Antrim County History

Antrim county includes the main stretch of the eastern shores of Grand Traverse bay. Torch, Round and Elk lakes, with Elk river and other connecting streams, extend into the county almost as far as its main northern line, forming with the Bay a long peninsula which juts out from the main body with a very narrow neck at Eastport.

The largest and prettiest of these lakes is Torch lake, eighteen miles long and from one to two miles wide with a water surface of thirty square miles. It is said to be several hundred feet deep and lies parallel with the Bay, but flows in the opposite direction south and empties its waters through Torch river and Round lake into Elk lake, which also lies parallel with the Bay; thence the accumulated waters of all the rivers and lakes pour through Elk river into Grand Traverse bay, forming one of the largest and best water powers in Northern Michigan. The scenery about Torch lake is harmonious and picturesque.

The river Jordan rises in Warner township and waters the north- eastern sections of the county, the scenes along its courses being restful and beautiful.

The county embraces five hundred and eighty-one square miles of land surface and fifty-five square miles of lake surface. Of this area there are four hundred and twenty-five square miles, or fifteen sections of land, on which there are rivers and running streams. The whole country is abundantly watered, excepting a couple of townships in the southeastern corner in which there are springs but no large creeks.

Clam, Grass and Intermediate lakes discharge their waters through rivers bearing the same names, into the east side of Torch about six miles from the south end of it. These lakes and streams abound in fish, and during the season sportsmen come from all parts of the country to enjoy the rare sport that is here afforded.

Antrim county lies in the belt which formerly was heavily timbered with hardwood. This has been nearly all cut by lumbermen who are now offering the land for agricultural purposes. As all the heavy timber has been removed the lands are easily cleared and made ready for cultivation. Watered abundantly, they are well adapted to the raising of peas, beans, and seeds, and all root crops such as potatoes and sugar beets. It is also a fine grass and forage country, with pure water everywhere and a bracing climate tempered by the presence of Grand Traverse bay and Lake Michigan. Cattle raising and dairying are therefore bound to succeed, while the raising of apples, the small fruits and berries is a profitable and established industry.

The Intermediate chain of lakes which lies almost wholly within the county extends from Elk Rapids, on the East arm of Grand Traverse bay, to Echo, in the northern part of the county, a distance of almost seventy-five miles. The shores of these lakes, as well as of the arm, rise in a series of terraces from the water and there is no better farm and fruit lands in the county than are to be found in these districts. The entire area of 314,000 acres is more or less rolling, with some rough land and considerable tracts of muck soil. Fully ninety per cent of the acreage is considered tillable, with more than one- third already in farms.

The county is traversed by four railroads -- the Grand Rapids & Indiana, Pere Marquette, Detroit & Charlevoix and East Jordan & Southern -- thus giving travellers and shippers excellent facilities.

Villages and County's Population

The four villages of Antrim county are all situated on or near its chain of lakes, with the exception of Mancelona in the southern portion on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. The largest are Bellaire, the county seat, just northeast of Grass lake on the Pere Marquette line, with a population of about 1,600; Elk Rapids, somewhat larger perhaps, on Elk lake and Elk river, and Mancelona mentioned above. The third village within the lake belt is Central Lake, a corporation numbering between eight and nine hundred people situated on the western shore of that serpentine body known as Intermediate lake. It is also a station on the Pere Marquette Railroad.

Historic and Prehistoric

What people may have traversed portions of Antrim county in prehistoric days will never be known. There is no doubt that these portions of the county bordering upon the water were visited by the representatives of whatever races traversed this northern country. It was a favorite country with the Indians and the Mound Builders have left their relics in several places, the particular localities noted in a previous chapter. What white men may have built their camp fires here prior to the coming of the first settlers in the late forties is neither certain nor important ; that some were in this region is probable. In 18-40 the unorganized county of Megesee was laid off and in 1843 the name changed to Antrim. The unorganized county embraced the territory of townships 29, 30, 31 and 32 north and west of the line between ranges 4 and 5 west and east of Grand Traverse bay. This is the earliest defined existence of the territory of Antrim county.

Abram S. Wadsworth, the County's Pioneer

The pioneer settler in Antrim county was Abram S. Wadsworth, a native of Durham, Connecticut, who came from Rochester, New York, to Michigan at the age of twenty-one years. He spent some time in Monroe and later located lands in Portland, Ionia county, where he built the first mill-dam thrown across the Grand river in that region. That he first visited the Grand Traverse region in 1846 there is no doubt, but as to his movements during the next few years accounts differ. As nearly as can be ascertained, in 1846 he came northward, coasting in a small boat and voyaging as far as the Pictured Rocks in Lake Superior and thence to Mackinaw, Detroit and home. The following spring, accompanied by his brother-in-law, Samuel K. Northam, he took his family to Detroit, where the party embarked on a propeller for Mackinac. From the latter place they found passage on a schooner as far as Cross village. There, after camping for several days on the beach waiting for a storm to subside, they embarked in a small boat for Old Mission.

