[4] The city is located at the northwest corner of Wayland Township, but is politically independent.

The city has also incorporated a portion of land in the south of adjacent Leighton Township.

The tribe lived in settled villages, hunted game, and farmed and harvested corn and wild rice, in addition to making maple sugar tree sap.

The tribe is federally recognized and is headquartered in nearby Wayland Township.

Colonel Isaac Barnes, attracted by the extensive forests of pine and hardwoods, purchased a tract of land along the Rabbit River and began operating a mill producing lumber and wooden shingles, giving the area its first name, Lumberton.

This growth brought enough children to the area to justify building the first American-style school in 1844.

In 1855 a road was built to connect the two larger towns of Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, running directly through Chamber's Corners, the main intersection in the city.

The area was officially named Wayland in 1868 after a town in New York, as many migrants had come from that state.

US 131 runs north–south through the city, linking with Kalamazoo to the south and Grand Rapids to the north