Greenbush is an unincorporated community in Alcona County in the U.S. state of Michigan.
Geography
thumb|left|U.S. Post Office in Greenbush
thumb|left|Greenbush Township Hall in Greenbush
Greenbush is a small lakefront community located in southeastern Alcona County in the Northern Michigan region. It is located within Greenbush Township along the shores of Lake Huron. The community sits at an elevation of above sea level.
US 23 runs north–south directly through the community along the Lake Huron shoreline. County Highway F-30 has its eastern terminus at US 23 in Greenbush, and this road runs about west to the community of Glennie. A rail line belonging to the Alpena Branch of the Lake State Railway runs through the western portion of Greenbush, although the community does not have any rail passenger services anymore. Other nearby unincorporated communities include Mikado to the west, Gustin and Killmaster to the northwest, Alvin to the southwest, and Springport to the north. The census-designated place of Oscoda is located to the south. The nearest incorporated municipality is the village of Harrisville about to the north.
Greenbush contains its own post office using the 48738 ZIP Code, which serves a small area including the eastern portion of Greenbush Township. The post office also serves very small portions of southeast Harrisville Township to the north and Oscoda Township to the south in Iosco County. The Greenbush Township Hall is located in the community on Campbell Street, and the township's volunteer fire department is located across the street. Greenbush is served by Oscoda Area Schools to the south in Au Sable Township in Iosco County.
History
The area was first settled as early as 1848, when Crosier Davidson of Detroit moved here and built a fishery and cooperage along the shores of Lake Huron. At the time, it became one of the county's first settlements, and the area was referred to as the Sliding Banks of the Au Sable River. Alcona County was only organized eight years earlier and was being administered by Michilimackinac County to the north. At the time, the settlement was part of Harrisville Township, which occupied the entirety of Alcona County. The area contained numerous unexplored pine resources, and lumber companies surveyed the area in order to purchase inexpensive government land for development.
Lumbering community
thumb|right|The Detroit was a steamship that sank along the shores of Greenbush in 1872.
The Morris & McDougal lumbering firm from New York was the first to purchase land in the area in 1854, and they established lumber operations by 1862. Because of their presence, the growing community became known as McDougal's Landing. In 1867, William Conklin, also from New York, established an even larger lumber company and built the community's first sawmill. Conklin also built a very large stable that was able to accommodate his 60 horses. Greenbush Township was very sparsely populated at the time and only recorded a population of 86 in the 1870 census.
The large wooden steamship Detroit, which was built in 1859, ran aground in Greenbush during a storm on September 29, 1872. A few weeks later, it was lifted by chains in order to free it, but it broke in half and sank. The ship was declared a total loss, and its wreckage remained in place in of water.
The community of Greenbush appeared on one of the county's earliest published maps in 1873. In 1879, Greenbush was threatened by a forest fire caused by unseasonably dry weather. Harrisville to the north suffered more fire damage, while Greenbush's damage amounted to burned farmland and a stockpile of dry lumber before rainfall put out the fires. In the 1880s, the Detroit, Bay City and Alpena Railroad began building railway lines through Alcona County. Greenbush received a train depot and was an important stop between Harrisville and Oscoda. In 1886, Greenbush resident Daniel Bruce moved west along another rail line, and he settled the new community of West Greenbush. When this community received a train depot that same year, more residents moved westward, and this community eventually became known as Mikado. In 1885, Greenbush received telephone service, and electricity was first provided by hydroelectric dams along the Au Sable River in 1917.
Greenbush School
thumb|right|Greenbush School state historic marker
With the growing lumber population, the community of Greenbush grew very quickly to around 1,500 lumbermen and their families. A new school was needed, and the Greenbush School was built in 1870. The building was a simple one-room schoolhouse, which was common throughout rural areas in the state during the time. It was one of the county's first schools, and it served 25 students in its first year. At its height, it could serve up to 60 students. The Greenbush School remained in operation until 1947. Students in the area were then consolidated into Oscoda Area Schools to the south in Au Sable Township in Iosco County. It was dedicated as a Michigan State Historic Site on August 3, 1979. In 1987, the Michigan Department of State erected a historical marker on the site right in front of the building.
Recent history
After the turn of the century, the lumber industry began declining in the area, and Greenbush transitioned primarily into a farming community. In 1910, many plots of farm and lakefront land were purchased by James Bell and sold at low prices in order to facilitate a new tourism industry. He became a prominent landowner and even changed the name of the community to Perfection. The post office adopted this name on May 18, 1917.
In 2014, the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary expanded its boundaries to the south to include Alcona County. The steamship Detroit, which sank near Greenbush in 1872, was now included in the sanctuary. It is the southernmost shipwreck in the sanctuary, and its wreckage can still be seen in of water just off the coast. In 2018, Greenbush celebrated its sesquicentennial, which involved a parade, craft fair, children's activities, tours of the Greenbush School, and a barbeque at the fire station, which was also celebrating its 50th anniversary.