This town contains thirty-six square miles and lies between Holton, Dalton and Egelston, with Newaygo County on the eastern boundary. It contains a number of lakes, of which the largest is Duck Lake, on Section 11, which is three-fourths of a mile long and half a mile wide. Mud Lake and Clear Lake lie to the west of Duck Lake. The Muskegon River crosses the southeast, and Cedar Creek drains the whole town.

    This town was originally a part of White River, and then of Dalton, and was set apart with Holton going by itself in 1871. The Supervisors of Cedar Creek have been Norman Cunningham, in 1861-2-3-4-5-6; Paul G. Shippey, in 1867-8-9; E. Dalton, in 1870. In 1871 Paul G. Shippey appears again on the Board of Supervisors, and is reelected in 1872-3, then Seth Evans comes in 1874-5-6-7-8; M. Thompson, in 1879-80; and Seth Evans has been Supervisor ever since, having just been elected for the fourth time. The Justices of the Peace are Seth Evans, Rice Jones and Aaron E. Sevrey. The present Supervisor is Seth Evans, Treasurer, Anton Schmidt; Clerk, Warren F. Odion, who is serving his third term, and came to the town in 1866.
    The population of Cedar Creek was 166 in 1864, 660 in 1870, 291 in 1874, and 432 in 1880. The fall in population in 1874 may be accounted for in that Holton was not included. The town of late years is improving agriculturally.

    Joseph Martin claims to have been the first settler in Cedar Creek on Section 1, in 1856, at which time there was but one man named Shepard near, who was logging but not a permanent settler. A lumberman J. Thompson, now deceased, was up the river, and was on the river two or three years before Martin. Charles Odell, now of Holland, came in about 1856 and lived next to Martin. Then came Hendrickson, Richard Ryerson (brother of Martin,) John Schmidt and Anton Schmidt.
    Almira, daughter of Jos. Martin, born in 1857, ws the first white child born in the town.
    The first teacher was Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Ryerson, who taught in her own house before a school house was built.
    The first school house was on Section 12, on Hendrickson's land. Miss Adelia Wilson (now Mrs. Martin Ryerson, her husband being the son of Richard) was the first teacher there.
    The first missionary to preach was the Rev. Mr. Irvine, a Baptist from Twin Lake.
    The Norwegian Lutherans have a church edifice on Section 25, where there is quite a large settlement.
    The first saw mill was that of Mr. Jones, on Section 35, now gone to decay.
    The Shippey mill in 1867 was the next, and A. T. Linderman's in the northeast corner of the town was the last.
    In 1869 Mr. Ruprecht built a small mill at Duck Lake, and sold it to Blodgett & Byrne, who moved it to Holton in 1871, and after one year built larger. There are no other saw mills except S. P. Hartshorn's small mill on the Little Cedar.
    The soil of the town is not very inviting, being chiefly clay and sand, Section 1, 12 and 36 being among the best. There is not much pine left, much of it being taken off by Otto Ryerson and Peter Johnson, both now deceased.
    The first marriage was by John Hendrickson to a Miss Syphers; that of Martin Ryerson and Adelia Wilson, being also among the earliest.
    Taxes are light, and the town is in no debt. Fires have done but little damage. The crops have generally been fair, except in 181, but there are but few farmers as yet in the township.
    The Muskegon road is the chief route of travel, it being less than fourteen miles from the center of the town to Muskegon; but since 1872, when the railroad came in, Holton has had considerable of the farmer's trading.
    In Cedar Creek, about two miles from Twin Lake is

where is A. T. Linderman's shingle mill, built in 1879 by C. W. Dunning & Co., and purchased by Linderman in 1880, capacity 50,000 per day. Mr. Linderman, who is a prominent merchant of Whitehall, has also a model farm where he raises on sand, clover knee deep. The farm is 640 acres on sections 4, 5 and 6; his mill is on section 5.
    
    Joseph Martin, farmer on sections 1 and 12, on 200 acres came among the very first settlers in 1856, was born in Lower Canada in 1825, and brought up in his native place. At 24 years of age he went west, and after various wanderings he settled in Cedar Creek. He married Almira Piche, in 1855, and has had eight children, of whom six survive.

    John Schmitt was born in Germany in 1823, and emigrated to America in 1852. After working in Muskegon County and Illinois, in 1863, the land in Cedar Creek Township was opened for settlement, when he took up a homestead in section 24. There were no roads and but few neighbors, but he worked bravely on until now he owns a fine farm of 240 acres. In 1868 he married Miss Anna Mary Glessner, of Prussia, by whom he has six children.

    Talliff Hendrickson was born in Norway in 1811, and emigrated to Washington Co., Wis., in 1849. After working a rented farm three years, he went on the old vessel Henry Clay to Muskegon Lake, settling in Fruitland, where for eight years he was engaged in lumbering. He next moved to Cedar Creek Township, settling on sections 1 and 12, where he made for himself a comfortable home. His son, John P. Hendrickson, was born in Norway in 1842, and Henry Hendrickson in 1844. They came with their father to Michigan, and on his death John got the part of the farm in section 1, and Henry that in section 12. John married Miss Millie Ann Syphers, of Ohio, in 1863, by whom he has five children. Henry married Miss Augusta M. Hynald, of Rochester, N. Y. The family suffered many privations after settling in Michigan, but they persevered and finally overcame all difficulties. Mr. Talliff Hendrickson was one of the first to assist in organizing a Lutheran Church, and the place of worship is now centrally located in Holton. There is also a fine cemetery in which the Hendrickson family purpose erecting a fine family monument.

    John Johnson was born in Sweden in 1831, and emigrated to America in 1863. After living in Chicago and Muskegon, he bought a farm in section 13 of Cedar Creek, which he still owns. In 1873 he married Miss Augusta Louise Swansen, of Sweden, by whom he has had six children, one of whom died in 1877.

    Chauncey Hovey, farmer, was born in Macomb Co., Mich., Nov. 4, 1827, where he resided until 1867, when he moved to Cedar Creek, and has been honored with a town office ever since its organization. He was married in 1858, to Jane DeWitt, and has had eight children, four still surviving.

    John Johnson, farmer, was born in Sweden in 1836, and came to Muskegon in 1865, Whitehall in 1871, working in the saw mills. In 1873 he moved on his present farm in Cedar Creek.

    S. P. Hartshorn, saw miller, was born in New Hampshire in 1845, enlisted as musician in Co. E, 6th N. H. Vol., in 1863, serving till close of war. In 1866 he came to Whitehall, where he was in business six years. In 1872 he built and still runs a saw mill on section 14, on the head waters of the Little Cedar, called Duck Lake mills. He was married Aug. 19, 1867 to Z. D. Hendrickson, of Wisconsin, and has four sons and two daughters.

    Anton Sweeter, farmer in section 27, Prussian, born in 1834, came to Racine, Wis., in 1854, and next year came to Muskegon, working on the river seven years and then came to Cedar Creek.

    Seth Evans, of section 23, born in Tiverton, R. I., in 1824, next year went to Massachusetts, and followed the sea until he came to Cedar Creek in 1866. He is the present Supervisor.

    Rice Jones, section 24, was born in Monmouthshire, England, in 1829, came to Utica, N. Y., in 1833, next year moved to Syracuse, N. Y., and two years after to Wisconsin, thence to Muskegon in 1851. He was married in March, 1854, to Mary E. Evans, and moved to LaCrosse, Wis., in 1857, back to Muskegon in 1860, to Cedar Creek in 1874.