Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2013, All Rights Reserved U.S. Data Repository Please read U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the US Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= U.S. Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== History of Mason County, Michigan H. R. Page & Co., Chicago; 1882 -18- LUDINGTON CITY The history of this metropolis of the frontier presents a most remarkable illustration of what may be accomplished through the energy, genius and wisdom of man, in the development of material resources. In tracing the wonderful transformation that has been wrought through these years, so few and yet so fruitful, the his- torian has found much to excite his wonder and admiration. The chapter opens with a primitive saw-mill, situated upon the shore of Pere Marquette Lake. Besides the mill are a few rude buildings, one of which is a store, and another the mill boarding- house. A few stump-covered acres have been stripped of their timber, and all around is the mighty forest. Only a little while be- fore the smoke of the red man's wigwam circled above the trees just below the channel, and his bark canoe darted through the waters of Lake Michigan from this very spot. This was in 1864. The mill built in 1849 by BAIRD & BEAN, ten years later came in possession of James Ludington, a promin- ent business man of Milwaukee. CHARLES MEARS had operated the mill two or three years under a lease, and had changed the chan- nel to its present location. The mill and all the vast property in- terests connected with it, were now being managed by Mr. Ludington. Eighteen years later the chapter closes with a thrifty city of upwards of five thousand population. Rapid as has been the trans- formation, the growth has not been of the mushroom order. The streets are broad and straight, the business blocks mostly built of brick, and neatly finished. The citizens live in attractive homes, and the trademen have an air of thrift. All the varied industries recorded on these pages show the material prosperity and strength of the city whose history, while brief in lapse of time, is volumin- ous in achievements. In our search through the archives of record and and of memory after material for this work, we have come in contact with some- thing of the same spirit that has been the motive power in all this development, and that generous and enterprising interest on the part of the citizens of Ludington in whatever concerns their public welfare has made the task a pleasing and interesting one. BEGINNING OF LUDINGTON In the Spring of 1864 the name of Ludington was first applied to this locality, by a postoffice of that name being established here. DAVID A. MELENDY, who had recently come here as bookkeeper for JAMES LUDINGTON, was the first postmaster. Many people still suppose that the name of the place was changed from Pere Marquette to Ludington at the time the city was incorporated, in 1873. Such, however, is not the fact. The town- ship still retains the name of Pere Marquette, under which it was organized, while the name of Ludington dates from the time the postoffice was established, as stated above, and when the city was incorporated in 1873 it was voted to retain the name. In recogni- tion of this consideration on the part of the people here, Mr. LUDINGTON donated a magnificent gift of $5,000, to be expended in county and city public buildings. Upon the opposite page is an excellent portrait of the founder of the city that now bears his name, and below is a brief sketch of his life. JAMES LUDINGTON For more than a third of a century the family name of LUD- INGTON has been known throughout the Northwest, and in achieving this distinction, the subject of this sketch did his full share during the years of his active business career. JAMES LUDINGTON is a son of LEWIS LUDINGTON, and was born in Carmel, Putnam County, N.Y., April 18, 1827. His boyhood was spent with his parents in Carmel. He was a precocious lad, with a decided fondness for mischief, but was never a bad boy. He received an academic education, and was always quick to learn, and was noted for his intelligence and sagacity. In 1843 he came to Milwaukee, and for a time was engaged in the store of LUDINGTON & Co. Subsequently he accompanied his father to what is now Columbus, Wis. Together they laid out the town, and it was their energy and sagacity that stimulated its early growth. After remaining there a while, Mr. LUDINGTON returned to Milwaukee and continued the business career, in the course of which he achieved such marvelous success. He was treasurer of the La Crosse Railroad for two years; was president of the "Bank of the West," at Madison, and vice-president of the "Juneau Bank," at Milwaukee. His business sagacity was unerring, and he was sure to bring prosperity to whatever enterprise he took hold of. He served for two years as alderman in Milwaukee, and rendered every efficient