Town file
Webster Township, Michigan
Webster Township, Michigan (Washtenaw County, Michigan) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 88, "A Chance Encounter" (4 October 2018). Webster Township is a rural civil township in Washtenaw County, in the south-eastern corner of Michigan, about fifty minutes west of Detroit.
- Town
- Webster Township
- County
- Washtenaw County
- State
- Michigan
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 88
- Approximate location
- 42.377, -83.838
Episode 88 / 4 October 2018 / 131 min / full
A Chance Encounter
"This is Webster Township, Michigan; it is in Washtenaw County, in the southeastern part of the state, about 50 minutes outside Detroit." about 0:06:20
The case: Murder of Christine Kurtz (November 1990). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2018
- Median age
- about 38.6
- Median household income
- $93,977
- Median home value
- $374,600
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,700 a month
- Religious
- about 33%
- Property crime
- ▼ about a third of the national average
- Violent crime
- ▼ less than half of normal
History, in brief
- The Dexter area was settled in 1824, thirteen years before Michigan became a state. about 0:14:27
- Samuel W. Dexter bought a large tract of land and started the village, first known as Mill Creek Settlement. about 0:14:33
- The village was platted out in 1830 and renamed Dexter. about 0:14:41
- In 1827 John Williams brought his wife, ten children and neighbours from New York, floating over Lake Erie; federal land cost $1.50 an acre, payable over five years. about 0:16:08
- By 1826 preachers were conducting services in people's homes in Dexter, before there was a church building. about 0:17:01
- A church was built by 1832, with Daniel Webster contributing $100. about 0:18:15
- Samuel Dexter was elected a University of Michigan regent and was chief justice of the Washtenaw County Court. about 0:18:32
- Dexter built a home overlooking Mill Creek and called it Gordon Hall. about 0:18:43
- Dexter was an abolitionist; Gordon Hall is 99% certain to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad, with secret basement areas reached through hidden outside doorways. about 0:18:56
- On March 20th, 1966, truck driver Frank Manor saw a glowing object near his home in one of the most infamous UFO sightings in history; astronomer J. Allen Hynek said it was probably swamp gas. about 0:20:01
- Gerald Ford, then a congressman, called for a thorough investigation of the rash of reported UFO sightings in southern Michigan. about 0:20:51
- A 1700s account of the area said the settlers had no food in November but bear flesh killed by, in the account's words, 'our savage'. about 0:10:04
The reviews read out
3 stars
"There is no nightlife at all because it is mainly a high school town."about 0:29:47
3 stars
"Not really exposed to it, so not sure; lots of health nuts around, but not involved."about 0:29:57
3 stars
"Residents are mainly young families with middle-school and college-aged children; houses are large with decent lots and there are not many economy options nearby."about 0:30:08
3 stars
"Crime and break-ins nearby are infrequent and often caused by victims' carelessness, leaving cars and doors unlocked."about 0:30:22
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Canton Township, Michigan19 miles
- Jackson, Michigan30 miles
- Morrice, Michigan36 miles
- Brownstown Township, Michigan36 miles
- Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan47 miles
- Delta, Ohio56 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.