Alamo Centre

A Quiet Hamlet on the Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad Line

Initially called Bainbridge, Alamo Township is situated in the northwestern corner of Kalamazoo County — 36 square miles in 36 sections, defined as Township 1 South, Range 12 West. Alamo Township shares its borders with Allegan County to the north, Cooper Township to the east, Oshtemo Township to the south, and Van Buren County to the west. Originally part of Cooper Township after the first survey in 1830, the Michigan Legislature officially established Alamo as a separate township in March 1838, two years after its namesake Battle of the Alamo.

“And that part of the county of Kalamazoo designated in the United States survey as township number one south, of range number twelve west, be and the same is hereby set off and organized into a separate township by the name of Alamo; and the first township meeting there in shall be held at the house of Seth C. Whitlock.”

— Kalamazoo Gazette, 17 March  1838

Alamo Centre

The hamlet of Alamo Centre was established in 1839 at the four corners of sections 15, 16, 21, and 22 by John G. Tarbell, who purchased land in the southwest quarter of Section 15. A post office was first established at Tarbell’s house in February 1850 with Tarbell himself as postmaster. By 1873, the post office had been moved next door to T.J. Congdon’s general store. For the next sixty years or so, the post office moved around among the several grocery stores in the center of the village as their proprietors came and went. Alamo Centre served as a U.S. postal center until 1936.

The Methodist Episcopal Church in Alamo Centre was organized in 1842. The group met in homes and schoolhouses until 1868 when a church building was erected on the west side of North 6th Street, just north of the village center. Later the same year, the Congregational Church was built just south of the village center. Their membership peaked during the 1870s when upwards of 90 members attended Sunday services. Sources say, “the crowds were so great their buggies lined the streets almost to the railroad tracks” (Snow). The Congregational Church building still stands along the west side of South 6th Street.

Land for the first cemetery in the township was set aside along the Paw Paw Road (Owen Drive) three miles northeast of Alamo Centre. In 1848, the Alamo Center Cemetery was added along the west side of South 6th Street, just south of the village.

Arrival of the Railroad

The Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad Company (K&SH) was incorporated in April 1869, but funding for the new line failed to pan out. The Michigan Central Railroad Company came to the rescue by purchasing more than $600,000 in K&SH bonds (roughly $15.3 million in today’s dollars) and eventually leasing the cash strapped road, which was to become Michigan Central’s first subsidiary line. In January 1870, the first “Iron Horse” from Kalamazoo arrived at the Alamo depot on the north side of the tracks, a half mile south of Alamo Centre. By year’s end, the Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad line was complete to South Haven. The Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad became a major artery for commerce between Kalamazoo and the Lake Michigan shoreline. At its peak, at least six trains ran through Alamo Centre each day.

Alamo Centre Schools

The first log schoolhouse in the township, known as the Finch School, was built in 1837 on land set aside by William Finch in the southeast corner of Section 1. As the township grew, another schoolhouse was built at Alamo Centre, probably around 1844. Sources say it stood on the southeast corner of today’s West D Avenue and South 6th Street and was built of tamarack logs.

About 1851, a second school building was erected (possibly of logs or brick) across the street on the southwest corner. The original log school building was converted to a broom factory for a time. By 1873, the second school building had been replaced with a more substantial frame structure on adjacent property to the west. June 1901 saw the first high school commencement in Alamo Centre.

Up until the 1870s, the hamlet of Alamo Centre consisted of two churches, a schoolhouse, a post office, and a few scattered homes. With the coming of the railroad, however, the small community began to grow. Charles W. Barber was the first railroad agent and grain dealer in the village. Henry C. Peck ran a blacksmith shop and a carriage manufacturing business in the center of town. A cooperage shop (possibly Oliver Brockway’s operation) stood across the road to the east of the Congregational Church. Aaron Tallman was a horse breeder, lumber contractor, and a stock and grain dealer west of the village, while Peter Wright operated a sawmill on Sand Creek near the railroad line southwest of the village.

Alamo Centre Businesses

By the 1880s, Alamo Centre was on the grow, as other buildings and businesses began to appear. In 1880, the school board sold its property on the southwest corner adjacent to the school to Ezra and Charles Adams who erected a small grocery store on the site. The store burned in 1896 and was replaced by another shortly after.

The Alamo Valley Creamery was built in 1897 near the railroad depot and operated for a time as a stock company. The firm manufactured butter, cheese, buttermilk, and a dried milk product until around 1920. Over the years, a wide array of other commercial enterprises were scattered across Alamo Township, including a pickle brining operation, stockyards, charcoal kilns, cider mills, peppermint distilleries, well diggers, and maple sugar manufacturers. Williams Station in western Alamo Township was well known for its lumber mills, brickmakers, and barrel factories.

Also in 1897, the Knights of the Maccabees fraternal organization built a hall on the northwest corner in the village center, which was used for a variety of social activities — dances, social gatherings, school programs, and roller skating. It was later remodeled and served for many years as a garage and filling station. A small grocery store opened next door to the north around 1904 and remained as such until the 1940s. Other buildings near the same corner housed a blacksmith shop, a meat market, and a doctor’s office. Two commercial buildings still stand today at the crossroads but have since been converted for residential use.

Alamo Today

As the years passed, the automobile superseded rail travel and replaced the horse and buggy. Ridership on the Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad dwindled, and the line was eventually abandoned. Today, Alamo Centre (now known simply as Alamo) is but a quiet four-way stop in rural northwestern Kalamazoo County. But all is not lost. The old Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad line has since been transformed into the Kal-Haven Trail State Park, which stretches some six miles through the Alamo Township countryside, still connecting its namesake cities. Several light industries now line the township streets, and a casual eatery has made the former rail stop a desired destination for walkers, bikers, cross-country skiers, snowmobilers, and yes, even horseback riders.

Written by Keith Howard, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, July 2026