service to the city in the exercise of his correct judgment and thorough knowledge of all business affairs. Prior to 1859 a small sawmill near the mouth of the Pere Marquette River had been operated by various parties, and finally came into possession of GEORGE W. FORD. With the mill property was a large amount of pine land. Mr. LUDINGTON had advanced sums of money upon this property, and in 1859 came into posses- sion of it. He then turned his attention to this new enterprise, and after a few years decided to build a town. In 1867 he platted the village and set himself about stimulat- ing its growth. That year, appreciating the value of the local news- paper, he went to ELISHA STARR, who had the leading printing office in Milwaukee, and making known his wants, sought his advice as to a proper person to come to Ludington and start a paper. Mr. STARR recommended GEORGE W. CLAYTON, then a young man in his em- ploy. Mr. LUDINGTON conferred with CLAYTON, and the result was that he bought him an outfit, and thus started the newspaper enterprise which was so successfully carried on to the mutual advantage of both parties. In 1873 the city was incorporated and was named LUDINGTON in honor of its founder. Mr. LUDINGTON'S connection with the place appears on these pages as the development and changes are traced from year to year. In going back over the records of those early days, the historian ------------------------------------------------------------------- -19- finds frequent and abundant evidence of Mr. LUDINGTON'S liberality and superior wisdom. Never a public enterprise was started, of advantage to the place, but that Mr. LUDINGTON'S draft for a liberal sum was received as a gift. These are recorded, with the accom- panying letters of encouragement, in the proper places. In selling village property his deeds expressly stipulated that no liquor should ever be sold upon lots deeded, and he strenuously insisted that this stipulation must be complied with. With the organization of the Pere Marquette Lumber Company in 1869, Mr. LUDINGTON practically withdrew from the vigorous business activity he had so long pursued, having sold his entire property interests in this section to that company, for the sum of $500,000. He, however, retained an interest in the company. Soon afterward his failing health rendered it necessary for him to give up all business care. Mr. LUDINGTON never married. He has one brother, CHARLES H. LUDINGTON, who lives in New York, and four sisters. Two of the sisters live at the old homestead, at Carmel, which has been in the family for sixty years. The present house is a handsome frame struc- ture, and was built by JAMES LUDINGTON, of lumber shipped from Wis- consin. For several years he has had apartments at the Newhall House, in Milwaukee, but always refers with lively interest and justifiable pride to the elegant and prosperous city that bears his name. The earlier settlers who were personally acquainted with him, and were witness of his achievements and liberal enterprise, cordially award a full measure of praise to the founder of the splendid city of Ludington. IMMIGRATION AND BUILDING A new mill boarding house, now the "Filer House," was began in the Fall of 1865 and finished early in 1866. The old board- ing house was a primitive affair, being a long one-story building, situated where the Flint and Pere Marquette depot now stands. Beyond was a long row of rude shanties ranged along an alleged street known by the highly significant name of "Saw Dust Avenue." This romantic thoroughfare dodged along among the stumps until it lost its identity in the woods. In the Fall of 1865 JACOB STAFFON came, and went into Mr. LUDINGTON'S store as clerk. In 1868 FREDERICK J. DOWLAND and LUTHER H. FOSTER cam in the employ of Mr. LUDINGTON, the former as assistant-bookkeeper, and the latter to superintend outside interests. The business done in the store at this time was very large, and included almost the entire patronage of the county. The old store building used at that time, has been converted into two dwelling houses, which are still standing just south of the Pere Marquette store. If their dumb walls could speak a language fitted to our ears, a volume of stirring incidents could be quickly written. P. M. DANAHER and R. F. KASSON erected dwelling houses this year, on what is now Ferry St. Of the men who were active in the business interests of the place in 1866, but three are now residents of the city: P. M. DANA- HER, president of the DANAHER and MELENDY Company; JACOB STAFFON in charge of the store of the Pere Marquette Lumber Company, and FREDERICK J. DOWLAND, secretary of that company. DAVID A. MELENDY is a resident of Milwaukee; R. G. PETERS is at Manistee; WILLIAM FARRELL is in Arkansas, and LUTHER H. FOSTER and R. F. KASSON are dead. In 1867 Mr. LUDINGTON platted 360 acres of land for a town, and in the Fall of that year the large store building, which now belongs to