East Grand Rapids

East Grand Rapids Municipal Water Report Info
About East Grand Rapids: East Grand Rapids has a rich and colorful history. The following overview was prepared by Mary Dersch, a local resident and volunteer historian for the city. We invite you to visit the Local History Room at the library, located at 750 Lakeside Drive, to learn more about the community's past.

Early History: East Grand Rapids was initially settled in the early 1830s when the Reed family arrived from New York State. Originally part of Paris Township, it is one of the oldest suburbs in Kent County. Residents voted to establish the Village of East Grand Rapids in 1891. The town was incorporated as a home-rule city in 1926 when the population was approximately 1,300 people.

By the 1870s, the Reeds Lake area had become a popular summer day trip destination for people from Grand Rapids and surrounding areas who made the journey to spend the day picnicking, boating, swimming, or enjoying a relaxing day at the lake. At the lakeside building on the west shore of Reeds Lake, visitors could watch a play or listen to a popular orchestra of the day.

Transportation to the lake evolved from foot, stagecoach, or horse and buggy to horse-drawn carriages in the mid-1870s. Passengers would board in downtown Grand Rapids, transfer to the Grand Rapids and Reeds Lake Railway on Sherman Street Southeast and continue to the lake via Wealthy Street. By 1877, steam trains replaced horse cars, and electric streetcars came into use in the mid-1890s. Buses replaced streetcars in 1935.