"Grand Ledge Remembered"

David S. Haueter is a Grand Ledge native, a life time member and former Board member of the Grand Ledge Area Historical Society. His column on local history appears regularly in the Grand Ledge Independent newspaper.

07/15/07

Now that it is high summer, I thought I would start a series of articles on the River and Islands. Firstly, I will introduce John Burtch who was a famous character in early days of the village. 

John M. Burtch was born Sept. 2, 1836 in New York.  His father Milton P Burtch moved the family to Eagle Township in the early 1840s. Milton settled 400 wild acres in section 29. The homestead occupied a great bend in the Grand River which flowed on three sides of the large farm. In the 1860s he married a neighbor Martha Jones, daughter of George Jones. The couple soon moved to Grand Ledge.

It was said Burtch never removed his boots, even in bed. This rumor was so persistent it remained in folklore until it was finally disproved in 1925. A childhood friend of his sisters recalled that: “One night when a crowd of girls was there for the evening about 9:00, which was no doubt his bedtime, Burtch suddenly appeared in the doorway clad only in his red flannel underwear, barefooted, and boomed out in his big hearty voice to us something about having a good time.”

Burtch was well known as a hunter, fisherman and fur trapper. He dealt in so many furs that he became known as Skunkskin John. He was also a showman and would paddle his white pine canoe around the bridge and throw out his 15-foot spear “…picking out the finny beauties, to the awe of spectators who were watching from the bridge.”   

Skunkskin John was a successful businessman. While all other shopkeepers would only barter with wives for eggs and butter; Burtch would pay them cash money which was hard for wives to come by. This brought farm families into town from all around the area.  He was a dealer in seeds, grains, and wool. He operated the Islands Resort and hotel, a second hotel on Bridge Street, a lumberyard, and a grain elevator near the railroad.  He built the Burtch & Streeter Blind and Sash factory, the Acme Opera House, and several buildings on North Bridge Street.  He lived at the corner of N. Bridge and Front Streets before building the gothic brick house on the lot next door. His brick house remains today next to Halsted Park. Burtch Street (spelled Burch today) was also named for him.

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Old Advertisement

NOTICE- PINE TREE TIMOTHY SEED is put in Machine Sewed Bags sewed with Red String and Branded with Registered Trade Mark. “For your further protection, Look for the RED STRING”
An extra clean and pure seed at moderate cost. “PINE TREE BRAND- IT STANDS ALONE”

For sale by John M Burtch
Dealer in Clover and Timothy Seed, furs, pelts, and wool. 

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07/01/07

Next week my family will be holding the 75th annual Haueter Reunion. In honor of this event, I thought I would give some history of the Haueter Family.

Johann Friedrich Haueter was born in January 1859 in Zollikofen, Switzerland. He was the eldest son of Friedrich Haueter. When Johann was just two years old, his mother Anna died. His father Friedrich was unable to care for his young children and he sent them to live with relatives.

The Haueter family Johann was sent to live with had several children. They would all later immigrate to America. At least one son settled in Ohio, three sons settled in Kentucky, while two more sons settled in Wisconsin.

In March of 1882, when Johann was 23, he married Elise Schwab. On their honeymoon, the couple traveled the Atlantic and immigrated to America. Johann (or John as he was called in America) did not follow his adoptive brothers into Kentucky or Wisconsin, but settled near Ann Arbor where Elise had relatives. It is said that one of the few possessions they brought with them was a wooden cabbage cutter for making sauerkraut which they sold to raise money. In 1887 they moved to Eagle Township, Clinton County where Elise had more relations. Together the couple raised eight children: Fred, Earnest, Martha (Volk), Herman, Carl, Ella (Ingler), Emma (Moyer) and Ben.

Elise died in 1913. John was able to buy his own farm on Hinman Road in the 1920s. Late in life, John was visited by one of his adopted brothers from Wisconsin. He died in December of 1936.

Their eldest child was Fred Haueter. He was born in 1882 and married Ina Baker of Eagle. They rented a farm on State Road for many years before buying the old “Walker Farm” on Tallman Road in 1936. They had dairy farms and would also shear sheep for other farmers. Their eldest son Victor worked at Kalvenator in Lansing before going to Oldsmobile as well as farming. Their son John was the sexton of Oakwood Cemetery for many years. Their son Harland worked for the railroad here in Grand Ledge. They also had two daughters, Ethel (Peabody) who worked at the Chair Company and Esther who was the Candy Lady at the D & C Store. Fred and Ina’s descendants ..the Haueters, Dankenbrings, Peabodys, Wards, Imels, Williams and Milbrooks.. still live in the City of Grand Ledge today.

Another son, Earnest Haueter was born in 1884 and married Lena McCrumb. Earnest owned dairy farms in Oneida township on Hartel Road near Strange Hwy and also ran a milk route. His descendants.. the Haueters, Perrys and Gilletts still remain on the farms.

The youngest son, Ben Haueter was born in 1901 and was the first Haueter to graduate high school. He and his wife, Laura King lived in the white brick house across from the Football field on Jenne Street and were constant supporters of the local team.

06/24/07

In past columns I have mentioned the Halbert Family who lived on North Clinton Street. I noted that Halbert Street was named for the Family. I had a nice email from Janalynn Martens who is a descendant of the family.

Janalynn mentions that Halbert Street was actually named in honor of Harrison Halbert’s son Amos. Amos married Frances Tinkham however she died soon after giving birth to their only child, Harrison in 1883. Sadly young Harrison would drown in the river in 1894. Amos married a second time to Clara Smith. Together they had a son, Ralph Halbert, born in 1891. Ralph would later marry Gladys Niles. The Niles Family was among the first settlers of Eagle Township.

It also reminds me of a story about young Amos. In the early 1860s Harrison Halbert had the first “double buggy” in town. Harrison was in the process of clearing the woods along what is today Orchard Street. Amos was about 16 years old at the time. One Sunday a group of boys came to visit. Young Amos decided to take the boys for a ride in his father’s new buggy. Amos went to the barn to get the horses and hitched them to the new buggy. One of the boys with him accidentally startled the team and off they went! 

The horses were off running down the lane that was still full of tree stumps that had yet to be cleared. Amos and the boys ran out and stood on nearby stumps to watch the race. His father Harrison can running out and said “Amos that buddy will be ruined.” His son answered “Gosh father, the grey mare is ahead!” His father was right however, the buggy was wrecked.

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I have had some email questions about the origin of Oak Park. Here is what I have put together.  In the 1870’s this land was part of the Thomas Harris farm which ran from Emerson Street all the way to Tallman Road. In 1872 he platted Harris’s Addition from Emerson Street west to the where the rail line is today. This includes Ledge Street. The Harris brick farmhouse still stands today by the railroad crossing on West Main. The railroad cut across the farm in 1887 forming this pie-shaped parcel.

After Thomas and Anna Harris died, the park parcel passed from their estate in 1893 to Peter Blake, owner of the Opera House. Peter Blake operated a summer concession stand for boaters along the river bank; it is likely the parcel was purchased to give him access to the river. The rock formations at this point were long an attraction and destination for boaters wanting to explore the Ledges.

It is unclear when it passed to the City, but by 1930 it was listed on maps as Elm Park. It was also called Boy Scout Park as local scouts would camp there. By the 1950’s it seems to have become Oak Park.

06/17/07

Next week the Grand Ledge Area Historical Society will hold its fourth annual Garden Tour. A tour of these great gardens is always fun to see how creative people are and the care they put into their work.

It reminds me that even early in the City’s development the need for open space was recognized. When the original village was laid out and plotted in 1854, the founding fathers even included a public park. This was to be located near the corner of Adams and River streets. West Jefferson Street runs right through the middle of the park today.  It is doubtful this park was ever built, but the idea was a good one.

By 1870, and I am sure before, the locals were taking advantage of the River and Islands for public retreats. The wild islands offered many spots for quiet picnics to enjoy the natural beauty of Grand Ledge of which the settlers were justly proud.