the Pere Marquette Lumber Company, was completed and occupied. Messrs. L. H. FOSTER, FREDERICK J. DOWLAND and GEO. W. CLAYTON completed residences this Fall, and Mr. CLAYTON began the publication of the Mason County Record in the second story of his house. With the appearance of the Record the village assumed a dignity and prestige impossible to a community with- out a local luminary. Dr. DOTY and S. F. WHITE erected a two- story frame building on Main street, the lower portion of which was used by Dr. DOTY for a drug store and the second story was occupied by Mr. WHITE as a law office. Mr. WHITE was the first lawyer who located here. The building they erected is still stand- ing a little off Ludington Ave., opposite D. D. HUSTON'S hardware store. In the Fall of this year GEO. WEIMER opened a shoe store on Main Street, the first one started here. The Farrell House, now the Clinton House, was finished in the Fall and was the first hotel built in Ludington. A school building was erected in the woods, just east of where the Bank of Ludington now stands. It was first intended to build the business portion of the town north from the dock along Main Street, but the plan was afterward changed, and it was decided to build up a business street extending east from the store, and this led to the opening of Ludington Avenue. This locality had few of the elements of a paradise at that time. Main Street was profusely studded with stumps, and graded with logs to the farther limit of the clearing, which was not more than sixty rods from the store. Ludington Avenue was opened, where stumps and logs did not obstruct the passage, as far east as where Dr. DUNDASS' drug store now stands. Extending north and south across the street at that point, was a swamp covered with mud, ague and water. Where the Andrews Block now stands was a sand hill ten or twelve feet high, and another just north of where Arbeiter Hall now stands. The little area around what is now the corner of Ludington Avenue and Main Street, was bounded by water and the interminable forests. Whisky and wahoo bitters had been staple articles of merchandise for many years, but when the village was platted, the sale of liquor to be drank upon the premises was sup- posed to be stopped. The first death recorded in the village paper was that of Capt. GEORGE A. CASWELL, son of BURR CASWELL, which occurred September 21, 1867. His age was thirty-six years and four months. His death was universally mourned by the citizens of the place. The first wedding cake that burst upon the ravished vision of the editor was upon the occasion of the marriage of FREDERICK J. DOWLAND and Miss E. C. MITCHELL, which occurred at Port Huron, October 22, 1867. Mr. DOWLAND at that time was bookkeeper for JAMES LUDINGTON. At this time the Methodists held religious services here, and the Rev. AMOS DRESSER, a Congregational minister, also preached in the hall over Mr. LUDINGTON'S store. The village editor, with com- mendable unction, exhorted the people to arouse themselves to a truer sense of their spiritual necessities. Standing among the logs and stumps of fifteen years ago, it was imposing a too severe strain upon the eye of faith to expect it to span the gulf, and behold the full transformation then just begun. It was a fortunate circumstance that the men who had to do with the interests of the place were men of great energy, clear grit and long sightedness. They were determined that the village should improve, and as a consequence it did improve. The fame of Luding- ton began to travel abroad, and in the Spring of 1868, one year after the village was platted, it contained a population of about 500, and the number was rapidly increasing. Building began to extend up Ludington Avenue. WHITTAKER and ALEXANDER erected a frame building where Dr. DUNDASS' drug store now stands, and shortly after GEO. TRIPP built his meat market. His building was located in the swamp and the foundation was made of sawdust. He was obliged to build a levee around the lot to preven the saw- dust hauled during the day from floating away during the night. In April, 1868, the postmaster had been so besieged with let- ters soliciting information about Ludington, that he was moved to ------------------------------------------------------------------ -20- set forth the status of affairs through the columns of the Record. That prospectus gives a very good idea of Ludington at that time, and was in part as follows: "We have one large store here in Ludington, which has supplied the country around with all the different necessities of life, during the past three years, their trade in 1867 amounting in the aggregate to $400,000. Mr. CHARLES MEARS owns a general assort- ment store two and a half miles north of this place, which has also had a heavy trade for the past four or five years. Mr. RICHARD RAYNE has another store of about the same character, in the Town- ship of Victory, eight or ten miles northeast