History of Mason County, Michigan, Part 13

Author: H. R. Page & Co.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 373

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THE FORD CASE.

The most important law suit that has occurred in connection with the history of Ludington was the famous suit between George W. Ford and James Ludington, which was begun in 1869, and con- cluded in 1876. The issue involved the title to certain lands, which belonged to Ford prior to 1859, and which he claimed were not included in the conveyance to Ludington. The Pere Marquette Lumber Company, as the successor of James Ludington, at last effected a settlement by the payment of a certain amount of money.

COUNTY OFFICERS.

HON. DANIEL V. SAMUELS, prosecuting attorney for Mason County. The subject of this sketch furnishes a striking example of what is possible, in this country, for a young man who has the natural ability and requisite will-power, to carve out for himself honorable distinction, no matter how adverse may be the circum- stances which surround him. Mr. Samuels was born in South Wales in 1856, and is, therefore, but little past twenty-six years of age at the present time. When fifteen years of age, in company with another lad, but little older than himself, he came to this country and began his struggle. His parents died when he was quite young, and he was in a new world, with no friends, and but a few dollars in money. He managed to reach Chicago, and there pawned his satchel to get money with which to reach Ludington. Arriving here, he eagerly set himself about finding work, and from 1871 to 1876, his pursuits took a wide range,-sometimes at work upon the railroad, then in the lumber woods, then driving delivery wagon in the city, but always engaged in some work that afforded an honorable living. In 1876, having acquired some education during the intervals of labor, he went to Missouri, and taught school and music for eleven months. At the end of that time he returned to Ludington with the problem of his future still unsolved. After his return, some of his friends among the lawyers of the city advised him to study law. The proposition impressed him favorably, and he at once entered the office of White & Haight as a student. He took hold of his studies with the same energy and determination that had characterized all his movements, and at the end of sixteen months passed a creditable examination, and was admitted to the bar, in

1879. The first year of his practice he was elected justice of the peace, and appointed police justice by the city council. In the Fall of that year he was elected prosecuting attorney for the county, an office which he still holds. Few young men have risen more rapidly and battled more successfully with adverse circumstances than Mr. Samuels, who, though yet but a young man, has already acquired marked distinction, both as a public speaker and lawyer.

HON. JAMES B. McMAHON, judge of probate. James B. Mc- Mahon was born in Manchester, Mich., April 17, 1848. His parents were farmers, and the early years of his life were spent at home. He assisted his father upon the farm, and his leisure hours were devoted to study. He early determined to secure an educa- tion, and all his energies were directed toward the accomplishment of that object. One or two Winters he taught school, and in 1871 entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Here his studious habits were of great service to him, and he soon obtained a foremost rank as a scholar in all his classes. He was chosen editor of the University Chronicle, was class poet, and also chosen to deliver the class address at Commencement, all of which were honors to be highly prized. He graduated in the literary class of 1875, and later in the same year came to Ludington, where he read law, and in 1878 was admitted to practice. In the Fall of 1878, the late Hon. Samuel D. Haight was elected circuit judge, and Mr. McMahon succeeded him as law partner of Judge White. Although but thirty years of age, Mr. McMahon was a man of ripe judgment and scholarly attainments. He was always a close student, and pos- sessed of natural qualities well adapted to the profession he had chosen, and soon took high rank as a successful lawyer, and, at the same time, gained his way to the confidence and esteem of the public. For several years he has held the office of United States court commissioner, and in the Fall of 1880 was elected to the office of judge of probate for Mason County. He is a man void of ostentation, but of dignified manner, and has made himself very popular with the people, in the discharge of his official duties.

