Situated in the northern Michigan peninsula about three hours' drive from Detroit, Gladwin is a small city with a gently rolling terrain and a meandering river bisecting its southwest corner. Originally named Cedar after the local river, Gladwin, like the rest of its namesake county, began as a lumber town in the late 1870s. When the lumber era declined, the newly-cleared land attracted homesteaders over the years, and Gladwin City continued to prosper thanks to the county's fortunes in the oil, auto parts (including RVs) and plastics industries.