Aetna Township

Aetna Township governs the southwest corner of Mecosta County from its township hall at 196 N. Cass Street in Morley, a village along the Little Muskegon River just off US-131, about 14 miles south of Big Rapids. The township was organized in 1865, with Frederick Luther serving as its first elected supervisor, and township business has run out of Morley ever since.

The hall includes a public meeting room available to residents and community groups, along with a restroom and on-site parking for anyone attending a meeting or handling township business. The clerk keeps office hours in the same building as the treasurer and supervisor, giving residents a single stop for local government in this corner of the county.

Travelers following the Little Muskegon River corridor or passing through Morley on US-131 go right past the township hall, which anchors the village's small civic core. The hall also serves as the polling site for township elections.

For visitors researching Mecosta County's township system, Aetna Township is a working example of the rural civil township structure that has governed this part of Michigan since the Civil War era, still centered on the same hall it has occupied for generations.