SEWALL MOULTON was born in Maine in 1827. At an early age he left home, and for several years led a wandering life, traveling through the Middle and Southern States. He finally went to Canada, and was in charge of a sawmill for a time. From Canada he went to Chicago with a lot of horses. After disposing of his horses in Chicago, he wanted to go into the woods, and came to Pere Marquette, where he arrived in the Spring of 1856. He first

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

went to work for George W. Ford as foreman of the mill. He con- tinned at lumbering in the employ of others for a time, and then engaged in business for himself. For about nine years he was very extensively engaged in lumbering and merchandising, at Pentwater. He was elected probate judge, and held the office a portion of one term, was deputy United States marshal, and during the war was deputy provost marshal and recruiting officer. He has been sheriff of the county since 1880. He was married in 1858 to Ellen M. Caswell, daughter of Burr Caswell. Mr. Moulton is a well preserved specimen of the ideal frontiersman. He is full six feet in height, of heavy build, and while he is courteous to all deserving of courtesy, is not a man that the average "rough" would be eager to molest. A little out of Ludington he has a large farm upon which he has recently planted a peach orchard of two thousand trees.

LUCIUS E. HAWLEY, clerk and register of Mason County, was born in Litchfield County, Conn., in 1839. When seventeen years of age he left home and came West as far as Illinois. The break- ing out of the rebellion stirred his New England blood, and in May, 1861, he enlisted at Sterling, Ill., with Company B, Thirteenth Illinois Infantry. At the close of his first term of service he re-en- listed as a veteran volunteer in Company I, Fifty-Sixth Illinois, and remained in the service until the close of the war. He was a good soldier and would have fought longer if there had been anybody left to fight. After returning from the war he came to Allegan County, where he remained until 1870, when he came to Mason County. The loss of his left arm in 1867, disabled him from many kinds of hard labor, and after coming to Mason County he taught school until 1874, when he was elected county superintendent of schools. His published reports while in that office, show that he thoroughly understood the needs of the district school. In 1876 he was elected to his present office by a good majority, and has held it continuously since that time. His administration of the duties of the office has been eminently satisfactory to the people of the county, and there is little doubt but that he will be continued through another term.

BURNETT B. GIBSON was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., Decem- ber 11, 1850. His father, Isaac Gibson, was a lawyer, and moved from Grand Rapids to Illinois, in 1857. Burnett remained with his parents and attended school until 1869, when he went to Effingham and began the study of law. In 1871 he went to Indiana and remained a year, and in May of 1872, he came to Ludington. In 1873 he was admitted to the bar and practiced law about a year. From the Fall of 1874 to 1876, he was engaged at various outside mat- ters, and in August, 1876, was appointed deputy treasurer of the county. In 1881 he was elected county treasurer for a term of two years, and at the present time is discharging the duties of this office. Mr. Gibson is a man of varied accomplishments and has achieved an excellent reputation as a public officer. In the Summer of 1881 he built a fine residence on Lewis Street, a view of which is given upon another page in this work.

LOGS, SAW-MILLS AND LUMBER.

Twenty years ago the finest logging in all this state of pine, was to be found upon the very spot where Ludington now stands. It was this vast forest stretching far away in every direction that induced the building of the first mill at this point, in 1848. But in those early days there was no greed for pine lands, and it had not entered into the calculations of men that the supply would ever be exhausted. The forests were vast, while the sawmills with their primitive machinery made no perceptible inroads.

It was not until 1869 that a general movement in the man-

ufacture of lumber began at this point. James Ludington had been operating his mill for ten years, and considerable logging had been done, but the mighty forests scarcely showed the trace of the wood- man's axe. In 1870 it was estimated that the amount of pine on the Pere Marquette River would exceed 3,000,000,000 feet, and at that time the hardwood timber, so plentiful in Mason County, attracted but little attention.

After James Ludington platted the village of Ludington and began to sound its advantages abroad, attention was directed to the great abundance of pine in this region and the superior advantages of this point for manufacturing. The organization of the Pere Marquette Lumber Company was the starting point, and probably no one man had more to do with bringing about that organization than Hon. Luther H. Foster, whose tragic death occasioned a loss to the material interests of Ludington that was fully realized and deeply mourned.

In order to present the lumbering operations and interests of Ludington as clearly, and in as comprehensive a form as possible, we give the history and descriptions of the' mills, beginning with

THE PERE MARQUETTE LUMBER COMPANY.

