Columbia Biographies
Original Owners: Samuel B. Covey (1853-1886)
John Covey (1886-1894)
Melinda (Covey) Hinman (1894-1910)
Claude D. Hinman (1910-1940)
Garnald K. Hinman (1940-1967)
Present Owners: Clarence and Ethel (Hinman) Wildner
Great-grandmother Melinda Covey was the first white girl born in Columbia Township. Samuel Covey had brought his family from Jackson Co. to this section of land because of the rich loam soil that promised to grow good crops. A dairy operation soon began on the farm and it was to continue until 1960. Sugar beets still grow in the fields as a cash crop along with beans, corn, and wheat.
Along with all the early tax receipts, the family has two very special memories about their centennial farm. Samuel B. Covey bought his land from the U.S. Government and Governor Williams presented one of the first Centennial Farm Certificates to Garnald Hinman at the Tuscola Co. Fair in 1957.
From "Michigan's Centennial Family Farm Heritage 1986" pg. 316.