Paw Paw, Michigan

Paw Paw is the county seat of Van Buren County in southwestern Michigan, and it takes its name from a native fruit tree. The paw paw, a tropical-looking tree that produces sweet, custard-like fruit, grows wild across this part of Michigan. When Van Buren County organized in eighteen thirty-seven, Paw Paw became its county seat.

The village traces its start to a sawmill that Peter Gremps began running in eighteen thirty-three, and it sits where the east and south branches of the Paw Paw River come together. The county was named for Martin Van Buren before he became president, when he was still Andrew Jackson's Secretary of State. Paw Paw grew steadily as a courthouse town, but its most distinctive identity comes from grapes.

The sandy loam soils and moderately warm climate of the Lake Michigan shore country proved ideal for wine grapes. Paw Paw became home to Saint Julian Winery, which calls itself the longest-running winery in Michigan and draws most of its grapes from within forty miles. The Van Buren County Courthouse, on East Paw Paw Street, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fire has hit the village hard, and a blaze in eighteen eighty-eight destroyed seven buildings. Each year the weekend after Labor Day brings the Wine and Harvest Festival, with grape stomping, wine tasting, and fireworks over Maple Lake.