from here, which is also doing a comfortable business. Besides, there are several of smaller note, who are making a good living. "Our village contains, besides the store above-named, a drug store and three boot and shoe shops. "We also have a first class hotel here, built last Fall, and cap- able of accomodating seventy-five or a hundred guests. "We have a splendid schoolhouse, the cost of which was about $3,000. This, at present, is used for divine worship every Sabbath. A subscription paper has been circulated, and some four thousand dollars have been subscribed towards the erection of a handsome church edifice, which will be put up if carpenters enough can be found to take the job. "Several new buildings for business purposes are being pushed along as fast as men can be got to do the work. Twenty good mechanics can find work the whole season here. Among the new buildings is that of Mr. O'BRIEN'S hardware store, Messrs. WHITTAKER & ALEXANDER'S book store, Mr. WEIMER'S boot and shoe store, and a grist mill and shingle mill combined. "Mr. JAMES LUDINGTON has a large, powerful sawmill, in which about 150 men are employed. This mill cuts about 100,000 feet of lumber daily, and eight or ten vessels are constantly employed in this trade at this port. "By reference to our advertising columns it will be seen that we have two steamboat lines, and one or more of these boats touch this point every day. Our harbor is conceded by all to be the best north of Grand Haven, on the East Shore. "The country adjacent is the best agricultural lands in Mich- igan, and although considerable land remains yet unsettled, it com- mands a pretty fair price, ranging all the way from the government price to $20 per acre. "Every lot in our village could be sold, any day, for almost any price put upon it, if the proprietor wished to sell for speculation, but it is not considered the best way to build up a town, to sell to speculators. Every man who wants one or more lots can obtain them for improvements only. "The county contains about 2,500 inhabitants, and this village has about 500 of that number." A Good Templar's Lodge had been established, and was flourish- ing. A spicy local newspaper was doing a thrifty business. Only one man had "gone crazy," and marriages and births were farm more numerous than deaths. In May of that year a rumor was circulated that a liquor saloon was to be started in the village, and great consternation was caused, inasmuch as it was understood that the village lots were sold subject to a condition that no liquors could be sold on the premises. The rumor reached the ears of Mr. LUDINGTON, who immediately wrote a letter to the editor of the Record, in which he said: "I see by your paper of the 19th inst., that I was about making arrangements with other parties to allow a rum-shop to be opened in the village of Ludington. There is not a word of truth in it, and so long as I can control the matter, I will not allow a liquor saloon to live in the village that bears my name. All deeds given for lots have conditions that no liquors are to be sold on the pre- mises." The above letter set the matter at rest, and well would it have been for the place could the conditions have been kept in force. In July, Ludington Avenue was being graded, and the village editor rode over it with a friend. Returning in safety to his sanc- tum, he was so overcome with ecstasy that he assured the readers of the Record that this new street was without a rival in all this coun- try, and it was his mature opinion that Central Park, New York, would be dwarfed in comparison to it. In 1869 the Pere Marquette Lumber Company was organized, and became the successor of JAMES LUDINGTON, as explained elsewhere in these pages. This event brought men such as DELOS L. FILER, LUTHER H. FOSTER, and their able corps of assistants, to the front in the local interests of the place, and the prosperity of the village received a fresh impetus. During this year the firm of DANAHER & MELENDY was organized and began the erection of their sawmill. From this time began a general development of all the resources of this locality, and which has continued down to the present time. The year 1870 was a busy one and marked a considerable in- crease in the population of the village. During this year a gen- eral feeling grew up that the village should be incorporated. In December, 1870, a meeting of citizens was held, the subject of having a village charter discussed, and committees appointed to draft a charter and attend to other necessary details. The matter subsequently came up for consideration, but possibly it began to dawn upon the minds of some that a city was not far distant, and nothing more was done about a charter until the people had outgrown all idea of a village and become animated with a desire to dwell under the more pretentious shelter of a city government. ===========================================================================