Come Participate in the City of Hillsdale "Extreme Community Makeover"
(Updated 11/11/2009)

Through the MSU Small Town Design Initiative (STDI) the City of Hillsdale has been selected to receive design assistance to plan for the physical revitalization of the community. Working with students from the MSU Landscape Architecture Program over a several month period, community members and organizations are given the opportunity to provide input about what they would like the community to look and feel like in ten years. After the process is complete, the community will be presented with approximately 100 photos of strategic areas of the community showing the “before” and “after” possibilities resulting in a long term visual “master plan” for the community. Approximately 60 other communities in Michigan have leveraged the results of the STDI process to undertake small and large scale community improvement projects ranging from simple community-wide clean up days to completion of complex infrastructure improvement projects.

Design students from the Michigan State University School of Planning, Design and Construction will be spending Tuesday, November 17th conducting field work throughout Hillsdale as part of the Small Town Design Initiative.

Later that day, from 7:30 to 9:00 PM at the Hillsdale Community Library, the students will unveil their preliminary design ideas meant to visually improve key living, working, and recreational spaces throughout the City of Hillsdale. Click here for an informational flyer and meeting schedule.

Anyone interested in preserving the unique character, small town charm, and natural beauty of Hillsdale is encouraged to come. Please share this information with family and friends, business associates, and any membership organizations with which you are affiliated. Come take part in this fun and interactive process to let the City know what the creation of more visually appealing live, work, and play spaces throughout our community means to you. For more information about the STDI, visit the program on the web at http://outreach.msu.edu/exmSmlTown.asp or contact Christine Bowman, Economic Development Director at (517) 437-6479 or via email at .

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Our City

The city of Hillsdale is located in South Central Michigan, bordering Indiana and Ohio. This incorporated community has a population of approximately 9000 residents. As the county seat for Hillsdale County, the City of Hillsdale was established in 1839 and chartered in 1869. Hillsdale is home to Hillsdale College, and numerous industrial, commercial and residential developments that provide a variety of opportunities to people from local and surrounding areas.

Our community's name identifies the hills and dales of Hillsdale County, with its quiet, natural, rural beauty, complemented with streams, woods, lakes and wildlife. Big city traffic is quickly forgotten, and jaywalking is tolerated in our historic downtown district.

Every Saturday the fairgrounds hosts a farmer's market with fruit, vegetables, small animals and a flea market. Dozens of antique shops dot our countryside, and visitors from nearby metropolitan areas find hidden treasures in our quaint stores.

Hillsdale County has 350 lakes and ponds, and is the headwaters of five major rivers. Some lakes have full water sports, while others are restricted, providing peaceful ambience.

In the late 1800s, Hillsdale was a booming railroad town. Dozens of beautiful Victorian homes were constructed with incredible architecture and charm. Hundreds of beautiful trees now line our streets, providing striking colors in the fall and comforting shade in the summer.

While many enchanting older homes are available, several new sub-divisions have recently been built, providing plenty of housing for the employees of a growing company.

Importantly, our city has low taxes, the lowest in our region, according to a study conducted by a Lansing investigative journalist. There are no county or city income taxes, and the city only levies 15 mills, plus one mill for the community library.

Also, many Hillsdale County residents have strong church affiliations; the county has well over fifty churches representing many denominations. The ministerial association organizes several countywide religious events each year.

If country living is your style, Hillsdale County is one of the few places in Southern Michigan where inexpensive acreage is still available. Often, old farmhouses still stand tall in the fields, gracefully beating back the passage of time.