This company was organized July 24, 1869. The gentlemen composing the company were D. L. Filer, John Mason Loomis, James Ludington, Edward A. Foster, Luther H. Foster. The offi- cers were: D. L. Filer, president; L. H. Foster, secretary; John Mason Loomis, treasurer. The capital stock was $500,000. The company purchased of James Ludington his entire property in Mason County, consisting of village lots, store and building, mills, and pine lands. The sale was an important event in the history of Ludington. The Milwaukee Wisconsin, speaking of the sale said: "It is known that our well known townsman, Mr. James Lud- ington, has built up on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan one of the finest lumbering interests, and one of the handsomest towns in that or any section. We learn to-day that Mr. Ludington has dis- posed of all this interest, for the sum of $500,000, to Mr. D. L. Filer, of Manistee, and his associates. The property consists of all the Ludington lumbering interests, the town of Ludington, timber lands, mills, etc., and the tract is twenty-five thousand acres in ex- tent, embracing some of the best timber lands in the country. Since Mr. Ludington purchased the property he has improved and developed it wonderfully. A large town has sprung up, although laboring under many disadvantages, which time and energy have overcome. The new company will at once extend these improve- ments, as they have the ability, the energy and the money to do so. Mr. Filer is known as a man of means and business qualifications, and his associates are no less so.

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"The town of Ludington has grown rapidly, and there is every- thing to warrant an increase of this growth, even outside the im- petus which the new company will give it. It is a harbor unexcelled and accessible at all times. Now there is ten feet of water up to the town, and the National Government is still spending a large amount for still further improving this. New piers are being built and extended far out into the lake, so that all classes of lake vessels will be enabled to go in and out easily with full loads."

The mill site upon which the company's mill stood was the starting-point of Ludington. In 1848 Messrs. Baird & Bean built a mill which was owned and operated by different parties, un- til it came into possession of James Ludington, in 1859. Mr. Lud- ington continued to develop his property, until failing health com- pelled him to retire from the cares of business.

It was in the management of this vast business that Mr. Filer's great executive ability and clear judgment were exer-

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

cised to the advantage of the company and of the place, and he was greatly aided by his business associates. In March, 1874, the old mill that had stood for twenty-six years, burned to the ground. The company rebuilt the large and valuable mill which is still run- ning. This mill is 30x145 feet in size, with an engine and boiler- room 40x60 feet. The mill is a single circular, with gang edger, and has an annual capacity of 10,000,000 feet of lumber.

In 1879, the city property belonging to the company was distrib- uted among the stockholders, as required by the laws of the state.

In August, 1876, Mr. Frank Filer was appointed secretary, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Foster. In January, 1878, he resigned, and Mr. F. J. Dowland, the present secretary, was elected. At that time Mr. Loomis was elected vice-president. In August, 1879. Mr. Loomis was elected president, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Filer.

The present stockholders of the company are, John Mason Loo- mis, E. G. Filer, (trustee), Mrs. Mary M. Filer, Mrs. Lucy A. Fos- ter, Jacob A. Staffon, F. J. Dowland, John P. McLaren. The pres- ent officers are: John Mason Loomis, president and treasurer; John McLaren, vice-president; F. J. Dowland, secretary.

The company still owns the large store at the foot of Ludington Avenue, and a large amount of real estate. Its standing pine is esti- mated at 130,000,000, with about 10,000,000 logs on hand.

The mill gives employment to about fifty men. The company do all their logging by contract.

The business of the company is under the management of the sec- retary, F. J. Dowland, who has been connected with the business since 1866. Col. Loomis and Mr. McLaren are both residents of Chicago.

THE DANAHER & MELENDY COMPANY.