At Middle village the party again went into camp and were delayed two days on account of rain. The next stop was made at Little Traverse where they hoped to obtain provisions of the Indians. They only succeeded, however, in getting a few potatoes and a single loaf of bread. The party had lived on fish until that food had ceased to tempt the appetite. The children, especially, were suffering for want of their accustomed diet. After leaving Little Traverse they were favored with pleasant weather and proceeded rapidly. The last day the bay was rough and they hesitated about crossing to Old Mission from the eastern shore along which they had been coasting. Seeing a haze of smoke on the shore near Elk river they headed for it and there found some Indians with an excellent boat who were about to cross. As a matter of precaution, Mrs. Wadsworth and the children were put into the Indians' boat, which was navigated by Mr. Wads- worth and one of the Indians, while Mr. Northam and the remaining Indians occupied Mr. Wadsworth 's boat. In a short time the party landed at Old Mission in safety, arriving there on July 16, 1847. Mr. Wadsworth remained some time at Old Mission, but being a man that had much experience in mills, he saw the immense water power that was running to waste on the east side of the bay, and bought the land where Elk Rapids now stands. About the spring of 1849 he built a small log cabin near the present site of the town hall at Elk Rapids village. This was the first building put up by a white man in Antrim county, of which there is any account and was the initial movement in its settlement. There, with Mr. Samuel K. Northam, his brother-in-law, assisted by some Indians, Mr. Wadsworth peeled a quantity of hemlock bark and shipped it to Racine, Wisconsin, the first recorded shipment of the county's natural products. About that time he was employed by the government in the resurvey of lands and with the funds arising from his work and his bark he erected a house on his property for his family who arrived late in the fall.

In 1851 the Wadsworth's removed to Connecticut and spent some time in that state, but returned and spent some three years in Old Mission; thence they relocated at Elk Rapids and finally after various changes made that place their permanent home. Mr. Wadsworth died in Traverse City in June, 1871. One of his sons, James M. Wadsworth, was a business men of Bellaire. The elder Mr. Wadsworth was one of the most prominent of the early settlers in the Grand Traverse country, and his writings relating to this region were considered standard authority, having been largely instrumental in making the region known abroad.

Elk Rapids river and lake were so named by Mr. Wadsworth because of a pair of elk horns which he found in the sand at the mouth of the river. He named Round lake from its shape and Clam lake from the vast number of clams found in the river. Torch lake was so named by the Indians because of the fishing lights they saw used on the lake when the white settlers first came to the country. Waswagonink, the Indian name, signifies a lake of torches.

James McLaughlin

In 1850 Mr. Wadsworth began to make preparations for building a sawmill. In the winter of 1850-1 James McLaughlin put up the frame of the first sawmill on the east side of the bay. It was designed for a picket and lath-mill. In the spring of 1851 Wadsworth sold out to a man by the name of Norris, but for some cause the property came back into Wadsworth 's hands, and November, 1851, McLaughlin moved his family to Elk river. During the fall the families of Amos Wood, Alexander Mc Vicar and a Mormon family named Barnes arrived. The Mormons remained but a short time. Wood and McVicar became settlers of the county.

Up to 1852 there were no cattle in the vicinity of Elk Rapids, except a yoke of oxen at the lumber camp on Round lake. In July Mr. McLaughlin went out to the south part of the state and drove in from Allegan a pair of oxen and a cow. Of this trip James McLaughlin says: ''At Grand Rapids I was joined by William Slawson and Perry Stocking, each with a cow. From Grand Rapids they struck north and from the Muskegon river to Traverse City their route lay through

322 HISTORY OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN

unbroken wilderness, with only a section line to follow. The first day out from the Rapids, Slawson's cow broke away and they lost her -- it being the only serious mishap they had, and after traveling thirteen days they arrived at Elk Rapids. Our town was thrown into quite an excitement at the sound of a cow bell, these being the first that had ever been heard in this region. Soon after this Alexander Mc Vicar came up from Canada, bringing with him his father's family and also two cows, which made in all four cows and two yoke of oxen on our side of the bay. It was a little amusing and at the same time it was touching to see the little children when they were offered milk; they would not touch it and didn't know what it was. The summer passed away pleasantly, bringing now and then a new recruit to our village and we soon had quite a settlement."

