Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com


There's a glaring omission in a recent article in the publication Awesome Mitten titled “19 Michigan Towns with European Names”: the City of Brighton is not included.

The name “Brighton" is something the Livingston County town has in common with a major seaside resort city in the United Kingdom. So why wasn’t Brighton included in the list?

The omission prompted WHMI to contact the publisher regarding the possible oversight. We reached Awesome Mitten Content Manager Ashley Pichea, who responded that the publication “focused mainly on the towns with direct ties (to Europe).”

So we contacted Brighton historical preservationist Jim Vichich to clear up the matter, and he said that Brighton was not named for Brighton, England, but for Brighton, New York, a suburb of Rochester. According to Vichich, after the Erie Canal was built, many New Yorkers went looking for virgin territory to the West, particularly southern Michigan, in which to settle.

Brighton Township was formed in 1837, and the hamlet of Ore Creek in its southwestern corner became the village of Brighton 30 years later.

Pichea said there are also other Michigan towns left out of the story whose names can be found among European cities but, like Brighton, "don’t have direct ties to those locations.”

Pichea says the good news is that Brighton is not being ignored. In fact, both Brighton and Howell will be included in a future newsletter on “The Best Small Towns in Mid-Michigan”.

Aerial Photo Credit - Mitch Harris Building Company

Link to article in Awesome Mitten provided below.