Editing Merrill Township, Michigan (section)

==Communities==
'''Brohman''' is a small [[unincorporated community]] in the eastern part of the township, between [[section (land)|section]]s 13 and 24 at {{Coord|43|41|07|N|85|48|56|W|}},<ref>{{gnis|1619322|Brohman, Michigan}}</ref> on [[M-37 (Michigan highway)|M-37]], about eight miles north of [[White Cloud, Michigan|White Cloud]] and about 15 miles west of [[Big Rapids, Michigan|Big Rapids]].  It was established in 1882 under the name of Otia, after Otia Dingman who operated a hotel here.  It was also for a time known as Dingman.<ref>Walter Romig, ''Michigan Place Names'', p. 80</ref> The [[ZIP code]] for the community (which also serves the surrounding area) is 49312.

'''Woodland Park''' (also known as "Woodland Park Resort") is an unincorporated community in the northern part of the township, situated mostly between sections three and four on the north side of Woodland Lake (also known as Brookings or Crooked Lake), although settlement extends around the south side of the lake into sections nine and ten. It is at {{Coord|43|42|52|N|85|51|41|W|}}, about two miles south of [[Bitely, Michigan|Bitely]] and about two and a half miles northwest of Brohman.<ref>{{gnis|1622208|Woodland Park, Michigan}}</ref> The Bitely [[ZIP code]] 49309 also includes the Woodland Park area.<ref>[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/MapItDrawServlet?geo_id=86000US49309&_bucket_id=50&tree_id=420&context=AdvSearch&_lang=en 49309 5-Digit ZCTA, 493 3-Digit ZCTA - Reference Map - American FactFinder]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 census</ref> The community is approximately four square miles and contains a few hundred small parcels; however many of them are undeveloped.

African-American realtors Marion E. Arthur of [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], and Alvin E. Wright of [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], [[plat]]ted the community as an all black resort town in 1923.<ref name="Romig">{{cite book | last = Romig | first = Walter  | year = 1986 | title = Michigan Place Names | orig-year= 1973 | publisher = Wayne State University Press | location = Detroit, Michigan | isbn = 0-8143-1838-X}}</ref>  Woodland Park began when the Brookings Lumber Company sold the remnants of its old lumbering village in Newaygo County.  The site, 15 miles south of [[Idlewild, Michigan|Idlewild]] and 37 miles north of [[Grand Rapids]], was first put up for sale in 1920.  Marion and his wife Ella Auther used earnings from commissions on the lots they sold at Idlewild to make a down payment on the village's 200 acre lake.  By 1921, the Authers purchased most of the Brooking Lumber Company's parcels but still lacked enough money to finalize the deal.  Wilbur Lemon, a white businessman from Chicago, Illinois and one of the founders of the Idlewild Resort Company, aided them by purchasing the last remaining Brookings parcel.  This allowed the Authers to launch their new resort and rename it Woodland Park.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Woodland Park: Newaygo County's Hidden Black Gem|last=Frederick Jones, Sr.|first=Steven|date=March–April 2012}}</ref>  The area experienced a relative decline after the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] opened previously all-white resort facilities to African-Americans.<ref>Stephen J. Stephens, 'Black Past,' February 4, 2014, "Woodland Park, Michigan" https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/woodland-park-michigan-1921/</ref><ref>Nancy Derringer, 'Michigan Live,' Updated January 20, 2019; Posted July 18, 2013, "Once a gem of West Michigan, African-American resort community Idlewild seeks new identity" https://www.mlive.com/business/2013/07/once_a_gem_african-american_re.html</ref>  The area last had its passenger rail access to Grand Rapids and other mid-western cities in 1966 when the [[Chesapeake & Ohio Railway]] terminated service through nearby Bitely and other towns on the route from [[Traverse City]] to Grand Rapids.<ref>Chesapeake and Ohio Railway/Baltimore and Ohio Railroad timetable, April 1966, Table F</ref><ref>''Official Guide of the Railways,'' December 1966, Chesapeake and Ohio Railway/Baltimore and Ohio Railroad section, freight only status</ref>