Started about 1856, adjacent to the sawmills of Captain J. P. Phillips and John Lmtz. Daniel Williams became its first postmaster on May 15, 1858,. The office operated until Jan. 31, 1907. took its name from the county which had been named by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft from arena, a sanded area to give gladiators a better footing and ac, meaning place of,—together, a sandy place. [Michigan Place Names - Walter Romig]