Patrick M. Danaher and David A. Melendy commenced business under the firm name of Danaher & Melendy, in 1869. Mr. Danaher had been a prominent contractor in connection with the large lum- bering and mercantile business of James Ludington, and Mr. Me- lendy was general manager of Mr. Ludington's business at this point. They purchased a mill-site on Lake Pere Marquette, near the head of the inner lake, and in what is now the Fourth Ward. The old mill, afterward burned, on the site of the Pere Marquette Lumber Company's present mill, was the only one here at that time. Their mill-site was at the water-edge of a pine forest that covered the entire area of the Fourth Ward. In the fall of 1869 they began the erection of a steam sawmill, which was completed and com- menced running in June, 1870. The main part of the mill rested upon a solid foundation made of piles driven closely together. This part of the mill was 45x110 feet, 13 feet between the two first floors and 9} feet between the second. The mill was equipped with two double rotary saws, with gang edgers, log-turners and automatic rollers. There were also two lath saws, and a saw-dust feeder. The mill was what is termed a " friction mill," and at that time there was great doubt about a friction mill being a success. The cost of the mill, including site, was about $35,000. The firm also built a boarding-house, at a cost of $4,000, a.large warehouse near the mill, and a store building in the village. The boarding-house stood on the corner where J. V. Henry's office now stands, and was burned in 1874. The mill started up in June, giving employment to about fifty-five men, and sawed that year, on contract for E. B. Ward, about 16,000,000. During 1869-70, the firm purchased a large quantity of pine lands in Mason, Lake, and Newaygo Counties, and since that time have manufactured mostly their own stock. The original capacity of the mill was about 75,000 feet of lumber in twelve hours, but by the addition of improved machinery, and a more powerful engine, its capacity has been increased to 125,000 feet in twelve hours.

In August, 1876, the firm deemed it advisable to organize a stock company, and the original firm, with James E. Danaher, organized the Danaher & Melendy Company. Owing to the low price of lum- ber, and losses in logging, the corporation was forced into bank- ruptcy in July, 1877. Mr. George N. Stray was appointed trustee, and the business was continued under his management until Octo- ber, 1881, when the creditors were paid and the company reorgan - ized, with P. M. Danaher, president; James E. Danaher, vice-pres- ident; George N. Stray, secretary; John Mason Loomis, treasurer.

The company has a paid up capital of $238,000, and is in a flourishing condition. They still have about 8,000 acres of uncut pine in Mason, Lake and Newaygo Counties, estimated to cut 80,000,000 feet. Since their mill started in 1870, it has cut 263,- 000,000 feet of lumber, and is now cutting from 22,000,000 to 24,000,000 feet a year.

THE " WARD " LUMBERING INTERESTS.

The name of Capt. E. B. Ward was long familiar in all parts of the country. He was born in Canada in 1811. Soon after his birth his parents returned to Vermont, their native state, and remained there until Eber was six years old. In 1817 his parents started for Kentucky, but while in Pennsylvania his mother sickened and died. This event caused his father to change his plans, and they went to Ohio, and later to Detroit, which place they reached in 1821. At twelve years of age Eber obtained a situation as cabin boy on a small schooner on the lakes, and from that time he followed the lakes until long after he was the owner of a handsome fortune. He advanced gradually until he was in charge of a vessel, then to own one, and finally became the owner of a very large amount of vessel property. At the time of his death, in Jan. 1875, he owned a large amount of stock in the Chicago Rolling Mill, the Milwaukee Rolling Mill, about $2,000,000 in real estate, $500,000 worth of floating property, all accumulated through his own energy and sagacity.

As early as 1852 he acquired possession of large tracts of tim- ber lands on the Pere Marquette River. These lands were held by him awaiting the time when the development of this northern coun- try would render the timber available. In 1869 he was president of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad Company, and interested himself very actively in securing an extension of that road to Lud- ington. At that time he was carrying on logging operations through his agents, and a little later purchased a tract of land on Lake Pere Marquette, and in what is now the Fourth Ward of the city, for a mill-site. From the very first Capt. Ward had unbounded faith in the future of Ludington, and earnestly advocated the establishment of iron mills and other manufacturing interests.

At this time he owned at least 70,000 acres of pine lands acces- sible from this point, and in the Spring of 1870 the initiatory steps were taken in building up the business which has since grown to such mammoth proportions.

Mr. J. B. Bean was installed here as manager of Capt. Ward's operations at this point, and during the season of 1870 the mill now known as the "North" mill was built. All that part of the town where the mill stands was dense forest, and there were not many indications that within so short a time as twelve years it would be transformed into a populous and busy ward of a thriv- ing city.

