Editing Sanford, Michigan (section)

==History==
In 1864, Charles Sanford of [[Madison County, New York|Madison County]], [[New York (state)|New York]], purchased {{convert|213|acre|km2}} of land where the village is now located, along with {{convert|1,000|acre|km2}} of pine land. The site was first known as the "Salt-Spring Reserve", and was the location of the first [[salt well]] in the state. [[Douglass Houghton]], the state surveyor and geologist, supervised sinking the shaft of the well. Charles Sanford moved there in May 1864. He platted the village in 1870. Romig identifies Jay F. Hamilton as the first postmaster of "Sanfordville" on June 23, 1871, while the ''Portrait and biographical album of Midland county, Mich.'' lists Phineas Hamilton as the first postmaster. The name was shortened to "Sanford" on July 13, 1871. Also in 1871, the [[Pere Marquette Railroad]] built a station in Sanford.

In 1963, residents of Sanford voted to incorporate as a village.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Florey |first1=Virginia |title=Midland Remembers: Sanford The Best Little Town by a Dam Site Part II |url=https://www.ourmidland.com/insider/article/Midland-Remembers-Sanford-The-Best-Little-Town-15495868.php#:~:text=In%201963%2C%20incorporation%20of%20the%20Village%20of%20Sanford,Crippen%2C%20Lionel%20Dancer%2C%20Ace%20Mitchell%20and%20Henry%20Bergtold. |access-date=July 29, 2023 |work=Midland Daily News |publisher=Hearst Corporation |ref=Remembers}}</ref> In 1982, Sanford voters approved the repeal of its incorporation, but a Michigan court overturned the election results on the grounds that it should have been presented as one proposal instead of two.

On May 19, 2020, the [[Sanford Lake|Sanford Dam]] and [[Edenville Dam]] on the [[Tittabawassee River]] collapsed, forcing the evacuation of the village and largely destroying its downtown.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web|title=Thousands evacuate area in Michigan after two dams fail and governor warns one city could see 9 feet of water|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/19/us/michigan-dam-collapse/index.html|first1=Rob |last1=Frehse|first2=Kristina|last2= Sgueglia|publisher=CNN|access-date=May 20, 2020|first3=Christina|last3= Maxouris}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Schafer |first1=Ashley |title=Downtown Sanford businesses destroyed |url=https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Downtown-Sanford-businesses-destroyed-15287302.php |access-date=May 23, 2020 |work=Midland Daily News |publisher=[[Hearst Corporation]] |date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>