This is a very short history compiled for the Lowell Chamber of Commerce in 1999, 
followed by a bit on the Fallasburg Covered Bridge.  The most interesting written 
history we have is a product of the Vergennes Club, a group of township ladies that 
has met monthly since 1914. They undertook a project in 1984 called Vergennes 
Living History, a written compilation of the remembrances of early residents, and  
it is a treasure they have agreed to share on our web site.  We would love to add 
any other written or photographic history residents may have to share.  And if 
anyone would like to work on a community  service project to compile the 
information received, they may call or E-mail the township for further information.

Vergennes Township was first settled in 1836 by Sylvester Hodges of New 
York State, and organized in 1838, with Rodney Robinson as its first 
Supervisor.  There were 19 families in the Township at that time.  The 
land was an unbroken wilderness, which soon was converted into fine farms.  
Mills were erected on several streams, schoolhouses were erected, villages 
incorporated and commerce encouraged.  The present City of Lowell and 
Vergennes were two sister towns, in substance, one settlement, which the 
township line about equally divided.

Today, Vergennes is home to 3500 residents.  Still rural in nature, the 
land is rolling and wooded where not farmed or otherwise developed.  
Lowell High School is located on Vergennes Road, near the intersection 
of Alden Nash which divides the township in half. Vergennes is also home 
to 1500 hundred acres of public land, including the 800 acre Lowell State 
Game Area.  The 530 acre Fallasburg Park, one of the most popular parks 
operated by the Kent County Parks Commission, is located on the banks of 
the Flat River, a State designated Natural River, which traverses the 
Eastern side of the township.  The township hosts an 18 hole golf course 
and several Bed and Breakfast operations, as well as the Lowell Airport, 
which is utilized by private aircraft.

Information on the Fallasburg Covered Bridge

In 1839, John W. Fallas built a bridge over the Flat River on the spot where the 
covered bridge stands today.  It was not a covered bridge, nor were the next two, 
all succumbing to the ravages of winter, severe weather, and time.  In 1871, the 
residents of the Village of Fallasburg hired the firm of Jared Brasee and Company 
to construct a sturdier covered bridge.  In 1905 the original wooden pilings were replaced 
with concrete.  Several renovations have taken place over the years, the latest being in 
1994 by the Kent County Road Commission.

The bridge has played a role in numerous television commercials, and has been the 
subject of countless photographers and painters.  Serving as an entrance to the Historic 
Village of Fallasburg, the covered bridge stands as a testament to what the village once 
was for countless West Michigan residents.