Congratulating Themselves, 2 Men Named This Michigan Town 'Bravo'

Every now and then I like to give a shout-out to a small town that otherwise might not get much recognition. This time around, it's the little Allegan County town of Bravo.

In 1867, Ezra Davis and Alonzo Sherman arrived in the area which is now known as Clyde Township. They got busy and immediately set out to build the area into some kind of a community. They built a general store and a sawmill and named their new place “Sherman”. They claimed they did NOT name it after the above-mentioned Alonzo, but after General William T. Sherman. Well, okay, if you say so.

Even so, the name did not stick; there was already another Michigan postal station named 'Sherman' so they needed to change. So when a post office finally came to the community, they called it “Bravo”. When asked “Why that particular name?”, Davis and Sherman said the name “indicated the spirit of the pioneers who started a village in the woods”, referring to themselves.

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The post office opened as 'Bravo' in 1872 with the first postmaster being Royal Chandler Eaton (now that's a name). The post office ceased operations in 1950. All-in-all, Bravo at one time had two sawmills, a store, post office, school, church, and depot, which opened in 1909.

Bravo was/is located along the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad about sixteen miles south of Holland, sitting quietly in the countryside. As with any Michigan small town, it's worth a drive-thru.