The mill was located well out into the lake, and rested upon fifty-five stone piers. These piers were placed on clumps of spiles driven closely together, cut off twenty inches under water, and capped with heavy plank. The foundation of the gangs was solid stone masonry, resting upon spiles with stone filled in between them. The size of the mill was 50x130 feet. The roof. was tightly boarded and covered with shingle bedded in mortar. The engine

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HISTORY OF MASON COUNTY.

was twenty-six inches in diameter, with thirty-four inches stroke. There were five boilers four feet in diameter and twenty feet long. The smoke stack was ninety feet high and sixty-four inches in diameter. The mill was equipped with two circular mills, two gang edgers and all the most recent improvements. It had complete facilities for extinguishing fire, and for lighting the mill at night. The docks about the mill were built on spiles and heavily planked. The cost of the mill was estimated at $60,000, and had a capacity of 100,000 feet per day.

In the Spring of 1871 Capt. Ward purchased all the land lying between his mill and that of Messrs. Danaher & Melendy, which bordered on the lake. This purchase was made with a view of making more extensive improvements along that part of the lake, including the erection of another large saw-mill. During that season a warehouse 50x120 feet in size was built near the mill, which was used for storing supplies. It was in this building that the business of selling goods to employes was first inaugurated.

The following season the mill since known as the "South" mill was built, and was considered the finest sawmill in the United States. Mr. M. D. Ward, a son of Capt. Ward, came to Luding- ton about this time and took charge of the construction of the mill. A solid foundation of masonry was built upon spiles driven firmly in the lake and cut several feet below the water. The size of the main building was 56x160 feet, covered by a shingle roof laid in mortar and covered with fire-proof paint. The roof was surmounted by a cupola eighteen feet in diameter, which furnished light for the filing-room underneath. The engine and boiler-room was built of brick, and was 553x71 feet in size. The circular smoke stack was also constructed of brick, fourteen feet in diameter at the base and 125 in height, with a seventy-inch flue, and rested upon a stone foundation twenty feet in diameter. The mill was run with a double circular sixty-inch saw, and a single circular sixty- inch saw, a gang of forty-two saws, two large gang edgers with four saws each, and a gang lath mill with two bolters. The foundation of the gangs was constructed of stone, and the same as that in the North mill. The gang bed-plate and frame weighed sixteen tons, and the speed of the saw was 180 revolutions per minute. The circulars were run by friction pulleys with thirty- inch face. The rollers throughout the mill were of iron. Immedi- ately under the cupola was a platform 30x42 feet, used as a filing- room. The power for running this machinery was supplied by seven boilers, each twenty feet in length and forty-eight inches in diameter. The water for the boilers was supplied from an iron tank having a capacity of 600 barrels. The capacity of the mill was about 22,000,000 feet for the season. The mill cost about $125,000, and started up about the first of October, 1872. In the Summer of this year Mr. Bean was obliged to resign his position on account of ill-health. He was succeeded by Mr. John S. Woodruff, who continued as manager until Capt. Ward's death, and was then agent and manager for the estate until the reorganization in 1878.

The business office was first in a small building near the Pere Marquette Company's store, but in the latter part of 1871 an office building was built near the North mill.

In 1872 six cottages and a boarding-house were built for the convenience of the North mill. The boarding-house is a three-story building, 60x110 feet in size, and cost, when furnished, about $7,000. The next year five more cottages were built near the South mill, and an engine-house and cottage near the North mill.

Immediately after the warehouse was burned, in 1871, another large building was erected which was used as a warehouse and store.

Both the mills were built some distance out in the lake, and the intervening space was filled in with edgings and waste. About 17,000 cords of edgings were used in extending docks into the lake,

and about fifteen acres of the ground now occupied by the mills have been made by the deposits from the mills. Some time after the North mill started up, Mr. Woodruff made a contract with the city to furnish saw-dust for the streets, and from that mill alone was hauled and spread on the streets fifty-six cubic yards of saw-dust per day.

In 1879 two burners, one for each mill, were built, costing $5,000 each.

In 1880 a shingle mill was built near the North mill. The size of the main building is 40x50 feet, with a boiler and engine-room 30x40 feet, the whole covered with iron. The cost of the mill was $12,000, with a daily capacity of 225,000 shingle. The mill com- menced running September, 1880.

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History of Mason County, Michigan, Part 13

Author: H. R. Page & Co. Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Number of Pages: 373

Author: H. R. Page & Co.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 373