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There have been a few greenhouses in Grand Ledge. Doty and Huggert Greenhouse opened, aptly enough, on Spring Street in 1913.  They used to advertise as “Flowers that Satisfy – It’s always springtime at our house”

Evergreen Gardens Nursery was another greenhouse. This was located on S. Clinton Street and was run by Dale C. Bills. Dale and Fern Bills later developed their 10 acres into housing. It is Cedar and Tulip Streets today.

Grand Ledge Green House was a third enterprise. It was located on S. Clinton Street at the corner of Saginaw Highway.

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Old Advertisement

SUN THEATURE – GRAND LEDGE MICHIGAN
Cooled to your comfort with MODINE cooling equipment.
ITS ALWAYS COOL IN THE SUN!
Admissions 15 cents to 25 cents

Plan to see at least one of these shows
Fri-Sat June 26-27 1936
Two Feature Pictures
Gene Autry in RED RIVER VALLEY
And
Warner Oland in CHARLIE CHAN AT THE CIRCUS

Sun-Mon June 28-29 1936
Warner Baxter in ROBINHOOD OF ELDORADO
It brings back the splendor of “covered wagon” days.
Added Attractions- comedy and colored cartoons

Coming July 1-2 1936
Al Jolson in THE SINGING KID

06/03/07

It was very common in the past  that old buildings were often moved to new locations and reused.

The original Lutheran Church on N Clinton was moved and is in residential use today. The “Old Grange Hall” was moved from the east end of town to be joined to the rear of the Opera House. It can still be seen today as the two-story attachment on the end of the building. The home and medical office of Dr Imthun stood where the drive though of the Old Michigan National Bank is today before it was moved down to the 600 block of East Jefferson. In 1961 the home of Leslie Peters, of Peters & Murray, was moved to provide a parking lot for the funeral home. It was located down a couple lots to what had been the garden, fountain and fish pond of the old Berry House, which was then owned by Bob and Marian Hamill. The old Davis Family barn was moved from between the family homes on Madison Street across the street and turned into a duplex.

Corner lots were always desirable. When D.D. Shane built his new home at the corner of Lincoln and Harrison he first had to move the gothic cottage to the side yard next door. This houses the Museum today. To construct the buildings that now house the Glass Shoppe by the Post Office and the Ice Cream Stand at Harrison and Jefferson, the homes that originally stood on those corners were moved into their backyards. If you notice today that the front porch of the Harrison Street home actually faces the back of the Ice Cream Stand. When the Spencer family wanted to build a new home at the corner of Jackson and Jefferson, they first moved their old home to a lot behind them on Scott Street. This home at 421 Scott was long the home of Mrs Simons.

I grew up across the street on Jackson and this block has seen several moves. My parents’ home occupies the previous location of a small home built in the 1870s. This was moved around the corner to 510 E. Jefferson Street and was for many years the home of the Dingler Family. The house built in the 1860s on the corner of Jackson and Jefferson was moved into the side yard at 504 E. Jefferson, next to the Dingler home. Mrs Margarite Bernard lived there many years. A new home was then built on the corner; this was later owned by the Merryfields and the Panteras.

It is also said that the Tabor Family who lived on the corner of Jackson and Scott had one wing of their home moved down Scott Street to become the home of their daughter. The Tabor’s large carriage house or barn was moved from the middle of the block to the lot next door and converted into a house at 317 Jackson. This was the home I grew up in that is now owned by my sister Patricia Williams. Even the old one-car garage that used to be next to the house was moved during the construction of the swimming pool about 1970 to a site off DeGroff Street behind the A&W to be used for storage.

05/27/07

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Old Advertisement

Halsted –North side Drug Store
Drugs-Millers Ice Cream-Films-Greeting Cards-Magazines-Sunday Papers
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Over three generations, the Halsted Family was long a part of the Northside community. Andrew Halsted was a New York native who settled in Grand Ledge in the 1890s. Together with his son A. O. Halsted he started the Halsted Drug Store on North Bridge in 1896.

The drug store occupied a few different locations but was best known at 205 N. Bridge next to Preston’s. The store sold confectionaries, ice cream, greeting cards, newspapers, cigars, as well as prescriptions. For a time the Halsted’s also sold china, fine jewelry and silver serving items. During WW II, when food was rationed and ice cream was not available, the Halsted’s sold sherbet instead.

After Andrew Halsted died in 1911, A. O. carried on the business. He also got involved in local politics and was elected City Mayor in 1913. A.O. passed away in 1937 and his two sons took over. Harley and E. O. Halsted operated the business together for several decades until the Drug Store finally closed in 1965 after 69 years serving the Northside.

For many decades A. O and later his son E. O. occupied the house at 102 E. Front Street. This house at the corner of Front and Bridge was built in the 1860s by John Burtch. The Halsted House occupied a prominent position in the downtown and from its long wrap-around porch the family watched many important events as they took place in the town.

When the State determined to replace the bridge downtown in 1991 a temporary bridge was built that ran from behind the Opera House to the corner of E. Front and Bridge. Sadly this caused the removal of the historic Burtch-Halsted home which had occupied the corner since the 1860’s. 

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Old Advertisement

A. O. Halsted
You are cordially invited to inspect our line of Diamonds, Watches and Jewelry.
As well as our fine assortment of Silver Plate.  Featuring Humphreys Witch Hazel Oil cure all.
Yellow Store Front, 217 N. Bridge

05/20/07

Early local historians described the different type of pioneering homes. The easiest to build were the shanties. Smaller limbs or saplings were used, sizes that could be handled by one man. These were stacked simply one on top of the other forming crib or pen-like boxes. These were topped with brush or bark to keep the weather out. Some more permanent shanties were built of thicker poles and had one wall taller then the rest. The roof, forming a slope when applied, would then easily shed off water and snow.  The roofs were often made using logs that were split in two and hollowed out. They were set in rows with the hollow side up to catch the rain, and then to cover the joints between them, more logs were placed over each joint with the hollow side down.

Log cabins required more work and more hands. Timber was everywhere and many of the old trees were so tall that the first branches didn’t start until 50-60 feet above the ground. These produced long timbers for building. The crudest type of cabin used logs still in their bark. They were notched at the ends and stacked together. Empty space in between was filled with mud. Openings were cut in for fireplaces, windows and doors. Fireplaces were made of stacked stone and mud. Chimneys were made of sticks plastered over inside and out with mud. Roofs were made of shingles hewn from the logs. The next cabin type, and most common, used logs that had their bark removed. The inner side of each log would then be sawn flat. This produced rooms with flat interior walls and rounded logs outside. Over the years, these walls could be painted, plastered or papered without anyone knowing they were built of logs. The best type of log home was rare and required more time and skill. The logs were sawn into square beams and held together with dovetail joints at the corners. These were called “block homes”. The Eagle Hotel in Charlotte was of this type.

Cabins were one and a half stories tall. The loft being made of split logs or boards. The roof would extend out over a porch or “stoop” on one end. At first all cooking was done in the open fireplace. Pots were hung over the hot coals and tin boxes or “ovens” were placed in the fire for roasting and baking. When cook stoves came to Eaton County about 1850, settlers often put these out on the stoop, which was then enclosed to form a kitchen. There was no glass for windows, so greased paper or cloth was often stretched over the openings. Floors could be made from boards, but were just as often dirt.

