Empire History

EMPIRE HISTORICAL NAMES

It has had more names than any other village or town in the entire county.

• A thick forest with Maple trees. First owner was Jacob Buttonburg.
• Alexander Stewart purchased it in 1821, it had a couple houses & it became known as Stumptown. Waterpower saw mill was built & trees were converted into lumber.
• Captain James Young (War of 1812) in 1830 traveled to the orient and brought home Shanghai China. For lack of a better name was called, Shanghai. The village had six houses at this time.
• It became the central ferry point for Michael Myers and others. Then in 1852 the C. & .P. R.R. was completed. It was renamed Olive City in honor of Lewis K. McCoy’s daug.
• In 1856 it changed to McCoy’s Station.
• In 1858 elections it was known as the Shanghai precinct, in Olive City, at McCoy’s Station.
• A sewer line was built in 1885 called, Empire Sewer Pipe Co. City was dropped and in 1897 the hamlet became an incorporated village named, EMPIRE.