First Burial in the County

About the first of November, 1852, a cloud settled over the community, caused by the death of Charles, youngest son of Mr. McLaughlin, a bright boy of thirteen. His death was caused by his swallowing a pin which he had bent for a fish hook. He had it in his mouth and was running along when he stubbed his toe and as he pitched forward the pin flew down his windpipe and lodged in his lungs. He lingered along for about two weeks and was in great distress until he died. He was the first white person ever buried in Antrim county. There was no clergyman on the east side of the bay, but appropriate funeral services were conducted by a layman, Mr. John McDonald. The grave was made in a grove of pines, in a beautiful spot on the first terrace above the bay. For several years afterward the place was used as a burying ground by the inhabitants. The remains of the first occupant were removed at a later date to Maple Grove Cemetery.

Elk Rapids a Fact

In the spring of 1852 Mr. Wadsworth laid out the village of Elk Rapids, lots being sold for twenty-five dollars each. The employment furnished by the mill was an inducement for new comers to settle in the vicinity. The first two lots sold were where the town hall now stands, which were purchased by James McLaughlin and in payment therefore he gave a blacksmith's bellows.

Among those who came that season were Michael Gay, John Lake, Jared Stocking and John B. Spencer, with their families. Gay and Lake being sawyers, they were employed in the mill. During this season the schooner "Telegraph" made monthly trips to the head of the west bay for Hannah, Lay & Company, so that there was regular communication with the outside world; and for two or three seasons she was the only regular boat trading between the bay and Chicago.

The year of 1853 brought many changes. Large additions of immigrants were made to the population. Among those who became residents of the village or settled in the vicinity were John Denahy, E. L. Sprague, J. W. Arnold, David F. Parks, Alexander Campbell and Hiram Robinson. The clearings of farmers began to dot the shores of Elk lake. Early this year Mr. Wadsworth sold his mill to James Rankin & Sons, who built a store and brought in a stock of goods. Jared Stocking opened a hotel. In the fall and following winter Mr. Wadsworth built another sawmill on the site of the mill since owned by Dexter & Noble, Mr. Northam having charge of the business. The mill was scarcely completed, when he sold it to M. Craw & Company, of which firm Wirt Dexter was the principal partner. Communication with the outside world was now more regular, two vessels trading between Elk Rapids, Chicago and Milwaukee; besides the propeller ''Stockman'' made regular trips to Mackinaw. The fame of the country was spreading and people were coming in to seek homes and employment, there being a good demand for labor of all kinds.

A notable event of the year 1853 was the opening of the first school at Elk Rapids. The house in which it was kept stood for many years a few rods from the large brick school building that has since been built. The district was organized in May, 1853, and the school was taught by George W. Ladd, a young man from the peninsula. He has long since gone to his rest, having been cut down in early manhood by consumption.

Another event of 1853 was the establishment of a post office. It was first called Stevens and afterward changed to Elk Rapids, and the first postmaster was Theron Bostwick.

Elk Rapids received its first decided impetus as a business place when Henry H. Noble located there in September, 1855, as an employee of M. Craw & Company. He came from Washtenaw county, and in the fall of 1856 when his employers dissolved partnership he associated himself with Wirt Dexter in the establishment of the firm of Dexter & Noble. For several years after 1861 their lumbering and mercantile operations monopolized the business of Elk Rapids, and placed it in line as the only available location for the county seat.

Early County Affairs

Until 1863 Antrim county was attached to Grand Traverse. Its earliest records while so joined are found in an old book in the county clerk's office and relate to various township elections in 1853. It appears that John B. Spencer, John S. Barker and William H. Case, three electors of the town of Antrim, called the first town election on April 25th of that year at the house of A. S. Wadsworth, and that the following officers were chosen: John S. Barker, supervisor; Samuel Northam, treasurer; William H. Case, town clerk; John S. Barker, William H. Case, Samuel Northam and Orselas Evans, justices of the peace; William Slawson, James McLaughlin and William Wells, commissioners of highways; William Slawson and John B. Spencer, school inspectors; Enoch Wood, Jerome B. Stocking and Charles Walker, constables; Enoch Wood and John B. Spencer, directors of the poor; John B. Spencer, overseer of highways; Amos Wood, poundmaster.

Prom the frequent repetition of names it is evident that the supply of official material was scarce in 1853.

