City of Lapeer history

In January of 1820 the County of Oakland was formed.

Imlay City, located in Lapeer County at the intersection of Interstate I-69 and M-53 was named after William H. Imlay, who was an eastern capitalist before moving to this area about 1828.

Lapeer’s first church was the Congregational Church organized in 1833; the same year Lapeer was platted.

The first elections were for County Officers in 1837 with 520 persons voting.

The Whites erected a court house at the present site of the Old Lapeer High School at Main and Genesee Street in 1839.

Court was first held on July 7th, 1840.

Alvin Hart became a State Senator in 1843, representing Lapeer, Oakland, Genesee, Shiawassee, Tuscola, Saginaw counties and the entire Upper Peninsula.

Hart built the present court house located at the corner of Nepessing and Court Streets in 1846.

Hart rented the building to the County for $1 and court was first held in April 1847.

In 1853, the County purchased Hart’s court house for $3,000: which is now the oldest continuously running court house in the State of Michigan and one of the oldest 10 court houses in the United States.

The City of Lapeer was incorporated under Act 369 of 1869, approved March 30th, 1869.

The village was settled in 1870 when the construction of the Port Huron and Lake Michigan Railway was completed as far as Attica, west of Imlay City.

This building is now known as the White Block. It became evident that the business district would be near the court house, so the Opera House was moved, piece by piece, to its present location at the southeast corner of Court and Nepessing Streets in 1879.

One of the main things Lapeer is known for is the yearly Lapeer Days festival, which began in 1902, and is a highlight of the Summer.

By 1914, the town began building around streetcar lines - a sure sign of a progressive community as only large cities typically invested in this public transportation.

Marguerite de Angeli – writer and illustrator of children’s books, including the 1950 Newbery Award winning book The Door in the Wall

In April 1970 the town celebrated its 100th birthday and the residents of Imlay City changed from a village to a Home Rule city form of government by a two to one vote.