Photo Gallery of Dewitt, Early 1900s
Dewitt has the distinction of being the first permanent settlement in Clinton County.
The village and the county were named after politician De Witt Clinton, whose idea for a waterway through Michigan gave way to the Erie Canal in 1825. Clinton was the governor of New York from 1825-1828, a few years before Dewitt was settled.
It finally was settled in 1833 by David Scott and his family on the north side of Looking Glass River. However, Frederick Boles bought and settled land south of the river and platted a village there in 1837. In answer, Scott platted his own village on the north side in 1841; it was eventually given the name “De Witt”, years later conjoined as simply “Dewitt”. Unfortunately for Boles, he didn t – or couldn t – pay his taxes and the state took his land away from him in 1842.