 1887. The post office name was changed to reflect Potter's first name.[5]
A single railway line runs diagonally through the community and once contained a railroad station known as Willis Station.[6] The line is currently operated by Norfolk Southern Railway but contains no station in the area.[7]
The Willis post office remains in operation and is currently located at 8790 Bunton Road.[8] The post office uses the 48191 ZIP Code, which encompasses most of the eastern portion of Augusta Charter Township and a small portion of London Township to the south in Monroe County.[2]
Notable people edit
- Iggy Katona, racecar driver, lived in Willis[9]
External links edit
- Augusta Township history
References edit
- ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Willis, Michigan
- ^ a b Google (September 21, 2020). "48191 ZIP Code map" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ Michigan Economic Development Corporation (2020). "Pure Michigan: Willis". Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- ^ Michigan Geographic Framework (November 15, 2013). "Washtenaw County School Districts" (PDF). Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- ^ Romig, Walter (October 1, 1986) [1973]. Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities (Paperback). Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. p. 606. ISBN 978-0-8143-1838-6.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Willis Station (historical)
- ^ Michigan Department of Transportation (March 2017). "Michigan's Railroad System: Railroads Operating in Michigan" (PDF). Retrieved October 3, 2022.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Willis Post Office
- ^ NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. (2020). "Driver Iggy Katona Career Statistics". Retrieved October 6, 2020.