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Welcome to the Hayes Township Website

Hayes Township is located in central Clare County in a region known as Central Michigan. The Township surrounds the City of Harrison, and is linked to the City in terms of services, employment, recreation and entertainment. Major transportation arteries pass through Hayes Township providing connections to surrounding communities and the rest of the state. U.S. Highway 27, a controlled access freeway, runs through the Township providing easy access to the communities of Gaylord and Grayling to the North, and Clare, Mount Pleasant and Lansing to the south.

Because of significant natural resources such as heavy woodlands and many small lakes and bodies of water, Hayes Township, has become a popular destination for tourists and recreation enthusiasts.

Established in Michigan’s lumbering era, the area was home to the first logging railroad in the History of the world, the Lake George & Muskegon Railroad. By 1882, the rail line was used for transporting lumber and other goods from Harrison to other communities in Clare County and the rest of the state. In 1890, the rail line offered express trains that provided direct connections between Harrison and Cincinnati. The railroad line, in addition to important rivers such as the Muskegon River, and Tobacco River, helped the lumbering industry to flourish.