History :

The first settlers in Sumner Township arrived in the fall of 1854, lumbering provided their main sourse of livelihood. Among the first settlers was George S. Bell, coming from Ohio. He secured 400 acres of land, a saw mill and store soon appeared on the scene, and the site took the name of "Belltown."
In 1868, the village was laid out and dedicated by George and William Stratton, and given the name of "Estella" on September 4 of that year. The post office was established in 1869, and again the towns underwent another name change --this time "Sumner"--. Prior to this, the nearest postal facility was some 23 miles away in Ionia County, a two-day trip through the woods.
Sumner's first school was a one-story log structure built in about 1855, a half-mile north on Ferris Road. Several school buildings followed and were destroyed by fire; the new structure, now the Community Center, was built in 1949.
One of the most familiar landmarks in the early days was the Sumner Hotel. James Hicks built the hotel at the corner of Main street and Ferris Road in 1863, serving the lumbering people and travelers through the area. There was an immaculate dining room, serving home-cooked meals, a spacious parlor and large ballroom, as well as sleeping rooms. A saloon was built on one end of the building in 1904, but was a point of contention among local residents because of its closeness to the school. A large wooden fence was constructed by Bill Robinson to solve that problem. This property passed through many hands over the years, and after 1910 it served as a dwelling to many families, and was vacant when fire took over in 1924.
The corner site of the Cleverdon Store was occupied by that family from 1872 until it was sold to Harold Gunderman in 1956. Mr. Gunderman operated a hardware for a time, and today it is a private dwelling.
In April 1938, two of the principal business places were completely destroyed by fire; stores owned by Mrs. Bernice Jones and Sumner Hoxie, both located next to each other. Mr. Hoxie never rebuilt, but Mrs. Jones had a new building under construction within two weeks, and opened for business again in the summer.