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05/13/07

It was long the tradition of the senior class to create a Class Will. Each student would write down a trait or object they would wish to give to some other person. The class of 1948 also included prophecies of their future.. here are some of them:

Mike Armstrong: Will- his athletic ability to LaVern Baker, Prophecy- proprietor of the biggest pool hall in the world.
Lorraine Baker: Will- her cheer leading ability to Bill Kane, Prophecy- a career.
Richard Barclay: Will- his speed to Ron Cypher, Prophecy- average American farmer.
Marianne Hayes: Will- her sweet ways to Donna Peiffer, Prophecy- housewife to some lucky guy
Ellen Health: Will- her intrepidness to Cookie Hershoren, Prophecy- second Mrs Butterfield
Ines Hewson: Will- her filing ability to Lois Wilcox, Prophecy- missionary to China
Carl Holbrook: Will- his center position on the McLean team to Dick Dible, Prophecy- water boy at Notre Dame
Flora Mae Mills: Will- her position at Mac’s to Beverly Hershoren, Prophecy- farmers wife
Phil Sweet: Will- his whistling ability back to the birds, Prophecy- a second Arthur Godfrey
Stanley Robinson: Will- his ability to get “A’s” to Ralph Merritt, Prophecy- dairy farmer
Phylis Parsons: Will- her shy ways to Mary Kay Havens, Prophecy- American delegate to Spain
Richard Pearl: Will- his physique to Bill Starkweather, Prophecy- a real estate agents right hand man
Jeanne Wickman: Will- her typing ability to Ed Russell, Prophecy- secretary to Stuart Doty
Dorothy Tyler: Will- her patience and understanding to Beverly Hershoren, Prophecy- instructor at Lansing Business University
Melvin Tiedt: Will- his slim figure to Norman Smith, Prophecy- chief mechanic at Torrey’s
Pat Schraw: Will- her giggle to Donna Boyd, Prophecy- soprano at the Metropolitan
Norma Pearl: Will- paint brush to Wayne Rice, Prophecy- second Michael Angelo
Helen Fortino: Will- her beautiful black hair to Gloria Carter, Prophecy- partner in Fortino’s Confectionary
Dan Catey: Will- his egotistical manner to Norman Smith, Prophecy- professor of vital statistics at Oxford University
Ted Durst: Will- his possession of Grand Ledge High School to Mr. Beagle, Prophecy- soap box orator in Comb County, Kentucky
Keith Lawrence: Will- his studious habits to George Ganger, Prophecy- a second Jimmy Dorsey
Jonny Nott: Will- her perfected baby talk to Don Plunkett, Prophecy- authoress of a world famous book on hair styles
Kenneth Pratt: Will- his position as an aggressive tackle to Clifford Arnold, Prophecy- a farmer who will set a record yield per acre.

* * * *
Compliments and Best Wishes to the Class of 1948:
Burt Lumber and Fuel Co, Comet Dairy Bar, Halsted Drug Store, Sun Theatre, Furniss Drug Store, Island City Cleaners, Congdon Bakery, Maurer Dairy, Huhn Chevrolet Sales,
Rudy’s, Fortino’s Confectionary, Willis Brothers Market, Grand Ledge Milk Co., Grand Ledge Coal and Ice, Harry O. Culp, Welch Sales and Service, Ferndale Dairy

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05/06/07

By the time the Twentieth Century arrived, Grand Ledge had grown and a larger bridge was needed. The Iron Bridge had served the community for 40 years when a new bridge was constructed in 1910 under the supervision of local builder Elmer Edwards. The Cement Arched Bridge was supported by three large graceful arches and was built at a cost of $50,000. This bridge was wider then those in the past with two lanes in each direction.

During the construction, a low temporary wooden bridge was erected on about two dozen wooden piers. It ran from what is the parking lot of Fitzgerald Field today across up to Front Street, behind the ice cream stand. Once this was in place the Iron Bridge was destroyed and construction began. The new bridge was taller and longer; at 800 feet it was over twice as long as the Iron Bridge. This allowed it to be constructed right over the hills at both ends and come up to the level of Bridge Street itself. This did cause some problems however. Buildings that had been built next to the old bridge (where Fitzgerald Field is today) were now too short and an additional story had to be added to bring them back up to street level. It also caused Water Street that had run from the north end of the Iron Bridge along the river to be closed as it could no longer be reached from the new, taller bridge.

Built like a series of concrete boxes or cells, The Cement Arched Bridge was filled with compacted dirt. Indeed at first the roadbed remained dirt until it was paved with brick a few years later. It was perhaps this dirt that was the Bridge’s downfall. Over many years, as cracks appeared in the cement, the dirt slowly washed into the river, leaving large open voids inside the bridge. Many will remember the way the roadway of the bridge was bumpy, rolling, and tilting in several directions. It was like driving on a roller coaster, especially traveling from the Northside to the South. All caused by the slow sinking of the roadbed. 

The State finally determined to replace the bridge and many will remember the long discussions in our community on the best options. The call for a second bridge was loud, but in the end the State followed the same method used in 1910 and built a temporary bridge. As most recall this ran from behind the Opera House to the corner of E. Front and Bridge. Sadly this caused the removal of the old Consumers Power Building which was actually built into the side of the old bridge, as well as the historic Burtch-Halsted home which had occupied the corner since the 1860’s.  But by 1991 we had our fine new (and level) Bridge.

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Old Advertisement

No matter how dainity the repast you prepare, it must be served on the whitest of linens.
Have your linen work done at The City Steam Laundry. Davis & Pruden, proprs.

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04/29/07

It has been said that a bridge is a lifeline for any community bisected by a river. This has always been true for Grand Ledge. The earliest known photograph of Grand Ledge in 1861 is of the Bridge, showing what an important part of the settlement it was.

Edmund Lampson arrived here in 1847 but the only way to the Northside was by boat for several years. Pioneer stories tell of the “Old Ford” somewhere west of Grand Ledge between Tallman Road and the Ionia county line where you could walk or drive a wagon across the river. Our present bridge occupies the same site as all our previous bridges. Natural slopes on both sides of the river, leading down to a flat plan made this the only practical place to construct a bridge at the time. As we see even today, they would have had to go miles in either direction along the river to find another low flat spot for a bridge.

In 1853 the first wooden bridge was constructed downtown. The bridge was a “double bridge.” It was actually two bridges built side by side with traffic going north on one and south on the other. It was built on wooden piers just above the water and was much shorter then our bridge today, as it only ran from one edge of the river to the other. Being so close to the water it was often destroyed by floods or ice flows, only to be rebuilt again. The bridge was also very narrow, allowing for only walking of pedestrians and livestock, it is doubtful wagons could cross. Another problem of these early bridges was the terrain. To get down to the bridge you had to go down a steep hill on the Southside and once across you faced an even steeper hill on the North.

In 1870 the village raised $9,800 and hired the Cleveland Bridge Company to construct a new bridge. The new Iron Bridge had an iron frame and wooden plank roadbed. It rested on a single pier in the river. It was wider allowing for wagon and buggy traffic and was often called the “Wagon Bridge”.  To address the terrain problems, they raised the bridge up several feet above the river surface and made the bridge longer, about 300 feet in all, to reach father up the hills on both sides of the river. While this improved the situation, it was often said that teams of horses would have to rest once they reached the Northside before attempting to climb the hill to Front Street. Complaints still came in that the bridge was still narrow, allowing for only one vehicle to pass at a time. Also the wooden roadbed made for a noisy crossing. In spite of this the bridge remained in place for 40 years.

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Old Advertisement

For Health, Comfort and Style, you should wear a corset with coil wire stay. $2.50 & up.
For sale by Mrs E. W. Mason, Bell Phone #200

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04/22/07

I have received a lot of nice feedback since writing this column. The most feedback came after my story about Esther Haueter, The Candy Lady. Several people emailed me telling me they knew her and how much they enjoyed visiting the candy counter. They also wrote telling me I had omitted their favorite candies from my list. It seems spice drops, sea form, circus peanuts, chocolate covered raisins, and giant sweet tarts were all very popular.

In my article I gave an example of buying 25 cents worth of candy. Jane Huhn says that as a child she only was allowed to spend a dime for candy. So she always got candy corn because you got the most pieces for your money. She also told me a story a few years ago. Her father, Leo Huhn lived on West Jefferson but also owned a farm on Tallman Road, across the street from the Haueter Farm. This is across the road from the Brick Park today. They had a garden where they grew peanuts. They would take the fresh peanuts down to the Dime Store. Esther would put them through the peanut roaster at the store; giving them freshly roasted peanuts whenever they wanted.