It was voted at the same election that twenty-five dollars be raised to defray town expenses and that ''swine shall not be permitted to run at large from the first of May until the twentieth of October, 1853 — " in other words during the warm season.

It also appears from the old records that the first list of grand and petit jurors, filed with the county clerk May 1, 1853, included John B. Spencer, James McLaughlin, William H. Case, Orselas Evans, William Slawson, John S. Barker, Jared Stocking, Samuel Northam, William Wells, Chauncey Hall, Amos Wood and Enoch M. Wood.

Before Antrim county was organized the township by that name was changed to Megesee, as the original county was designated.

Antrim County Organized

On March 11, 1863, an act of legislature was approved providing for the organization of Antrim county. The act reads as follows: ''The people of the state of Michigan enact, That the county of Antrim, consisting of the territory embraced by the present county of Antrim, be, and the same is organized into a separate county by the name of Antrim, and the inhabitants thereof shall be entitled to all the privileges, powers and immunities to which, by law, the inhabitants of other organized counties in this state are entitled.

''The unorganized counties of Kalkaska, Crawford, and Otsego shall be attached to the said county of Antrim for municipal and judicial purposes.

''All that part of the said county of Antrim which lies north of the south line of township 31 north, shall be organized into a separate township by the name of Banks, and the first township meeting thereof shall be held at the house of Gurden Geer on the first Monday in April, next ; and James Orr, Thomas Flanigan and Rock W. Geer shall be the inspectors of the election.

"The dimensions of the township of Milton, in said county, shall be enlarged by adding thereto the following described territory, to- wit, fractional township 30 north, of range 9 west; also townships 28, 29 lo north, of range 8 west.

"The name of the township of Megesee, in said county, is hereby changed to that of Elk Rapids and all of the county of Antrim and the counties attached thereto, not included within the limits of any other organized township thereof, is hereby attached for township purposes to the township of Elk Rapids.

"The county seat of said county of Antrim shall be established by the board of supervisors at the village of Elk Rapids, to-wit in town- ship 29 north, of range 9 west, and on sections 20 and 29.

"At the township meeting of several townships in said county to be held on the first day of April next, there shall be an election of all the county officers to which the said county is entitled, whose term of office shall expire on the first day of January, A. D. 1865, and when their successors shall have been elected and qualified. Said election shall be conducted in the same way, by the same officers and the returns thereof made in the same manner, as near as may be, as is now required by law in elections of county officers in this state.

"The county canvass of the votes for county officers shall be held on the second Tuesday succeeding the election at the house of Henry H. Noble at the village of Elk Rapids, and said canvass shall be conducted in the same way and by the same officers as the requirements of law now provide in organized counties, as nearly as may be, by the appointment by the board of canvassers of one of their own number to act as secretary to said board of county canvassers.

"Said county shall be in the ninth judicial circuit and shall be entitled to one court therein in each year.

"This act shall take immediate effect. '

The first county election was held on the sixth day of April, 1863. The highest number of votes polled was sixty-six and the following were the county officers elected: Sheriff, Jared W. Arnold; treasurer, Henry H. Noble; clerk and register, James L. Gilbert; judge of pro- bate, Solomon Case; prosecuting attorney, John B. Spencer; circuit court commissioner, John B. Spencer; surveyor, A. S. Wadsworth.

First Court House and Jail

At a special session of the board held July 19, 1865, it was resolved that the sum of one thousand dollars should be raised, in the tax roll of 1865, for the purpose of building a court house and jail for Antrim county, to be erected on the northeast quarter of the southeast fractional quarter of section 20, town 29 north, of range 9 west, known as lots 46 to 201 inclusive, in the village of Elk Rapids according to a plat made by A. S. Wadsworth of said village.

On motion of Lemuel R. Smith it was resolved that, in addition to the one thousand dollars raised by tax, two thousand dollars should be appropriated from the contingent fund then on hand, belonging to the county, for the purpose of building a court house and jail.

On motion of Lemuel E. Smith, Henry H. Noble was appointed a building committee of one to procure plans and specifications for the proposed county buildings and to let contracts for their erection. During the year 1866 a court house was completed at a cost of about $7,100, A jail was also erected. About this time a local paper, speaking of the jail, said: ' While speaking of the court house and jail we are reminded that while this county has all the 'machinery' necessary to punish delinquents there seems to be but little use for it ; there never having been a criminal suit in the county since its organization. Either the people are very moral or the rogues think the jail too substantially built for them to be caught in it, and so keep out of mischief.''

