Editing Otsego, Michigan (section)

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2024}}
Otsego was established in fall of 1831 by the Samuel Foster family from [[Vermont]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wieber |first1=Ryan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1iUYKnNWzoC&dq=otsego+michigan+1831&pg=PA129 |title=Otsego and Plainwell |last2=Stamm |first2=Sandy |date=2006 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-4116-7 |page=7 |language=en}}</ref> called Pine Creek by its initial settlers: Giles Scott and Hull Sherwood. A post office was established in 1832 under the name of Allegan, the name being changed to Otsego in 1835 with the organization of Allegan County, spearheaded by Otsego resident Dr. Samuel Foster. 1833 brought a school to the new town, and a hotel - the Tompkins House - followed in the 1860s.

On June 6, 1863, at Aaron Hilliard's house<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hilliard, Aaron Henderson (1820–1875) |url=https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=F9HA |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=encyclopedia.adventist.org}}</ref> [[Ellen G. White]], a founder of the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist church]], experienced a vision about health and disease, and it showed [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] food, as was described in Genesis 1:29, was the proper food for humankind.<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Arthur L. |date=1963-06-04 |title=A Vision of 1863 (DF 127) |url=http://ellenwhite.org/media/document/2516 |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=Ellen G. White Estate |language=en}}</ref> Her vision led to the creation of many vegetarian foods and vegetarian food companies, including the [[Battle Creek Sanitarium]] and [[La Loma Foods|Loma Linda Foods]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kamila |first=Avery Yale |date=2022-02-20 |title=Vegan Kitchen: Nearly 150 years ago, a Seventh Day Adventist leader had a vision about vegetarianism |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2022/02/20/nearly-150-years-ago-seventh-day-adventist-leader-and-mainer-ellen-white-had-a-vision-about-vegetarian-food/ |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=Press Herald}}</ref>

In the 1870s, visitors from all over the Midwest journeyed to Otsego to experience the "medicinal" waters at the Otsego Mineral Springs Bath House, which remained a regional draw until 1887 when [[George Bardeen|George Bardeen's]] paper mill operation depleted the town's mineral springs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://otsegohistory.org/page23.html|title=Otsego Area Historical Society-Otsego, Michigan-Historic Otsego Tour|website=otsegohistory.org}}</ref>

The 1880s saw some big advances for Otsego. In 1883, Otsego High School held its first commencement ceremony, graduating three students; a home-delivery milk route was started up in 1885; and 1886 brought the establishment of the volunteer fire department, which initially used horse-drawn water-wagons. The decade closed out with the formation of the city's Republican Club in 1888.

In 1881, [[Wilson C. Edsell]] built the town's first bank and opera house. Edsell's Opera House was the primary entertainment venue in town for many years until the opening of the Nickelodeon (Irv Nichols's theatre venture) in 1909. An ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'' troupe played the Opera House stage on an annual basis. [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] [[vaudeville]] shows, called ''medicine shows'', were popular. Maro the Magician, [[repertory theatre|stock theater]] groups, [[minstrel show]]s took the opera house stage on a regular basis, with the minstrel shows led by the town's one African American resident Jim Smith.

The city's baseball park was sold to the area Catholics as a site for a church in 1890. The Russell Buggy Company came to town as well, making popular ironclad carriages. The Bardeen Mansion was completed in 1894, which was razed in 1962–63. A [[smallpox]] epidemic swept the town in 1894, as well.

During the 1902 baseball season, Otsego was home to [[Negro league baseball]] great [[Rube Foster|Andrew "Rube" Foster]], who played for [[George Bardeen|George E. Bardeen's]] [[Michigan State League]] white semi-professional team, the [[Otsego Independents]], before signing on as a pitcher with the [[Cuban X-Giants]], considered by many to be the greatest team in Negro leagues history.<ref name="rube_roots">Wood, William R. (Nov. 11, 1996). "Black Baseball Pioneer Had Otsego Roots". ''Kalamazoo Gazette''. p. 54. Retrieved via Newspapers.com.</ref> He would later be instrumental in the founding of the [[Negro National League (1920-1931)|Negro National League]]. For a time, Otsego had a "Rube Street," but it was renamed "Washington Street." On 17 April 2000, John Chapman, a local elementary teacher, petitioned the City Council to have one of the six baseball diamonds at Memorial Park renamed in Foster's honor. The city approved placement of a monument to him at the park by a 3–1 vote.<ref name="rube_honor">Parker, Rosemary (April 18, 2000). "Otsego Plans to Honor Baseball Player". ''Kalamazoo Gazette''. p. 4. Retrieved via Newspapers.com.</ref>

A [[Influenza pandemic|flu epidemic]] struck 800 residents, killing some, in 1918.

Otsego was struck by a tornado in 1962, uprooting trees and wiping out electricity/telephone services for several days.