Bette Chapman remembers working at the Dime Store as a teenager. She had to help with inventory mostly and worked often with Leo Marczynski, the manager

John Beedle wrote to tell me his father and uncle owned Beedle Brothers Dime Store, which was one of nine stores they owned in mid-Michigan. He says that after the Haueter sisters went to work for D & C, his father brought Harold Grazler to town from Vasser, MI to manage the Grand Ledge store. In years to come, Harold’s son Larry Grazler would operate the Quality Body Shop on the northside.

John Beedle himself owned and operated Fortino’s City Food & Beverage store from 1969 to 1990. This is on Bridge Street just a few doors down from his dad’s old store. John tells me Harold Grazler would come in and reminisce about his dad. John tells a great story about Harold. “one day just a couple of years before Harold passed away he came into the store and gave me a check for $35.00, explaining that he had asked my Dad for a one week advance on his pay check so he could put a down payment on a house.  Dad said he would take a little out of his weekly check and until it was paid back, but Dad never did. It had bothered him for years.”

It would be hard to find an employer who would do that today, or an employee who would let it bother them until they paid it back years later! (Not to mention a house down payment of $35)

I have had more notes from readers that I will share with you in coming weeks.

04/15/07

Reverend B.S. Pratt was a well known citizen in the Grand Ledge community near the end of the nineteenth century. Given a literary name, Byron Shakespeare Pratt was born in Massachusetts about 1837. A Methodist Minister, he and his wife Eliza came to Michigan while still in their twenties. They settled in Vermontville by the 1870’s and had four children. Deciding to move to Grand Ledge, B.S. Pratt purchased a lot at the corner of Lincoln and Harrison Streets. In 1880 he constructed a small gothic cottage for his family. The home he built in 1880 on Lincoln Street houses the Grand Ledge Museum today.
In 1884 Rev. Pratt decided to go into business and he purchased the books and stationary stock of the local postmaster, Jonathan S. Holmes. Joining him in this new business was his son George. The Independent noted time that “Mr. George B. Pratt, the junior member of the firm, is a graduate of the Detroit Optical Institute, one of the best of its kind in the United States.  He has made the eye a special study, and is eminently fitted to examine and attend to the defects of this most delicate of human organs.” 
Over the next few years the pair prospered. Pratt & Son carried jewelry, silverware, crockery, glassware, books, stationery, and wallpaper.  Rev. B.S. Pratt sold his home on Lincoln Street to D.D. Shane and bought the home of B.T Esler at the corner of Scott and Jackson Streets. The purchase included several vacant lots along Scott Street.  In 1894 he sold a lot on the corner of Scott and Liberty to his son. Working also as the City Clerk at this time, George built a home for his new bride Carrie Lapham. Of the marriage the Independent noted: “The groom is one of our youngest businessmen, and at the same time one of the best and most enterprising.  Mr. and Mrs. Pratt will return to their home in Grand Ledge on Tuesday next and will be given a reception at the home of the groom’s parents, Rev. and Mrs. B.S. Pratt that evening.  George’s hosts of friends in Grand Ledge wish him and his a full complement of the joys and successes of married life”. The Pratt family left the area around the turn of the century and settled in California and the West Coast.

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Old Advertisement

When you are looking for GOOD ICE CREAM don’t forget to call at the
Majestic Ice Cream Parlors for there is where you will find it.
Give us your order for ice cream for parties and weddings.
MAJESTIC CAFE

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04/02/07

For over a century, and under several names, the Grand Ledge Hotel operated here. In 1859 Edmund Russell, a native of Orleans County, N.Y., built the two-story Grand Ledge Hotel at the corner of Jefferson and Bridge Streets where the National City Bank is today at 301 S. Bridge. One of his brothers, William, had opened the first hotel in the hamlet “The Orleans House”. Edmund Russell was a carpenter and merchant and operated the first hotel livery in town. The hotel was likely operated by W.O. Campbell, who was a brother to Edmund’s sister-in-law Sophronia Russell. W.O. would later operate another hotel and restaurant called the Railroad House by the train depot. The Grand Ledge Hotel was purchased by Andrew Verplanck around 1870.

A few years later J.C. Tinkham, local farmer and businessman (and cousin to W.O. Campbell), purchased it from Andrew Verplanck and renamed it The Grand Ledge House. J.C.’s son William bought the hotel about 1880. Within a few years William removed the wooden building and built a three-story brick hotel on the corner called The Tinkham Hotel. He probably also built the several storefronts adjacent along Bridge Street which offered rooms for rent above the stores. After Grand Ledge had been incorporated as a City in 1893, it was announced that William had changed the name of his establishment to the more fashionable and modern Hotel Tinkham.  The corner building was for many years the home of the Puff Cigar Store.

Around 1900 J.H. Louks became the proprietor of the renamed Grand Ledge House. About 1915 George Decke came from Charlotte to purchase the hotel. George continued to run the hotel on the corner until the Depression years. In 1933 he moved the hotel, now again called The Grand Ledge Hotel, to a house around the corner at 316 Taylor. Just three years later both George and his wife died. Their daughter Lenora Fritz took over the hotel. Joseph, her husband, operated the Fritz Market downtown. The Fritz’s purchased the house next door on the corner of Taylor and Scott for added rental space. They also built small rental cabins behind both homes. The Fritz family continued the hotel until Lenora died in 1981.

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Old Advertisement

Grand Ledge House. J.H. Louks, prop. $2 a day. Chicken Dinner on Sundays.

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Old Advertisement
THE PLACE TO BUY-cigars, cigarettes, tobacco, pipes, pouchet, candy
-Everything a smoker may wish is at the PUFF CIGAR STORE.
A.B Hixon, prop. “Everything first class”

03/25/07

For 8-year-old Loa Lampson going to school in the autumn of 1851 was a not an easy endeavor. She lived in a double log cabin called “the Siamese Twins” which her father Edmund had built three years earlier near what would become West Jefferson Street. Loa and her brother Romulus, age 11, would have to follow an old Indian trail along the river-- the only path through the woods. This would lead them, along what is today River Street, to a flat plain on the south river bank. Here they would find a beehive of activity in the middle of the forest. A dam had been built across the river with a saw mill on the southern end. Without a bridge, the children had to carefully walk along the top of the stone dam to reach the north bank. During the winter they would be able to cross on the frozen river, while in the spring, they would have to be ferried across during the spring floods.

Once they reached the north bank, they would have to climb up a steep gully beside a small wandering creek. At the top (what is now the corner of Bridge and Front Streets) they would follow another footpath through the woods until they reached another clearing. In the center sat the newly painted Red School (near greenwood school today) which had just been built that spring. It had one room and six benches for the students. Miss Mary Ann Sanders was their teacher.

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Old Advertisement:
Shaw dairy bar & recreation –lunches and soft drinks- cigars and cigarettes – shuffleboard and billiards. Open 24 hours, except Sunday mornings
Next to Fitzgerald Field, at the Bridge.

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Grand Ledge of 1910 was a city of many towers and spires. Both city schools, one on each side of the river, featured three story bell towers to call students. The original Methodist Church on Scott Street featured a great tall spire with a bell and clock.  The Congregationalist also built a bell tower for their church on Front Street.  A new furniture factory had a tall eight story tower.  The fire station’s bell was in a tall tower on the roof of the building downtown. Many homes in the city, especially along Jefferson Street had Italianate cupolas topping their roofs or Queen Anne towers reaching high into the sky.

