| Depot And Elevator Area |
|---|
William Smith Seaver was born in Highland in 1854. In 1883 he purchased the elevator in Highland Station from Palmer & Palmer, as well as an office and barn across Livingston Road to the north, and soon became one of Highland's most widely liked businessmen. In 1886 the Milford Times complimented Seaver for employing a number of Highland women to "pick (i.e., clean) beans" instead of sending them elsewhere to be cleaned. Two years later, in 1888, Seaver succeeded John B. Crouse as Highland Station's postmaster. That same year he purchased the southeast corner of Centre Street (Milford Road) and Livingston Road, where he proceeded to build a store.
In 1893 Seaver ran against Charles Yarrington for the position of Highland township supervisor. When each garnered exactly 143 votes, the election was decided by lot, with Yarrington drawing the slip marked "elected." The following year Seaver again ran for supervisor, but lost by six votes. In 1896, however, his luck changed and he was elected by a vote of 180 to 163; the only Democrat to win office that year. He thereafter held the position off and on for several years, as well as that of postmaster, until his wife's ill-health prompted him to retire to a farm south of Milford. He died in 1929, still well regarded by long-time Highland residents who remembered his many years of service to the township.
