Almont is the sixth oldest
village in the State of Michigan, founded in 1833 by Daniel Black when he
purchased land for $1.25 an acre from the United States Government and built
the first log house on Main Street.
This document of purchase is on file in the collection. The first
settlers of Lapeer County resided in Almont, therefore this area is full of
historic interest and many visit the Almont District Library seeking
information. The Village, which
was originally called Newburg, was established in 1834. On January 5, 1846, the name of Almont
was adopted in honor of a Mexican diplomat, Ambassador and General Juan V.
Almonte. After the Civil War, the
village of Almont boomed. Settlers
from Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania flocked into the township and county,
securing the rich farm land from the territory at $1.25 an acre. The majority of the land purchase
records are kept on file in the collection. Almont was an important community during the
settlement of Lapeer and Sanilac Counties and to the lumber industry that was
the foundation of the economy at the time. The railroad line that reached Almont starting in 1882 was a
narrow gauge branch of the Port Huron and Northwest Railroad. The railroad was never extended and was
abandoned in 1942. The first electric streetcar from Detroit reached Almont in
1914. The streetcar also brought
electricity with it, as Almont was one of the first communities in the area to
be served by electric power. The
streetcar was later extended to Imlay City and served the community until 1925. Since 1909, the village of Almont has
celebrated a Homecoming every five years.
During Homecoming current and previous residents of the Almont
congregate to celebrate the heritage and history of Almont. Many photographs and documents from
these events are held in the collection of the Genealogical and Local History
Room.
In 1916, Albert Stephens offered to fund the construction of
a library in honor of his father, Henry Stephens, who was one of Almont’s
earliest and most important settlers. The following year local contractor Al Thayer erected
a Georgian Revival building, first opening to the public in 1919. Contents in the library were bought
from gracious donations by the townspeople. In 1987, an addition was erected
onto the building. The library is
part of the West St. Clair Street National Register Historic District. The West St. Clair Street Historic
District contains thirteen houses, two outbuildings, and the library. All of these buildings were added to
the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of Interior on
May 8, 1986. When word began
to spread that the Village and the Township were going to merge and become a
city, the Henry Stephens Memorial Library Board agreed to make the library a
district library under Act 24 of the Michigan Public Acts of 1877. This agreement established that the
district library would be a free public operating library in the Township, in
the Village of Almont, and in Lapeer County, MI. On August 29th, 1994, the Henry Stephens Memorial
Library became the Almont District Library.
On May 22, 1994, the library
renamed the Genealogy Room the James P. Smith Genealogical and Local History
Room in honor of Mr. Smith, who died in 1996 after fifty-three years as an
Almont Library Board trustee. A
member of the Almont High School graduating class of 1930, James P. Smith gave
a great deal to his hometown.
Besides his many civic involvements, he was also committed to the
support of the Henry Stephens Memorial Library. He was first appointed to fill a Library Board vacancy in
December 1943 and elected President of the Board in May 1944. Since that time,
he guided the Library through fifty-two years of service to the people of
Almont and surrounding communities, particularly in the fields of genealogy and
historical research, until his death in 1996. Clearly the Henry Stephens Memorial Library would be a far
different place without the personal commitment of Mr. James P. Smith. The Genealogical and Local History Room
serves the local residents, as well as, the surrounding areas’ residents.