03/18/07

Do you remember the Candy Lady? The D & C Store’s candy counter was a frequent stop for kids and their parents for decades and one face was always there to serve them. If you said you saw the “Candy Lady”, everyone in town would know you meant Esther Haueter. She was hired in 1944 at the age of twenty-one. She and her sister Ethel Peabody had worked together at Beedle Brothers, another dime store down the street at 308 S. Bridge, where Ethel was the manager. Both sisters left that store and went to work for D & C, but Ethel would soon leave to become an upholsterer at the Chair Co. 

Esther remained working at the candy counter where most of the candy sold was in bulk. Customers would come to the glass counter and look over the wide selection. They sold wonderful candy like: chocolate stars, chocolate chunks, chocolate bridge mix, chocolate party mix, chocolate covered peanuts, jelly beans, sweet tarts, roasted peanuts, robins eggs, butterscotch and many more.  When customers decided on what they wanted, the Candy Lady would scoop out the candy, and then very carefully drop the candy piece by piece into a scale. If you wanted 25 cents worth of chocolate stars, she would weight them out perfectly until it reached 25 cents worth. Your candy would go into a small wax paper bag and you would take it up to cashier to pay.

Employees at the Dime Store got a discount; she would buy yarn and crochet baby blankets and afghans for family, friends and VFW veterans. She worked Saturdays but had Tuesdays off. As kids we always knew we could count on her on Tuesdays to take us to appointments or drive us to Lansing. Esther remained with D & C until she turned 65 years old. She retired after 44 years of service as the town’s Candy Lady. At the time of her retirement, the State Legislature in Lansing passed a resolution honoring her for her years of service.

Esther Haueter, my great-aunt, was born just north of Grand Ledge on State Road in Eagle Township. When she was thirteen, her father Fred bought a farm on Tallman Road at the end of West Main Street. She would continue to live there for the next fifty years. She passed away in 2004 and would have been 84 years old this year on March 16th. 

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Old Advertisement:

THE DIME STORE OF GRAND LEDGE
Candy, Notions, Toys, Toilet Goods, Kitchenware, Dry Goods, Men’s Work Clothes, Shoes, Lunch Counter. 5c to $5.00 – D & C STORES – On the Corner. Call phone 54J

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03/11/07

General Stores, which sold about everything you could ask for, were the first type of stores to open in any new settlement. This tradition of offering a wide variety of goods in one store continued on later in the Dime Stores. Much like our Dollar Stores of today, Five and Dime Stores, or just Dime Stores offered household goods at reasonable prices.
There have been several such stores in Grand Ledge: Beadle Brothers, Lines (or Lyons), and Harrods. But when people talk about The Dime Store they mean only one- The D & C Variety Store.

The D & C opened in 1942 at 228 S. Bridge. The small corner store had been the home to previous 5 & 10cents stores. It had a basement open for shopping that included a soda fountain. The fountain was later moved upstairs and the basement used for toys. By 1950 the small store expanded into the store next door at 226 S. Bridge. The Dime Store was like our local department store. It offered clothing, household goods, school supplies, candy, craft supplies, hardware, etc. They sold so many things, that in the 1960s the store expanded again into 224 S. Bridge.

Once they had expanded in the 60s, they occupied the entire building. The building had previously been three separate stores. It was built in the late 1880s and was known as the Granger Block. They removed the walls between the stores and also the stairway that led upstairs. The second story had been divided into apartments and offices. It was used for many years as offices for physicians, real estate, live stock dealers and many others.
The basement was converted to storage.  The store was part of a chain around Michigan and flourished until the late 1980s. The D & C chain finally closed all its stores around 1990. Today MacDowells is located in the former Dime Store.

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03/04/07

The second settler in Oneida Township was Samuel Preston. In 1835 he located in Lenawee County. In the fall of 1836 he paid Stephen Perkins twelve dollars to locate and purchase 160 acres of land for him in the Grand River Valley. Early in January 1837, Samuel left to visit his new purchase. Once reaching Chester Township, he stopped overnight with Robert Wheaton. At that time only nine families had settled on the route between Jackson and Mr. Wheaton, a distance of forty-five miles. The next day the two men went on to Preston’s land, which was covered with a thick growth of "gigantic trees."

The next day Samuel Preston returned to Lenawee County. Shortly thereafter on February 2nd, he set out with his family and two ox-teams, including all his household effects, for their future home in Oneida. They followed paths previous settlers had cut through the forests. After three days they arrived in Chester Township at Asa Fuller's near Mr. Wheaton's. Aided by the two men, Preston began cutting a new roadway for his oxen through the wilderness to reach his new land. Mr. Preston would later write:
"Night coming on we clustered ourselves into a cave dug in the snow, after
giving our ox-team a supper of tree-tops. Here, in the depths of a snow-bank,
surrounded by almost interminable forest, we cooked, ate, and finally retired to
our beds. About ten o'clock of the second day from Mr. Fuller's we reached the site we were in quest of, and, after clearing away the deep snow, some logs, and underbrush, commenced the work of building a log cabin”

Cabin building was a new experience for Preston, but with the help of his new neighbors they built a fourteen-by-eighteen foot cabin; only the second one constructed in Oneida. Preston writes:
“After this feat, of course, we had the honor of its first occupation over-night. Some time during this eventful night it commenced snowing, and before two o'clock the following day we had an addition of another foot of snow. Judging it to be a matter of prudence to seek some safer asylum, and depositing our implements in the newly-made cabin, we commenced our retreat. Mr. Fuller's home was a full seven miles distant, and it was still snowing. When within about two miles of his place the snow rose so high over our floundering sled that we were compelled to abandon it altogether, and trust to our weary legs for the remainder of the way, arriving about nightfall at the house of my kind friend, Mr. Fuller”

As of yet the cabin was still in need of floors, doors, windows and a chimney. But once, after several days, the snow had settled, Fuller and Wheaton assisted Preston in moving his family into the unfinished shelter. As Preston wrote: “In this unfinished condition we all went into it-self, wife, and a brace of little ones-on the 4th day of March, 1837”

* * * * *

02/18/07

The north side owes much to Harrison Halbert. A native of Genesee County, New York, Halbert first settled in Kent County in the 1850s before moving with his family to Grand Ledge in 1862. Another relative, Henry Halbert was already farming in the township.  Harrison Halbert was a wealthy farmer who owned all the land along N. Clinton Street from the railroad tracks south to the river—more then 160 acres. When the railroad come to town in 1869 Halbert donated the land for the new depot at the corner of Clinton and Union Streets.  In 1875 Halbert developed the northern part of his farm into Halbert’s Addition. Orchard Street ran through the old family orchard.  Halbert Street, named for the family, was developed later.

* * * * *
Old Advertisement:
Randolph Dry Cleaning –Our dry cleaning keeps new things new. Reasonable prices plus quality work. –“Everything Back ‘Cept the Dirt”.
North Street  call phone #291

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The first burials were said to have been on Front Street, near where the water tower stands today. This is the highest point and it was generally thought the burial ground would be located there. But in 1855 the Grand Ledge Burying Ground Association purchased a small wooded lot from William and Ruth Simmons.  In April 1879 the cemetery was sold to the Village. Sometime after that the cemetery was named Oakwood. More land was purchased from Harrison and Harriet Halbert making the cemetery almost 20 acres today.

In 1896 the local Earl Halbert G.A.R. post #108 dedicated a soldier’s monument. Earl Halbert, the son of Henry, was a Private in the Union Army and killed at Petersburg, VA in 1864. The stone monument features an 1864 Civil War cannon and says “On flames eternal camping ground – In memory of our soldiers and marines 1861-1865”

The Mausoleum was built in 1922 for $25,000. Interestingly the date above the door was marked as 1921 in error.  The Pine Grove Memorial at the Morley Street entrance was dedicated on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941 as a memorial to the Doxsie Family.  1975 saw the dedication of an Eternal Flame in the memory of Roy Cole, Cliffard Briggs and President Kennedy. The local American Legion Post #48 is also named for Cole and Briggs. When Governor Fitzgerald was picking his own monument, he wanted one like “old Doc Wilson”. Both men have tall obelisks for headstones.  Leonard Lewis and John Haueter were both sextons during the 1950s-1970s and are both buried here.

