Honoring Ada Veterans
Inspired by the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026, we are pleased to participate in two initiatives honoring those who have served from Ada.
Ada Veterans Memorial
On May 25, 2026, Ada Township dedicated a meaningful monument to service in the Armed Forces. It is located at the corner of Thornapple River Dr. and River St., adjacent to the driving bridge over the Thornapple River.
Stay tuned here for more information with details about the design and images used to tell the stories of service.
Veterans’ Exhibit Interactive
Very soon, we’ll launch a new interactive at the Ada History Center. The touchscreen in our permanent exhibit, Ada Is…Answering the Call, will enable visitors to search by last name and by service era for Ada veterans. We’ll begin with more than 100 individuals who served from the War of 1812, War with Mexico, Civil War, and Spanish-American War. Successive eras are currently being researched to be added to the interactive.
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On the Ada Veterans Memorial, each of the six black granite panels commemorates military service from different eras of our nation’s past.
The bottom of each panel features images specifically from Ada, grounding each era in the experience on the home front.
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Perry Expedition through the Civil War – The images reflect the growing community at the mouth of the Grand and Thornapple Rivers in the mid-1800s. From left to right:
• Rix Robinson, the first non-Native settler here. He came to operate the fur trading network. When Michigan became a state, Robinson served in many roles including as a state senator, assistant circuit court judge, and first township supervisor.
• Rix Robinson’s home on Headley St. was believed to be built in the 1836 and demolished about 1915.
• Magdalene LaFramboise and her husband Joseph established the fur trading network along the Grand River that extended up to Mackinac Island. After his death, she grew the business into a very successful global venture.
• Ada’s iconic covered bridge over the Thornapple River was first built in 1867 to convey residents into the village and farmers across the river to the mills on the other side.
• The Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad, later Grand Trunk Western, first chugged into Ada in the 1850s.
Spanish American War through World War I – Ada was a busy place at the turn of the 20th century. The village businesses included general stores, a grist mill, carpenters, physicians, carriage makers, a boot and shoe maker, blacksmiths, a mason, a cooper, and sawmill. From left to right:
• Ada’s Grand Trunk Western Depot, c.1920. Passenger service carried Ada residents into the world for more than a century.
• Ada Drive looking northeast, c.1915. The building on the left housed the Citizens Bank and Masonic Lodge.
• Ada Drive looking southwest, c.1915. The block of stores on the right were the Ada Drugstore, Ada Meat Market, and a farming implements store.
World War II – Ada was a small farming community called to sacrifice during the war years. From left to right:
• The Ada Garage operated out of today’s hardware store block, serving the community’s needs at the advent of automobiles.
• Charlotte (Fitch) and Flavius Tworek both served during WWII. Like so many others from Ada, they answered the call. Charlotte grew up in the house that remains today at the corner of Thornapple River Drive and Fase Street.
• Children gathered milkweed – and were paid for it! The buoyant, water-repellent fiber was used in military life jackets.
• Ada’s service station, c.1956. There has been a gas station on the corner of Thornapple River Drive and Ada Drive since 1918.
The Ada Images...
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The Ada Images... ⭐
Korea through Vietnam – The years 1950-1975 saw further growth with the rise of the suburb. From left to right:
• Weaver’s Market was a popular grocery and lunch spot adjacent to the hardware store.
• The 1957 Ada Merchants baseball team. Leonard Fase is seen kneeling third from right. The ballpark that was once at the covered bridge was named Leonard Field after Fase’s death in a car accident in 1964.
• Selections from Forest Hills High School yearbooks, late 1960s-1970.
Cold War through Persian Gulf War – Ada Township grew from 1,966 residents in 1950 to 9,882 in 2000. From left to right:
• The nation celebrated the American Bicentennial in 1976.
• The Ada Post Office on Ada Drive was originally dedicated by Rep. Gerald Ford in July 1958.
• Shoppers Square with an IGA grocery store is built on a flood plain land previously used as a baseball field. The store becomes Adagate’s grocery store.
• Boy Scouts participate in a 4th of July parade.
September 11, 2001 through Global War on Terror – Beginning in 2006, Ada Township prepared for new development in the village core with the Envision Ada plan. This initiative resulted in several new additions to the community. From left to right:
• The block of retail, office space, restaurants, and the Ada Hotel along River Street.
• The Van Andel Family Amphitheater at the new Legacy Park is the site for summer concerts.
• New construction with an “Ada, Michigan” decorative stone.
• The Amy Van Andel Library – Ada Community Center opened with a Kent District Library Branch in 2021.
Historic Service.
Modern Technology.
Our neighbors down the road, Lowell Granite, brought Ada’s collaged historic images to life.
Check out the engraving on black granite of this small sample piece. Incredible!