Lyons, MI

Lyons is an Ionia County village, mostly within Lyons Township with a small western piece in Ionia Township. The 2020 census counted 763 residents. It sits along the Grand River near Muir and about five miles east of Ionia. Hazel DeVore Park occupies a ten-acre island in the river, locally called The Island, with a boat launch nearby, a fishing pier, walking trails, pavilions, and campsites. That bit of river geography gives the village its most memorable neighborhood.

Lyons began around 1833 as Arthursburg, was platted and renamed Lyons in 1836, and incorporated as a village in 1859. Railroads then made it a local station: the Grand Trunk Western line from Durand to Grand Rapids and a Pere Marquette branch from Grand Ledge to Howard City both served the town. Depots were built or rebuilt in 1888 and 1908. The Lyons-Muir Historical Museum on East Bridge Street holds artifacts and archives from the two villages. Lyons' story is a mix of river island, rail lines, and the old connections between Lyons, Muir, and Ionia.