Editing Gaylord, Michigan (section)

=== Founding and early years ===
The town was unofficially called '''Barnes,''' after secretary of the [[Michigan Central Railroad]] and state representative [[Orlando M. Barnes|Orlando Barnes]], the town was settled in 1873 when the Jackson, Lansing, and Saginaw Railroads were extended north from Otsego Lake Village in the same year.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} All property north of Main Street was owned by the railroad. Barnes owned all of the property to the south. Main Street was the borderline for two townships. This put the northern half of the new community in [[Livingston Township, Michigan|Livingston Township]] and the southern portion in [[Bagley Township, Michigan|Bagley Township]].

The town became known as the “Village of Gaylord” in 1874. In the same year, Gaylord was also granted a post office of the same name. If the community was truly ever named Barnes, the name change would have occurred between November 1873 and October 1874. William F. Parmater, a township supervisor, was appointed to find a location for the town's court house in November 1877. Parmater and George Smith, a local store owner, were given land owned by Barnes and his wife to build the court house.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Gaylord |url=http://www.otsego.org/ochs/Towns%20Red%20Buttons/Gaylord/GaylordJumpPage.htm |access-date=June 19, 2023 |website=Otsego County Historical Society}}</ref>

Augustine Smith Gaylord, who is the namesake for the town, was an attorney associated with the Michigan Central Railroad. His law firm was located in Saginaw. Gaylord never lived in his namesake town, but he did own property in [[Hayes Township, Otsego County, Michigan|Hayes Township]]. His distinguished career included serving as a school teacher, church choir director, county clerk, and member of the State Legislature, Gaylord was appointed to serve as an attorney for the [[United States Department of the Interior|Department of the Interior]] in 1875.

Gaylord became the county seat of [[Otsego County, Michigan|Otsego County]]. Prior to 1877, Otsego Lake Village had been designated as the temporary county seat. Gaylord's central location in the county, along with its growing business community, prompted the change. In the same year, the namesake of the town, Augustine Smith Gaylord died at his home in [[Saginaw, Michigan|Saginaw]] at the age of 46. It is believed that a trip to negotiate a treaty with Native American tribes out west in [[Montana]] and [[The Dakotas]], at the request of President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] was possibly too strenuous for his pre-existing health conditions at the time, which declined his health, which prevented him from returning to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]].

In 1879, the state legislature appropriated state-owned lands to be exchanged for construction of a state road from [[Petoskey, Michigan|Petoskey]] through Berryville to Gaylord. These lands were originally conveyed to the State of Michigan by the Federal government in 1850 by the [[Swamp Land Act of 1850]].

Gaylord was officially incorporated as a village in 1881, with the first council meeting being held in March of the same year which was presided by Chester C. Mitchell.<ref name=":0" />