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02/11/07

Railroads provided a boom to any area they passed through. The settlers of EagleTownship knew this and their opportunity came about 1870. The Ionia and Lansing Railroad was planning its route across ClintonCounty at the time. George McCrumb, Township Supervisor, called together meetings of prominent citizens to discuss the merits of the railway. It was during one of these meetings that the people of the Township passed a resolution to offer to reimburse the Railroad for expenses of laying the lines in Eagle. Bonds totaling $9,500 with 10% interest were approved, to be paid out in four equal payments.

* * * * *
When the railroad came to Grand Ledge in 1869 it cut across the farm of Isaac Rogers on N. Clinton Street. Two years later he developed his land south of the tracks to form Rogers Addition to the village. This includes Union and Booth Streets.

Levi Mitchell owned the farm across the street from Rogers.  He sold off lots in the land just north of the new tracks. This development had no official name and even the streets remained unnamed for years. In directories of the time residents were simply said to live “by the railroad” until about 1880 when the streets were finally christened as McMillan and Wright. The grand Italianate homes of Rogers and Mitchell still stand today on North Clinton Street.

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In 1887 the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western Railroad was building the trestle and laying the line to Grand Rapids on the south bank. George Loveless, our pioneering potter owned land along Gulf Street. He had allowed the railroad graders to work on his property but no agreement had yet been reached for the right of way. When the workmen were nearing the new trestle, they reached the Loveless property. They found the way blocked by a pile of railroad ties and George Loveless sitting on top with a shotgun. He threatened any that crossed onto his property. The Railroad soon settled payment to him. He was at the time 80 years old.

02/04/07

Grand Ledge is blessed with rich natural deposits of high quality clay and shale perfect for making baked clay items. Natural outcroppings along the river have made the minerals available for thousands of years. Firing the local clays produces fine quality products infused with attractive natural iron spotting.  Native Americans were the first to recognize the value of the clay and shale deposits that are so abundant in the area. Early settlers reported finding the remains of “ash kilns” left behind by the Native American potters. Such kilns were reported near the corner of what is today River and Harrison Streets, near the corner of West Main and Tallman Road, and near Fitzgerald Park.

Word of the natural resources in the area reached Northern Ohio. The Loveless family were potters near the Warren, OH area. One son, George, left the family business and came to Grand Ledge about 1857 with his family. He bought 12 acres near where the corner of West Jefferson and Gulf Streets is today. The Loveless Pottery was soon in operation. It was the first such pottery in the State; the second opened near Grand Rapids a couple years later. His son George B. Loveless peddled the practical items they made: jugs, crocks, churns, etc. In Oct 1861 George, in spite of being 59 years old, left the pottery to enlist in the Union Army. He returned to Grand Ledge after his discharge in June 1862.

The Harrington Family opened another pottery here about 1862. They owned 10 acres in what is Fitzgerald Park today, down near the water treatment plant. They made the same type of goods as the Loveless Pottery. J.C. Tinkham operated the Tinkham Brickyard here in the late 1860s. Located on his north side farm where Burt Avenue is today, little is known about the enterprise. J.C.’s cousin Justice Campbell was a brick maker at the time and likely ran the business. These potteries mined some of their clay from a quarry on East Jefferson. It can be seen today as the large gully in the 600 block, between Franklin Street and Willow Hwy. By the 1920s local historians were collecting the wares of these early potters as treasures of the pioneering era.

01/28/07

The first permanent settler of the village of Grand Ledge was Edmund Lampson. In 1823 at the age of 21, young Edmund left his native Poultry, Vermont and drove an ox team west to Buffalo, NY. He traveled by boat to Detroit and then walked on to Pontiac. While living in Oakland County he married Amy Hedges in 1827; together they would have twelve children. In October of 1848 they all braved the wilderness, trekking through untamed forest and swamps to settle in Oneida Township. Lampson owned over 160 acres of what is now Grand Ledge along West Jefferson, Jenne and Lincoln Streets.   Henry Trench had already settled here but he move on again in the 1860s. The Russells were also already here, but they had settled farther west in Oneida Township.

Near what is today West Jefferson, Lampson built his double wide log cabin. He called it the “Siamese Twins” as it looked like two cabins joined together side by side. He replaced this cabin with his second home in the 400 block of West Jefferson. In 1862 his wife died and he later married Diantha Hubbard of N.Y. His growing family needed more space, so across the street from his second home he constructed his third home at the corner of West Jefferson and Spring Streets. This home was built next to a spring-fed pond and is how the street got its name. The pond has been filled in, but the home still remains today.

“Edmund Lampson, Esquire” was Justice of the Peace from 1853 to 1861 and married many couples during this time. He would be called “Squire Lampson” for the rest of his days. He was trained in Vermont as a chair maker and his grandfather Silas Howe operated a saw mill there.  Edmund run his own saw mill while he lived in Oakland County. He put his talents to work in Grand Ledge where he operated a steam saw mill along the river in the 300 block of West Jefferson.

Lampson’s Addition was added to the Village in 1867. This included all the land between Lincoln and Jenne Streets, including Lampson and South Streets. He was elected the first Village President in 1871. He donated land for the construction of both the Methodist and the Baptists Church on Scott Street. Both Edmund and his wife died in 1889. This was during a boom time in Grand Ledge and his daughter Elizabeth Krupp and her siblings developed his land into Green, Maple, and Spring Streets. They also sold all the land along the river from Adams Street to Willard Court around this time.

Squire Lampson was always held in the highest regard as was noted in 1880: “He has been for several years notary public; has given largely to the support of the churches and schools, in which he takes great interest, and is very highly esteemed in the village, of which he is justly termed the father, and for which he has labored with all his energy and ability, no one accomplishing more in bringing about its present prosperity.”

01/21/07

The NTC was formed in November of 1924 by a group of Grand Ledge High School boys. The first organization of it’s kind in the State, the No Tobacco Club was for boys under the age of 21 who took the following pledge : “Knowing that the use of cigarettes and all other forms of tobacco are injurious to the body and mind, I will, God helping me, abstain from them until the age of 21 and use my influence to induce others to do likewise”. The purpose of the club was to “raise the physical, mental, moral and social standards of the men of this High School”. The club’s first president was Elbert Kelsey with Vice-President Lyle Bouck, Secretary Wilford Catey, and Treasurer Gordan Schilz.  By 1926 only 12 boys had broken the pledge.

* * * * *
Old Advertisement
Knickerbocker Hardware-Build Satisfaction into your Home!-This can only be done by using materials which will continue to give service. For instance, our plumbing with every care to life-long service with a minimum of attention. We recommend the Ruby Warm Air Furnaces-American Radiator Co.-Steam and hot water system-Kelvinator Electric Refrigerators- It’s a good way if it is done the Knickerbocker’s way.
Bridge Street.

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Sawdon School was built in 1929 as the High School. At the time it held 301 students. The brick is called “Old Rose Mission” and was one of the most popular brick styles made by the Grand Ledge Face Brick Company. After the present High School was built on Kent Street in 1959, the old building on Lampson Street was renamed in honor of long time superintendent Jonas Sawdon. In 1953 West Elementary School was built on Jones Street. This was later renamed for long time school board president Carl T. Holbrook. In his will Clarence W. Neff left the district $160,000 which was used to build Neff Elementary in 1954. 1967 saw the completion of a new school complex on Nixon Road. Built with both a Middle School and an Elementary School, Hayes School was named in honor of long time school board member Leon Hayes.  Beagle Middle School was built in 1975 and named for Kenneth Beagle, another long time superintendent, who had retired in 1974.

01/14/07

With the passing of President Ford, I am reminded that when he was up for reelection in November 1976 I was attending Neff School. We held a mock election that year and as I recall, Jerry Ford won over Jimmy Carter in our election.

