“Then-and-Now” Photos of Webberville, Michigan: 1900s-2000s

The town that was to become Webberville (sometimes incorrectly called 'Webbersville') was settled in 1837 by Ephraim Meech. In 1840 a post office began operating under the name 'Phelpstown' named after townsman David Phelps.

In 1850, the village was re-named LeRoy, after one of two things: either the town of LeRoy, New York, or Michigan's first attorney general, Daniel LeRoy. In 1862, LeRoy shut down its post office; five years later, the entire village was moved about a mile east and settled at the location we know as Webberville today. For a while, the area went under two names: 'LeRoy' and 'Webberville Post Office'. As seen in the atlases in the gallery below, the name 'LeRoy' was dropped by 1914.

There was a good number of families named Webber that settled there, and the town was again re-named after one of them: postmaster Hubert Webber, in 1867. Why? Because there was already a village in Michigan named Leroy...actually, there were a few of them:
LeRoy, Calhoun County (1837)
Leroy, Genessee County (1837-1860)
Leroy, Lenawee County (1837)
LeRoy, Osceola County (1871)

Webberville was also the headquarters of the Michigan Brewing Company. It began operations in 1996 within a former truck repair shop. After an admirable rise in popularity, they unfortunately were forced to close down in 2012 after being evicted.

Webberville still retains that smalltown feel, even though the majority of the classic downtown buildings have been demolished. The gallery below shows you what downtown Webberville once looked like, lined with great old storefronts. Fortunately, one of the buildings that was a Ford dealership in the 1920s is still intact.

There are also a few “then-and-now” shots as well. Take a look!