Less than a mile from Central Hall and adjacent to St. Anthony’s Catholic Church stands a series of stone buildings. Known to students as the “old mill,” these decaying structures once served as the F.W. Stock & Sons Mill, founded by a Prussian immigrant. For a time, it was “the largest family owned plant east of the Mississippi,” according to the Hillsdale County Community Center’s History Index.
But after undergoing a series of ownership changes since the 1950s, the mill closed in 2003. Its central location, former prominence, and current abandon coincide with the broader economic struggles of Hillsdale itself – struggles common to much of the industrial midwest.
The unemployment rate for Hillsdale County, of which the City of Hillsdale is the seat, was 9.3 percent, according to the most recently available Bureau of Labor Statistics data – above both the 8.9 percent rate for Michigan a during the same period.
The percentage of people in Hillsdale – total population 8,305 in 2010 – living below the poverty rate was 25.5 percent for all individuals, and 18.1 percent for all families, according to the 2007-2011 American Community Survey. For the comparable periods, that percentage was 15.7 percent in Michigan.
Median household income in the city has actually declined in real terms in the past decade: from $40,396 in 2000 to $33,378 in 2010, expressed in 2011 dollars, according to Census data. This mirrors the trend in Michigan for the same period – from $59,441 to $48,879 – according to the Census report “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011.”
Four-hundred and six of the 2,977 households (13.6 percent) within Hillsdale’s city limits earn less than $10,000 a year; another 245 (8.2 percent) earn $10,000 to $14,999 a year, according to the 2007-2011 American Community Survey.
Despite these economic indicators, the area continues to move forward, said Susan Smith, executive director of the Economic Development Program of Hillsdale County.
“In the 4th quarter, growth came our way in the manufacturing sector,” she said. “Things look pretty positive.”
Smith also said, however, that this optimism remains guarded.
“With the past economic situation from 2008, people remain cautiously optimistic.”
jbutler@hillsdale.edu
