Six villages arose in Chester Township: Big Springs, Conklin, Gooding, Harrisburg, Lisbon and Six Corners. Only the village of Lisbon became incorporated and registered with the State of Michigan as a village.
Lisbon, along with four of the other villages gradually declined and finally passed out of existence.
Big Springs, Lisbon and Six Corners were the victims
of the coming of the railroads and the demise of the stage lines. Gooding and
Harrisburg, which sprang up because of the railroads, declined after the rail line that passed through them was closed.
The only the village of Conklin, which grew up around a railroad depot, continues
to survive today.
Click on the links below
for a more detailed history of each of Chester Township’s six villages.