Up to 1874 the county had not received a perfect title to the property and in October, 1874, the supervisors reported having received satisfactory evidence of title by warranty deed from Dexter & Noble.

County Seat Moved to Bellaire

As the country developed and the eastern part of the county be- came settled, the question of removing the county seat to a more central point than Elk Rapids was agitated. In October, 1878, there were thirteen organized townships in the county, and at the meeting of the board of supervisors held that month it was voted to remove the county seat to the south fractional half of the southwest fractional quarter of section 19, in town 30 north, range 7 west.

The question was voted upon at the spring election. The whole number of votes cast was 1,020, of which 574 were for removal and 446 against- removal. The vote of the several towns was a follows : Banks, 35 for, 75 against; Central Lake, 35 for, 35 against; Chestonia, 52 for ; Custer, 71 for ; Echo, 90 for ; Elk Rapids, 6 for and 145 against ; Forest Home, 43 for and 3 against ; Helena, 66 for and 4 against ; Jordan, 29 for and 34 against ; Kearney, 60 for and 1 against ; Mancelona, 74 for and 1 against; Milton, 12 for and 122 against; Torch Lake, 1 for and 28 against.

The decision of the board having been affirmed by popular vote, the courthouse site was in the following June definitely located on the land above described. The owner of the land thus designated platted the same, and on the 24th day of June, 1879, the plat was recorded in the office of the register of deeds and the village of Bellaire became the new capital of the county.

As indicated by the vote the removal involved a bitter contest. Efforts were made to prevent the payment of money for the erection of buildings at the new county seat, and a temporary building was erected by Ambrose E. Palmer, of Kalkaska, the owner of the site. In 1880, at the April term, the question was tried in the supreme court and at the decision affirmed the proceedings by which the removal had been made.

Five acres of land were then set apart by Mr. Palmer for a court- house square, and in 1883 a large building was erected by the town of Kearney for a town hall, which by an arrangement by the county was used for county purposes, the first floor for county offices and the hall above for a courtroom. A jail was built in 1883 at a cost of about $5,000. The buildings now occupied are modern and convenient, as will be seen by the illustration.

Bellaire, Present County Seat

Bellaire, the present official seat of Antrim county, is a neat thriving village of some sixteen hundred inhabitants lying within both in Kearney and Forest Home townships. It is also situated on both sides of the Intermediate river which connects Intermediate and Grass lakes, and has an improved water power of much value and promise.

Bellaire is the center of a good farming, fruit and live stock country, has a number of growing industries and enjoys transportation and shipping facilities through the Pere Marquette and East Jordan & Southern railroads.

Geographically, Bellaire is a little west of the center of the county. It lies in what is known as the Intermediate valley, which is about thirty miles in length and watered mainly by the Intermediate chain.

Antrim County Court House, Bellaire of twelve lakes with their connecting streams. These charming bodies of water are from a few rods to three or four miles in length and are the delight of the sportsman and fisherman who are really fond of outdoor life with comparative quiet.

The history of Bellaire commences in 1878 with the location of the county seat at the south fractional half of the southwest fractional quarter of section 19, town 30 north and range 7 west. In June of that year the courthouse site was definitely located on the land described, the state supreme court having decided that the removal from Elk Rapids was legal during the previous month. Mr. Palmer, the owner of the land, recorded the plat, including the five acres set aside for the courthouse square, on June 24, 1879. The proprietor had been charmed by the purity of the air in this region, and so named the new village and county seat Bellaire.

A post office was established at this location known as Keno, with Rufus Hall as postmaster; in July, 1881, Dempster H. Stebbins was appointed to succeed Mr. Hall and, through his influence, the name was changed to Bellaire, to correspond with the village plat.

In January, 1880, with the growth of the village, Harvey T. Alcott platted the first addition to his tract lying to the south, and in the following year John Hasting made one to the north. In 1882 J. M. Wadsworth and John E. Cook, the latter proprietor of the pioneer hotel, purchased the original plat of the village. Cook & Wadsworth, as the firm was known, laid out Mound Park on the opposite side of the river from the business section of the village. The land rose in a series of terraces, or mounds, in which various prehistoric relics had been found, and became a favorite residence quarter as the village extended in that direction.

The excellent water power at Bellaire soon attracted various manufacturing enterprises and by the early eighties Richardi & Bechtold had in operation a large sawmill and wooden ware factory and there were also two shingle mills, a planing mill and a rolling pin and desk factory.

