A Canadian man named Marcel Secord first arrived to the area in 1861 with his family while canoeing down the Tittabawassee River.

In the Summer of 1864, he built a login cabin roughly 10 miles (16.1 km) east of Gladwin.

Secord was a skilled trapper and hunter, providing meals to early lumberjacks in the area.

The township is named for Marvel Secord, an early settler.

27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.