The second half of the 20th Century saw Gladwin County take a major role in the plastics industry, with Beaverton being titled, “The Thermoforming Capital of the World.” Themoforming remains a major industry in Beaverton and has been joined by several other manufacturers.
Beaverton, named for the home town of its founder, Beaverton, Ontario, by a lumberman who settled here in 1890. The area was first settled about 1863 and was originally named Grand Forks, due to its location at the junction of the Tobacco and Cedar rivers. The community was incorporated as a village in 1901 and a city in 1903.