The firm of Richardi & Bechtold was composed of Robert Richardi, a practical and inventive German machinist who had served in the Civil war and settled at Bellaire in 1881 ; and Frederick W. Bechtold, a young Belgian and Union soldier, who had had experience as a sales- man and has ever since been active in the industrial and financial enterprises of the village. Before coming to Michigan Mr. Richardi had invented a wooden scoop and various machinery for manufacturing wooden trays. As the practical man of the enterprise he joined Mr. Bechtold, who was especially adapted to pushing the sales of their products. Their partnership resulted in the establishment of a manufactory for the making of trays, bowls and wooden ware in general, and the industry in a much extended form has been continued to this day. Henry Richardi, the son, has succeeded his father, the founder of the business, and Frederick W. Bechtold is still a partner. Mr. Bechtold has been continuously active in the industrial and financial interests of the village and is also associated with Henry Richardi in the ownership and management of the Bellaire Hydraulic Light and Power Company. The early operations of Richardi & Bechtold, with subsequent developments brought about by the firm whose presidency has passed to Henry Richardi have been of such concern to the well being of Bellaire that a reliable account is taken from a late publication: ''Robert Richardi continued to be actively identified with the industrial enterprises here until 1895, when he sold his interests to his son, having had charge of the mechanical and operative departments of the business and being a man of distinctive talents and skill in a mechanical way. Upon closing out his interests here, he established an electric light and power plant in the village of Plainwell, Allegan county, whence he eventually moved to the city of Richmond, Virginia, to operate a fine electric plant there.

"Robert Richardi was associated with Mr. Bechtold in the development of the valuable water power at Bellaire, utilizing the same in the operation of the first wooden ware plant in which employment was given to about forty men. In 1900 a stock company was organized and incorporated, while the scope of operations has been greatly expanded under the present regime, that of the Bellaire Wooden Ware Company. "

Since the above was written and mainly through the efforts, influence and capital of Henry Richardi and Mr. Bechtold the water power has been utilized as a generator of electricity for lighting and power purposes. In 1906 the fine plant at Bellaire was completed at a cost, with the conveying system, of about $75,000. Mr. Richardi is president and Mr. Bechtold secretary of the controlling company. Through this plant electric light and power are sent to Charlevoix and thence distributed from a central plant and the planing and grist mills at Bellaire are supplied with power.

The village of Bellaire has its own municipal lighting plant for night service. It is located on the Cedar river about a mile from the village, having been established in 1901 and rebuilt in 1910.

Bellaire was incorporated as a village in 1891, and its first officers consisted of Frederick W. Bechtold as president; Fred B. Zoon, clerk; Alfred A. Hickox, assessor, and J. C. Abbott, treasurer.

It has a well organized Central Union school and a public library of some 1,500 volumes. The latter is a consolidation of the old Forest Home and Kearney township libraries, which occurred in 1905, and the collection is housed in the Kearney town hall. The leading churches are the Methodist, Catholic and Congregational.

The Bellaire State Bank, successor of a private institution, was established in 1906. It has a capital of $20,000 ; surplus and undivided profits amounting to $4,400, and the following officers: F. W. Bechtold, president ; Charles Weiffenbach, vice-president, and W. H. Richards, cashier.

Elk Rapids of Today

The pioneer times in the history of Elk Rapids have been traced in preceding pages of this chapter up to the period of the transfer of the county seat to Bellaire. At that time the Dexter & Noble Lumber Company had branched out into many enterprises. It had built a furnace and was conducting it as the Elk Rapids Iron Company, and various stores were being conducted as the Elk Rapids Supply Company, while the Elk Rapids Light Company was to be a later evolution. A flour mill was started, which is still in operation, and the Elk Rapids Iron Company improved the water power so that it became the greatest asset in the prosperity of the place. In 1890 the Elk Rapids Cement & Lime Company was organized and built a large cement mill at the village, which was in operation until 1911. The Lake Superior Iron & Chemical Company was perhaps the latest outgrowth of the Dexter & Noble enterprises and the Elk Rapids Iron Company, in which were bound up so much of the industrial and business life of Elk Rapids. It was incorporated as a village in 1900.

The village still supports various wooden manufactories, such as lumber and lath mills, has a good flour mill and one of the best natural water powers in its section of the state. It is located in a fine fruit and farming country, and is in the midst of the great potato-producing section of Northern Michigan. During one season of the past six years about 75,000 bushels were shipped from the township, the bulk from Elk Rapids. The shipping facilities of the place are excellent, as it is situated on the Pere Marquette road and has deep water communication with all the ports of the Great Lakes. The local trade and business are transacted through the Elk Rapids Savings Bank with a capital of $35,000.

