Sanford, Michigan

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Sanford is a village in Midland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 943 at the 2000 census. The founder's day parade is an important annual event in this old logging village along the Tittabawassee River. In 1864, Charles Sanford, of Madison County, New York, purchased 213 acres (0.9 km²) of land where the village is now located, along with 1,000 acres (4 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 1982, Sanford voters approved repealing its 1963 village charter and become part of Jerome Township, but a Michigan court overturned the election results because it should have been presented as one proposal instead of two.