My City November 2022

MYHISTORY

PODUNK HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1836 BY THE AREA’S FIRST SETTLER, GEORGE JUDSON. THE HOUSE IS COMPLETELY FURNISHED WITH ITEMS DONATED BY AREA FAMILIES.

Podunk House &PioneerMuseum “Preserve Yesterday, Honor Today, Plan Tomorrow” BY CHERYL DENNISON

H ewett Judson, a longtime teacher at Lake Fenton High School, along with his sister Phyllis Judson Heusted, has worked hard to preserve the Judson family’s history. He is the treasurer for the Pioneer Memorial Association of Fenton & Mundy Townships and Heusted is the secretary/editor. e group’s goal is to preserve the history of both townships. And it all started in 1836 when Podunk House was built by Judson’s great-great grandfather, George Judson. After purchasing acreage in Mundy Township,

istry / stock.adobe.com

he was the rst to settle in that area and then founded a village called Podunk, which was located east of Torrey Rd. between Ray and Baldwin Rds. “He diverted water from Lake Fenton (then called Long Lake) and built a gristmill,” Judson informs. It was believed to have been named Podunk after Chippewa Indians in the area heard the mill wheel hitting the water and making a “po-dunk … po-dunk” sound. Also, the word podunk was historically used to describe a place that was in “the middle of nowhere.”

MARIIA / stock.adobe.com

50

MYCITYMAG.COM