A couple weeks ago I talked about the history of the Lutheran Church. Pastor McKenzie emailed me with interesting news. The old Church built in 1872 was not torn down in 1950 when the new building was built. The old Church was moved to Elm Street where is remains today in residential use.  I discussed how Torrey Street was later extended from Main Street on to Clinton Street. This only happened on paper. It is interesting that until 1950 all maps show Torrey Street as one block long, but after that it appears two blocks long, even today our modern maps make this error.

* * * * *
Old Advertisement
Butch & Hanks’s Other Side. Bar-Restaurant
North Bridge Street

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When oil was found in Pennsylvania in 1859, it was thought that oil could be drilled for anywhere and it would flow like water. The following year local businessmen attempted to drill for oil in Grand Ledge. No oil was found, however they did find plenty of a smelly mineral water filled with iron, sulfur and other elements. Mineral water was very popular at the time and was felt to be a curative for all manner of illness. Much like we bath in Epsom Salt today, Mineral Baths were used to ease joint pain, muscle strain and skin rashes. Eaton Rapids also had Mineral Baths as well as other cities in the State where baths could be had for 50 cents each.

Dr Alexander R. Ball, a homoeopathic physician, opened a large bath house near the eastern end of Jefferson Street. The well, some 150 feet in depth, was owned by George Cheney, a cheese maker and dairy farmer. C.W. Ingalls of Ionia operated the Mineral Spring Bath House downtown near the site of the Barn Tavern today. Charles Warren drilled his well 196 feet and opened his three-story Mineral House hotel and bath house at the corner of Bridge and Front Streets where Lick-ity Split is today. Finally a fourth well was drilled on First Island. In 1880 it was noted “There is a fine mineral spring on one of the islands, said to possess curative properties of a high order, and invalids looking for a place to spend the hot months will find the Seven Islands offer superior inducements."

01/07/07

With City Hall needing more space, it is interesting to look back at the past city offices. Grand Ledge’s village charter was granted in 1871. Early Village Halls were housed in second floor offices along Bridge Street.  These early frame buildings were prone to fire and early records were lost in these disasters. A permanent fireproof building was desired, so in 1885 Firemen’s Hall was built of brick at the corner of River and Bridge Streets. This corner had been home to an earlier wooden fire house. Firemen’s Hall houses Ledge Craft Lane today. The front of the building housed the fire wagon while the village offices and Constable were in the back off River Street. The City was chartered in 1893 and three years later a new power house and water station was built on River Street where the Masonic Temple is today. Over the years this building housed several city offices. In 1932 City Hall was rearranged with the fire department moving to the back on River Street and City Offices moving to the front along Bridge Street. In 1948 the old power house burned and all contents were lost. In 1952 the new fire barn was built on N. Clinton Street and City Hall expanded into the vacated space.

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Old Advertisement
West End Grocery. Good Meats-Fresh Vegetables-Frozen Foods-Beer & Wine to take out
-Free Parking-
700 West Jefferson phone NA7-2261

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George N Berry, a prominent businessman and banker built his home at the corner of Jefferson and Taylor in 1867.  As a banker he prospered and in 1888 he added a front hall featuring a large three-story Queen Anne tower. In 1930 St. Michael’s Catholic Church purchased the home and used it for their church for ten years. In 1940 the old house was demolished and a new church was built on the corner. Brick from the Grand Ledge Face Brick Co. was used to match the library and post office.
In 1970 the church building was converted into the current City Hall. The City added metal siding to the all brick church and remodeled the front entrance. Parts of the tall windows were covered over including a large rose window that faced Jefferson Street. If you look inside the City Hall today, you can still see the church vestibule and alter paneling behind the City Council’s dais that remind us of this building’s former life.

12/31/06

For the first two decades of the settlement, Grand Ledge was an isolated hamlet set in the middle of a dense forest. Lansing could only be reached by river or Indian trails. This all changed in September of 1869 when the Detroit and Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad (DL & LMRR) came to the north side of town. Land for a depot was donated by Harrison Halbert. This depot was used for both passengers and freight until 1887 when a new passenger depot was built at the corner of Washington and Mineral Streets. The newer depot was very busy serving thousands of passengers a year at the time it opened. The depot was torn down in the 1970’s but the old 1869 depot remains in use today at the corner of N. Clinton and Union Streets.

Also in 1887 High Bridge, the railroad trestle was built by the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western Railroad to bring the railroad to the south bank. An account from the time noted Grand Ledge “is an important station on the D., L. & N. and G. R., L & D. railroad, 11 miles from Lansing, 52 miles east of Grand Rapids, 26 southeast of Ionia, and 96 from Detroit…a handsome railroad bridge, 72 feet from the water, and 585 feet in length crosses the Grand River at this place and was erected at a cost of $50,000”. 

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Old Advertisement
BICE & THOMAS for the best in Tasty Baking. If Harry and Howard bake it for you- ITS GOOD.
We deliver. Phone 65J

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The Maier Family was instrumental in the founding of the Lutheran Church in 1871. Martin Maier donated trees from his farm north of the village for lumber to build a church. In 1872 the church was completed on a triangular lot between N. Clinton and E. Main Streets, on the same block as the school. For over sixty years, services were conducted by visiting ministers, until 1934 when Floyd Yokers became the resident pastor. In 1950 a new church was built on a large lot on S. Clinton Street. At the time Torrey Street only ran one block between Front and Main. After the old church was demolished, Torrey Street was extended to N. Clinton Street, running right through the foundations of the old church.

A parsonage was added on S. Clinton Street in 1964. Major renovations were made to the church and enlarged sanctuary in 1989.

12/24/06

Old Christmas card:
Christmas Greeting: Decorate the place with holly-For a Christmas bright and jolly-hope that Santa Claus will be-very liberal with thee.

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Christmas has always been a time for celebration. The Grand Ledge Hotel was located at the corner of Bridge and Jefferson Streets. In 1905 the guests were treated to a great holiday feast. Here are just some of the gastronomic delights that were served: Canape of Goose Livers, Russian Caviar, Scotch Bullion, Green Sea Turtle, Baked White Fish, Hollandaise Potatoes, Boiled Ham in champagne sauce, Boiled Philadelphia Capen in egg sauce, Roasted Squab, Walnut Stuffing, Roast Christmas Turkey, Candied Southern Yams, Broiled Haunch of Black Bear, Browned Caper Gravy and Sweetbreads with Mushrooms. For desert was offered Pumpkin pie, Apple pie, Mince pie, Christmas English Plumb Pudding, Waldorf Ice Cream, Cream Layer Cake and fruit. The meal was finally completed with Japan Tea, Peppermint, Watercress and Bon bons.  With such offerings, the meal must have lasted for hours.

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1910 Christmas Advertisement
The Santa Claus who puts bank books in the stockings encourages thrift and promotes happiness. Our bank book, as a Christmas gift, is a splendid object lesson, as it installs in the child’s mind early in life the importance of saving; and, as the habit of saving grows, the youth learns the true value of money and is disciplined in its use, thereby laying the foundation of success. A savings account in our bank will start the child right.
Loan and Deposit Bank, S. Bridge St.
.

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In 1895 the downtown business of B. S. Pratt was ready for holiday shoppers, as the Independent noted: “Lovers of things beautiful will witness one of the finest sights in Grand Ledge by looking over the mammoth holiday stock of Pratt & Son.  Such a line of holiday goods was never seen here before.  The large store is a complete panorama of Santa Claus’ kingdom and empire of things useful, ornamental, tasteful and appropriate for presents.” The family business carried jewelry, silverware, crockery, glassware, books, stationery, and wallpaper.  In addition, son George Pratt was a graduate of the Detroit Optical Institute and provided optometry in the shop.

12/10/06

With the recent passing of Joanne Doty Phillips it got me thinking about her family. The Doty’s have been in the area from the beginning and part of the Grand Ledge business community for over a hundred years.

