The township of Leslie occupies a position on the southern border of the county of Ingham, and is bounded west by Onondaga, north by Vevay, east by Bunker Hill, and south by Jackson County. The eastern and southern boundaries were surveyed by Joseph Wampler, in 1824; the northern boundaries by John Mullett, in 1824-1825; and the township was subdivided by Hervey Parke, in 1826.

The surface of the township is level or gently rolling, and its soil is capable of yielding largely of various productions of the region. The principal stream is Huntoon Creek, -- named for an early settler, -- which flows in a general southerly course nearly across the centre of the township. Its principal sources are in Mud Lake, on sections 3 and 10, and Huntoon Lake, on section 13 and 14. There is light power on the stream, which was formerly utilized at Leslie village, but the dam was torn away and the mill-pond drained for the promotion of the health of the inhabitants. The power had been used to drive a saw-mill.

An outlet by rail is furnished by the Saginaw division of the Michigan Central Railway, which unites at Rives Junction, in Jackson County, five miles south of Leslie, with the Grand River Valley road, or Grand Rapids division. The village of Leslie is situated in the southern part of the township, and North Leslie is a hamlet lying northwest from the Centre.

Taken from:
"History of Ingham and Eaton Counties Michigan, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Their Prominent Men and Pioneers", by Samuel W. Durant.
Published by D. W. Ensign & Co., 1880.
Page 258