Erastus S. Ingersoll settled here in 1836 and constructed a water-powered sawmill. A gristmill was added, and in 1840 a resident wrote that people came from twenty miles around to have their flour made. A school modeled after Oberlin College was chartered as “Grand River Theological Seminary,” but never opened. Platted as Grand River City in 1841, the village was commonly called Delta Mills after the township and main industry. The mills operated into the twentieth century.
Plaque via Michigan History Center