In the 1830s Lazarus Doty came to Eagle Township from New York and entered a large tract of land for each of his three sons: Oliver in section 26, Philo in section 14, and Charles in section 34. In the 1880’s it was said "The three are residents of the township, and still occupy the land entered for them by their father. The family has been one of the most substantial and enterprising in the township.”

Two of Philo’s sons, Ellis and Sanford, bought a grain elevator in Grand Ledge in 1901. Doty & Doty operated their elevator next to the railroad tracks on N. Clinton Street and offered Grain, Beans, Wood, Coal and more. In 1921 Doty & Doty merged with the Ireland Elevator and the Grand Ledge Produce Company was born. Sanford’s son Roy was the general manager for the next 20 years.

Ellis’s son Mark opened Doty & Huggert Greenhouse on Spring Street in 1913. The business has been known over the years as Doty’s Greenhouse, Doty’s Greenhouse and Flower Shop, and now Doty Floral. They used to advertise as “Flowers that Satisfy – It’s always springtime at our house” Mark’s son Dean ran the business for many years and Joanne had been there for as long as I can remember. It remains today one of Grand Ledge’s oldest firms and maybe the only one to be in the same family for so many years.

Roy’s son Stuart Doty began selling insurance in the 1940s. He worked out of the Loan & Deposit Building early on but later had the Doty Building at 400 S. Bridge before moving to the new Doty Insurance Building on Saginaw Hwy. My father Vic Haueter worked for him in the early 1970s. I can remember he had an early Polaroid Camera for taking pictures of homes. It was a heavy silver camera that folded up. After the picture came out you had to wait for it to develop before pealing it apart to see the photo inside. It seemed like magic.

* * * *

Old Advertisement:
Grand Ledge Produce Co –Coal, Coke and Feed. Seed-Fertilizer-Fence-Roofing- Cement. Roy S. Doty, mgr.
N. Clinton  call phone #60

11/26/06

One of the oldest buildings downtown is the Opera House.  The 1880’s saw a nation-wide craze for roller skating and in 1884 local businessmen built Riverside Rink at the corner of Bridge and River Streets. In early 1886 Peter Blake, who was a dairy farmer and ran a cheese factory on Eaton Hwy, bought the Rink.  He planned to convert the building for popular entertainments.

On May 12, 1886 Blake’s Opera House opened.  It would feature comedy acts, singers, vaudeville shows, and other performers for many years.  It was also used as a general community center for graduation ceremonies and other events.
About 1905 Burr Sackett purchased the building and Sackett’s Opera House was born.  Later he called it a “Theatorium” and began showing early silent movies.

Starting In 1928, Steven’s Furniture and then Mapes Furniture used the building as a furniture store and warehouse. In 1984 it was donated to the Historical Society when it was one hundred years old. Today we see how the restored Opera House is once again a community center at the heart of downtown.

* * * *

The first area to be settled in town was the flat plain below where the Opera House stands today. In 1843 Henry Trench settled here and built his shanty on the river bank. Five years later a dam was built across the river there and a saw mill erected next to it.  A wooden bridge was built near the dam five years later to connect both sides of the river.  The saw mill expanded and a window factory was built on the site. For about twenty-five years it was also home to a large three story furniture factory. The area was vacant for many years until community tennis courts where built there.  These were popular for many years until they fell into disrepair. Today a landscaped garden fills the river bank.

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Old Advertisement:
Otto Pearl –Real Estate. Grand Ledge’s only resident realtor. Homes-Farms-Financing. 
Loan and Deposit Bldg  phone #317

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Grand Ledge had two flour mills. In 1854 Kent & Hixon and Co. built the first mill at the north end of the old dam by the bridge. Originally a small building, it was enlarged to a three story mill about 1878.  A second mill was built about the same time on the corner of N. Clinton and Madison Streets. Union Flouring mill is remembered as the old red mill. Later it was owned by Gillies and Aldrich who made “Legal Tender” brand flour. As they advertised “Legal Tender Flour is the best for bread and pastry. Use only Legal Tender Flour” 

11/19/06

Elmer Edwards was a contractor and builder in Grand Ledge. In 1910 he supervised the construction of the new cement bridge. He built the Episcopal Church in 1911 and many other homes in the city. He built the two cement block homes on West Jefferson next to the ice cream stand. He lived in one and W. E Russell lived in the other. The rustic cement blocks were made in Grand Ledge. He was “the sidewalk builder”, having laid many of them in town. He was also president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank on North Bridge Street. Edwards was very popular and was elected mayor six times. 

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The street we know as Lincoln today was originally called Railroad Street when the original village was laid out in 1853. It remains a mystery why it was given this name. There was no railroad service in the village at the time and when the tracks did arrive they were laid on the north side of the river. Having a Railroad Street on the opposite side of town as the railroad tracks was confusing and in 1913 the name was changed to Lincoln Street. However at the time, Grand Ledge already had another street named Lincoln. It ran between Jenne and DeGroff Streets and had been laid out by S. W. Owens in 1875. The City solved this dilemma by renaming that street Edwards in honor of the recent mayor Elmer Edwards.

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Old Advertisement:
Dunton Grocery –groceries & general merchandise. Ice cream-pop-candy-tobacco-school supplies.
Lamson Street  phone #714

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The Cement Block factory was located on Orchard Street.  They advertised “Build with blocks – they last forever. Come in and see them made.”  The blocks were popular and used in the Building at 219-221 N. Bridge and the Church across the street on the corner of Front Street. Many foundations and homes were built of the local blocks.

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Beginning in 1875 various attempts were made to form an Episcopal Church. However it was in 1907 that Mrs. Cassius Alexander, Mrs. Elmer Edwards, Mrs. Fred Berry and others began meeting to form a local Episcopal Church Mission and School. Space was rented around the city and guest ministers came to town once a month.  Local banker George Berry donated the land for a church building that was right across the street from his own home on East Jefferson. Construction for Trinity Episcopal Church began in 1911.

Built in a Gothic Style, the brick church features eleven beautiful Belgian painted lead windows. Each one donated by a member in memory of a loved one.  In 1958 they purchased the bell from the Congregational Church. The Congregationalist has recently removed the bell tower from their building at the corner of Front and Bridge.  In 1959 a new educational building was completed behind the church.

11/12/06

Henry Trench was the first settler at the site of the village of Grand Ledge. Henry A. Trench was born in Connecticut about 1817 and was later sent by his father to the new Oberlin Collage in Ohio. He purchased about 40 acres here and came to settle his claim about 1843. His land lies at the heart of what is today downtown Grand Ledge. He built a shanty on the south river bank, behind where the Opera House stands today. The land was all dense forest and at the time it was said: “not a tree had been felled until one reached the county line on the north.  The south side of the river could boast of just one board shanty where Mr. Trench housed his family…” Henry and his wife Susan had four children: Caroline, born 1849; Ira, born 1851; George, born 1853; and Ella, born 1857. 

H.A Trench was wont to remark that "his father sent him to college to learn to tinker." He possessed a fine education, but its application towards earning a livelihood was not of concern to him. He lectured in the log schoolhouses upon scientific subjects and occasionally wrote correct but brief articles for the public press but, beyond this, he had little idea of making his learning productive. He had a soldering iron and went about among the pioneers mending tin pans and was known as "Tinker Trench." He was for many years township inspector of schools. When the post office was established in 1850,  Henry Trench was made postmaster.

He was an idealist and appreciated his picturesque surroundings. Some accounts talk of him being a restless gent, who often moved around. By 1853 he had sold much if not all of his land in the village, most of it to William Russell. By 1860 he again was farming in the area. It seems he felt the area was getting too crowded, and by the mid-1860’s he sold his holdings and took his family back to Connecticut. Henry A. Trench is thus counted the first settler of Grand Ledge, but not the first permanent one. That honor belongs to Edmond Lampson who arrived in 1848 and remained for the rest of his days.