Alonzo Proctor Tollhouse (1851) SR
Tollhouse #2 of the Lansing–Howell Plank Road was operated by Alonzo Proctor and his family and stood near the intersection of Grand River Avenue and Hamilton Road in Meridian Township. Because the town of Okemos (founded as Hamilton) had already been established at Okemos and Hamilton Roads, the plank road followed Hamilton Road through “downtown” and rejoined Grand River Avenue near Dobie Road.
In 1907 the tollhouse was moved from its original location to 564 N. Hagadorn Road (on the east side of the street between Snyder and Melrose), where it was used as a residence for decades.
As the sole remaining plank road tollhouse in Michigan, the building was listed on the State Register of Historic Places on 14 March 1973 and moved soon afterward to the Meridian Historical Village in Central Park, Okemos. It has been restored to its original appearance and placed in an interpretive setting complete with a gate and a placard of toll rates. Proctor’s gravesite rests in Riverside Cemetery, near the original tollhouse site, with a commanding view of Grand River Avenue and Hamilton Road.
Alonzo Proctor Tollhouse, December 2004. Photo Credit: Kevin S. Forsyth.
