Williamston is a city in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan.
The city is at the southeast corner of Williamstown Township, but is
politically independent. A portion of Williamston was annexed from
adjacent Wheatfield Township. Downtown Williamston is located at the
intersection of Grand River Avenue (M-43) and Putnam Street
(Williamston Road). The population was 3,854 at the 2010 census.
Williamston is most notable for its antiques markets, and it has been
promoted as a quaint, small town just outside the larger city of
Lansing. It recently renovated McCormick Park, which borders the Red
Cedar River in downtown Williamston.The location that was later to
become Williamston started as the cross-road of the Grand River and
Saginaw Indian Trails. It was first occupied by a small band of the
Saginaw tribe of the Chippewa People which by the mid-19th century
used the area as a 'summer village' (it was not used by them
year-round, but they 'wintered' in the area that is now Meridian
Township). They used Williamston for planting crops, burying their
dead, and holding an annual spring gathering, primarily using the land
just north of the Red Cedar River.The location that was later to
become Williamston started as the cross-road of the Grand River and
Saginaw Indian Trails. It was first occupied by a small band of the
Saginaw tribe of the Chippewa People which by the mid-19th century
used the area as a 'summer village' (it was not used by them
year-round, but they 'wintered' in the area that is now Meridian
Township). They used Williamston for planting crops, burying their
dead, and holding an annual spring gathering, primarily using the land
just north of the Red Cedar River.The area was settled by Europeans in
1834 when Hiram and Joseph Putnam moved briefly to the area from
Jackson. They spent less than one full year in the area, planting and
then harvesting one crop of oats. Today, inside the city limits,
Williamston Road becomes Putnam Street, having been named in their
honor. (For many years, several street signs inside the city were
misspelled as "Putman Street", leading to confusion about the correct
spelling.)In 1839, the Putnams sold their land to Oswald B., James M.,
and Horace B. Williams, three brothers from Batavia, New York. James
M. "Miles" Williams, who built a dam, saw mill and later a grist mill
in town, eventually platted the land in 1845 and named the town
"Williamstown" after himself. It is unknown how it lost the "w" in its
name. Williamston, Michigan Top Movies & Young Movies