The Mostly-Ghost Town of Royston: Montmorency County, Michigan
What's left of the hamlet of Royston seems to get a bad rap, simply because no one talks about it...or records its history. There has to be more to Royston than what's been written.
What we know:
It sits in Montmorency County, thirty miles west of Alpena. A post office opened there in 1902 and there was a general store; Charles Godfrey was both storekeeper and postmaster.
There were two sawmills, one owned by a Mr. Alexander and another operated by Albert Steinke. The general store was taken over by Robert McQueen. There was a town hall a half mile east but it doesn't seem to exist anymore.
That's about all we know, unless there is some hidden history somewhere. Even when describing Montmorency County, Royston is basically ignored - due to its size, I imagine. Most descriptions read (in part), “Three towns comprise Montmorency County: Atlanta (the county seat), Hillman (the only incorporated village), and Lewiston.”
As with most of the towns in the county, Royston made its income with timber and we have one photo to show that. There are hardly any known photos of Royston and no clue of what its peak population was. But for such a small burg with hardly any businesses or residents, someone seemed to have a big sense of humor when it came to postcards.
There are a handful of them that show Royston in a humorous manner, which you will see in the gallery below. One thing those cards accomplish is: that it made the town look livelier than it really was.
Royston is listed as an entry in the “Michigan Ghost Towns” book, and if you take a drive through, you'll see a couple of buildings that look like they have been old stores renovated into homes.
The photo gallery is short, but take a look and see what we have....
The Mostly-Ghost Town of Royston, Montmorency County
MORE MICHIGAN GHOST TOWNS:
The Ghost Town of Bell, Michigan
The Ghost Town of Ridge
Michigan Ghost Towns of Henderson & Ralph
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