Ida, MI

Ida is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in central Monroe County, centered along Lewis Avenue mostly within Ida Township, with a smaller section in Raisinville Township. Before it had a post office or a rail stop, the area worked as a stagecoach stopping point between Monroe and Adrian. The Wayside Inn opened in 1825 to serve travelers on the rough road, giving the settlement its first business and its oldest strong local landmark. A Michigan Southern Railroad line reached the area by 1839, and Ida later had a depot on the route that became the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. The tracks are gone now, but the Lewis Avenue crossroads remain the center of the community, about 12 miles north of the Ohio line. Ida's own 48140 post office gives this rural Monroe County crossroads a clear address.