Hillsdale County Chamber of Commerce located in Hillsdale, Michigan.

Choose from over a dozen hotels, motels, campgrounds, bed & breakfast locations, and enjoy local festivals, live theater, museums, historic markers, lakes, parks and Hillsdale College.

• Hillsdale County Fair, billed as the "The Most Popular Fair on Earth" draws thousands of people from Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The Fair runs the third week after Labor Day from Sunday through Saturday, and brings a spectacular end to the harvest season.

• The Jonesville Riverfest Canoe Races are held annually in May on the St. Joseph River. Five classes are entered, and more prizes are given than in any other canoe race in the country. Known far and wide, the Riverfest celebration also features raft races, chicken barbecues and a kiddy tractor pull during this two day event.

Attractions & Lodgings

Business & Industry

Community Services

Demographics

Dining

Education Facilities

Government

Health Care

History

Housing

Non-Profit Organizations

Recreation

Utilities

Worship Facilities

• The Grosvenor House Museum is the renovated home of E.O. Grosvenor, one time Lt. Governor of Michigan. Mr. Grosvenor was head of the commission in charge of building the Michigan state capitol building, and his home was designed by the same architect as the capitol. A 32 room Victorian Italianate structure, the museum is open weekends from 2-5 pm from Mother's Day until the end of September. The first weekend of December the Grosvenor House hosts "Christmas at the Grosvenor House" when the house is decorated as it might have been in the Grosvenor's day and the house is alive with music and fun. Homemade cookies and punch are part of the excitement.

• Hillsdale's Poor House, made famous by Will Carleton's poem "Over the Hills to the Poor House", has been renovated by the Hillsdale County Historical Society and is a museum featuring Mr. Carleton, Michigan's poet laureate for four decades. Called the poet of the people, Mr. Carleton's poem about the mother who was abandoned by her children and forced to go the county poorhouse caused nationwide reform of the poorhouse system.

• The Conservation Club’s Tip Up Festival in January is a highlight of the winter season. Attracting people from all over the area. Prizes are given for fishing prowess.

• 350 lakes and ponds in the area covers 4,724 acres with water. Of these, 15 are lakes of 100 acres or more. The lakes offer a great place for fishing and swimming, sailing and water skiing. Hillsdale County is the headwater to five rivers, the St. Joseph, the Kalamazoo, the Grand, the Raisin and the St. Joseph of Maumee. The many parks in the county offer a place for camping, picnicking and barbecues, ball games and good family fun.

• Allen, the "Antique Capitol", features a full one-mile of antique shops and malls that offers antiques and gifts of all description and kind.

• With the Hillsdale Arts Chorale, Hillsdale College Community Orchestra, the Jazz Band, Choir and Chorale, Arts/Performance series at the college and the Sauk Theater, there is no end to the entertainments available in the county.

• The Curfew Bell, a replica of the original bell that was made famous by Rose Harwick Thorpe's poem "The Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight" hangs in the city square in Litchfield.

• A monument is in place at the point where the boundaries of Indiana, Ohio and Michigan meet. These states form the southern boundary of Hillsdale County.

• Lost Nation state Game Management Area commemorates the Potawatomi Indian Tribe and preserves the early history of Hillsdale County. Untouched, this beautiful area has many wild birds and animals and is public hunting land.

• Hillsdale College was founded in 1844 as Michigan Central College and located in Spring Arbor. The college was moved to Hillsdale and renamed in 1853. In 1874 a catastrophic fire burned most of the buildings on campus. East Hall survived the fire and four separate buildings were added from 1875 to 1877. They remain on campus today with some 30 other buildings that have been added to the campus in the last 20 years. In 1989 a new sports complex was opened for use and the ever popular Slayton Arboretum is open year round for your pleasure.

• McCourtie Park known for the seventeen cement bridges (no two alike), two spring fed ponds, underground apartment and garages, tree looking chimneys made of concrete and cypress and duraluminim birdhouses which can accommodate up to 288 birds, picnic area, ball diamonds – a must see when visiting Hillsdale County.