Elk Rapids has an excellent graded school housed in a $24,000 building, a public library, and churches organized by Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, and Episcopalians. There is also a strong German Reformed Society. It was here, at the mouth of Elk river, that the religious activities first began on the eastern shores of Grand Traverse bay, or to give the details in Dr. Leach's words: ''Until 1857 there had been no stated religious service anywhere on the east side of the bay. On the second day of August in that year. Rev. D. R. Latham crossed from Old Mission and preached at Elk Rapids. He attempted to include that point in his round of regular appointments, but often found it difficult to cross the bay. When, in the fall of 1858, the Michigan Methodist Conference detached Elk Rapids from Old Mission and Traverse City and erected it, with the adjacent territory, into what was known as the Whitewater circuit, Mr. Latham was assigned to it as preacher in charge and moved from Old Mission to his new work. ' '

In the fall of 1862 the Congregationalists sent Rev. Leroy Warren up into Northern Michigan to see what chance there was for a mission in that benighted part of the country, and he located at Elk Rapids as the first preacher of that denomination. A society was organized in February of the following year.

The Church of the Covenant, Protestant Episcopal, was formed at the old courthouse in Elk Rapids, August 29, 1867. These were the earliest foundations of religious life laid in the village, Mancelona, thirteen miles southeast of Bellaire, is a flourishing village on the Grand Trunk & Indiana Railroad and is but a few years younger than the county seat.

The first movements at this point having any connection with a village were in the spring of 1872 by Leander C. Handy and A. D. Carpenter, who opened a store and established the nucleus of a business center. Prior to that time section 20, upon a portion of which the village is located, had been occupied a short time.

Perry Andress, after residing several years in Lapeer and St. Joseph counties, Benton Harbor and Allegan, came with his family in 1869 to where Mancelona now is, before the township was organized. He took the site of the Mancelona Hotel and vicinity as a homestead.

Mr. Andress erected the hotel building and opened a place of public entertainment when the railroad was just being surveyed, and also gave some attention to lumbering. In 1880 he removed to Petoskey, purchased the Occidental Hotel and retained it until his death, March 11, 1881, The town and village of Mancelona were named from Mr. Andress' youngest daughter, Mancelona Andress, afterward well known in Petoskey society.

Leander C. Handy and A. D. Carpenter opened the first store at Mancelona in 1872. Mr. Handy bought the first village lot, erected the first frame building, sold the first merchandise, bought the first load of wheat and the first load of apples, shipped the first carload of wheat and assisted in securing the location of the blast furnace operated by J. Otis & Company, the Mancelona handle factory and the butter dish and sash, door and blind factories. He may be put down in local history as the real founder of the village.

The second store was started by Marshall Emery, and soon after the arrival of Perry Andress, the proprietor of the village plat, a post- office was established with Mr. Andress as postmaster. He kept the office in his hotel for about a year, when Mr. Handy succeeded him and continued in office for many years.

A Congregational church was organized at Mancelona in 1874. The Methodists supplied the villagers with occasional preaching in 1873-5; and the Mancelona and Kalkaska circuit was organized in 1877.

In 1875 a schoolhouse was built which answered the needs of the district for several years, but in 1882 a Union building was erected, the pupils being regularly graded during that year.

In 1877 Mr. Andress, the original proprietor of Mancelona, platted about fifteen acres on the north half of section 20, thus adding to the area of the village.

Furnaceville, or Antrim, which adjoins Mancelona on the south, is practically a part of the village. It was founded by John Otis, a New York man who located there in 1882 and, with R. M. Cherrie, erected and started a blast furnace for the manufacture of charcoal pig iron. In May, 1883, the furnace and all the main buildings of the plant were consumed by fire at a loss of about $40,000, but in September Mr. Otis resumed the enterprise alone and developed it finally into a large iron manufactory employing about one hundred and fifty men. He also started a broom factory, built large kilns for the manufacture of char- coal and made Furnaceville a busy industrial town. It is still an important manufacturing center with a large plant for the making of wood alcohol and chemicals, an extensive charcoal pig iron furnace, and saw and planing mills.

Mancelona and Furnaceville combined present a picture of varied industrial life, for, besides the manufactories mentioned, they turn out flour, veneer, cheese box material, broom handles, butter and gasoline launch engines — certainly a conglomeration.

Mancelona township contains about twelve thousand acres of cut- over hardwood timber lands, the soil of which is of a heavy sandy loam and particularly favorable to heavy potato crops. Abundant crops have, in fact, been raised, as may be verified by the shipments of over one hundred and seventy-five carloads of potatoes in one of the recent seasons. Most of this trade gravitates to the village.

