Bob Barringer

Blissfield Bob Barringer

In 1824, Hervey Bliss, who according to Duane DeLoach's Blissfield's First 150 Years stood "about five feet, three inches tall, with a somewhat florid complexion and . . . blue eyes," left Monroe County, blazed a trail 20 miles through the woods, built a log cabin, and founded the village of Blissfield on the west bank of the River Raisin. In 1826, George Giles, a neighbor of Bliss in Monroe County, moved onto land on the east side of the river in a place he called Lyons. Before the river was bridged, Blissfield consisted of two separate communities, each with its own schools and downtown areas; the village retains some of that split personality. Triple bridges, once nationally famous, remain the proud symbol of Blissfield, joining what the River Raisin keeps separate and what, as floodwaters insist, the river can still force apart.