A village incorporation was secured in 1889; so that Mancelona is now a regular civil body with wide paved streets, electric light and power plant, an excellent system of water works, a good bank (Antrim County State Savings), two weekly newspapers, an up-to-date public school system and a fine county normal school, a township library, an opera house and a number of churches. The last named include Methodist, Catholic, Congregational, Episcopal and German Reformed organizations.

Central Lake

Central Lake, which was incorporated as a village in 1895, is eight miles north of Bellaire on the Pere Marquette road. It is a substantial community of between eight and nine hundred people and is the center of a productive farming country of the Intermediate lake region. Sweet corn, beans, squash and all kinds of fruit are plentifully raised in the adjacent sections, and Central Lake has one of the largest canning factories in the Grand Traverse region, besides being a leading shipping station for these varieties of farm produce. Its industries also include flour, lumber, stave and shingle mills and the building of boats.

The trade and industries of the village require the facilities of two banks — a private institution and the First State Bank, the latter capitalized at $20,000.

The good points of Central Lake are spread abroad by a weekly news- paper and four religious organizations minister to its spiritual needs -- the Congregational, Methodist, Free Methodist and Episcopalian.

Stations and Post-offices

Outside of its incorporated villages, there are several stations and post-offices which may now be mentioned. Eastport, at the head of Torch lake and about six miles northwest of the village of Central Lake, is a small settlement which was first known as Wilson, About 1869 a man named Phillips built a hotel here, but the place did not seem to prosper, although a survey was made for a village plat in 1873 and given the name of Wilson. A post-office was established and several stores opened and the name was soon changed to Eastport. But this more imposing name did not greatly stimulate the village. It is still but a small collection of buildings depending upon Central Lake for its banking and shipping accommodations. A daily stage runs to that station and, in the open season, it is connected by steamer with Elk Rapids.

The village of Torch Lake is on the western shore of the body of water by that name, or, more strictly speaking, on a narrow strip of land between Torch lake and Grand Traverse bay. It is nine miles from Central Lake, which is also its nearest shipping and banking point.

The settlement has stage communication with both Central Lake and Elk Rapids. But Torch Lake carries one back to as early as 1858, for in that year, Captain John W. Brown built a large log house and barn where Torch Village now is. He also built some shanties on the beach of Torch lake and cleared some thirty acres of land. The place was named Brownstown. Captain Brown was commander of the ''Paine'' and is said to have been a better sailor than farmer. He spent considerable time and money without reaping any benefit. In 1864 he sold to Wilcox & Newell, who moved on and erected a sawmill, which they had hardly gotten in running order before it was burned down. In the summer of 1866 a post-office called Torch Lake was established with Major Cicero Newell postmaster, and from that time the name of Brownstown was dropped.

Alden is a pretty summer resort on the southeastern shores of Torch lake near its extremity, and was formerly known as Spencer Creek, as it is also at the mouth of that stream. The stream received its name from John B. Spencer, a lumberman who operated in that vicinity. In 1870 F. J. Lewis built a store there, naming the settlement which clustered around it, Noble ; but the village was afterwards called successively Spencer Creek and Alden, receiving its present name as a station of the Pere Marquette Railroad.

Alba is at the junction of the Grand Rapids & Indiana and Detroit & Charlevoix railroads, in the eastern part of the county, lying both in Chestonia and Star townships. The original plat of the village was made by William J. Barker in 1878, and two additions were platted in 1882 and 1883. It has a good graded school, a private bank, two churches, several stores, a flour mill, machine shop and saw planing and feed mill, and is altogether quite a brisk little place.

Organization op the Townships

The town of Milton was organized by the board of supervisors of Grand Traverse county at a meeting held March 3, 1857.

In 1865, two years after the organization of Antrim county, the town of Milton was changed to Helena and a new township was created under the original name.

The legislative act of 1863 organizing the county created the town- ships of Banks and Elk Rapids --the latter being previously known as Megesee township.

The town of Torch Lake was organized by the county board in 1866; Forest Home and Mancelona in 1871, the former by the board of supervisors and the latter by the state legislature; Central Lake by the legislature in 1873 ; Chestonia by the county board in 1874 ; Kearney, Echo, Custer and Jordan by the board of supervisors in 1875; Star by the county board in 1881, and the town of Warner by the legislature of the state in 1883.

Source: History of Northern Michigan by Perry F. Powers.  Chicago: Lewis F. Publishing, 1912.
Submitted by: Colleen Pustola 8Feb2013