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2. Lumber Days on Muskegon’s Waterfront
- Wayne State University Press
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c h a p t e r 2 Lumber Days on Muskegon’s Waterfront ﱛﱛﱜﱛﱛ The village grew gradually from 1840 through the early 1850s into a frontier town known as Muskeego.1 In about 1840, with the fur trade all but dead, the small number of fur traders gave way to another breed of men—a highly transient lot predominantly made up of land speculators and lumbermen who were tempted by the huge expanse of forested land that covered the northern half of the Lower Peninsula. The speculators followed the rivers deep into the wilderness, searching for prime stands of timber. They found that an extensive hardwood forest covered much of the southern portion of the state. North of a line running roughly from Muskegon to Saginaw, the character of the forest changed markedly with the appearance of extensive stands of soft woods, either in pure stands or mixed with hard woods. The swamp lands of northern Michigan abounded in tamarack and yellow cedar of excellent quality. There were also extensive tracts of less valuable Norway pine and jack pine in the area. But the timber interests of the country were drawn to the extensive stands of white pine.2 The lumbermen were mostly of Yankee stock, men who had wielded axe and peavey in the trade in Maine, New York, and Pennsylvania. Joining them were a number of French Canadians, skilled woodsmen well seasoned in such work. Immigrants arrived, and if they had no experience as lumberjacks or mill hands, they soon got it.3 Ambitious entrepreneurs saw great wealth in the forests and, backed by financial support, built lumber mills in the boomtowns that grew up at the river mouths, expecting to make their fortune from the seemingly endless supply of timber. A number of them succeeded.4 The men who came to this wilderness were young and single, well suited for the rough and dangerous work in the lumber camps and the wild life in the towns, and able to move on if more profitable employment beckoned them. The newly established (in 1805) territory of Michigan provided them with a fresh beginning and unlimited opportunities in the frontier settlements along the shores of Lakes Huron and Michigan. While other communities along the west Michigan shore saw similar growth based on lumber, Muskegon boasted a number of advantages that gave it a distinct edge. As the timber grew scarce near the towns where it was cut and milled, it became necessary to 7 chapter 2 search further inland for the pine to keep the sawmills operating. Speculators for the lumbering interests had only to follow the Muskegon River—at two hundred miles, the longest in the Lower Peninsula—to find extensive tracts of the tall white pine in the heart of the state, timber that could be floated to the distant mills around Muskegon Lake. Not only did the size of Muskegon Lake accommodate the numerous mills built along its shores, it also formed one of the best natural harbors on Lake Michigan—a destination for the hundreds of vessels that brought in men, equipment, and supplies, and eventually shipped out millions of board feet of lumber. In addition to these natural features, the town enjoyed considerable leverage through its proximity to the major lumber markets—Chicago in particular. As Chicago expanded and towns sprang up further out on the prairies and western plains, the demand for lumber became incessant, and Muskegon, along with other west Michigan towns—in particular, Grand Haven, White Lake, Manistee, Ludington, and Traverse City—was able and eager to meet those demands. Lake transportation was essential for bringing in supplies from larger cities to the small settlement on the southeastern shore of Muskegon Lake—everything from food, clothes, tools, and household utensils to furniture and even lumber to build the first frame houses arrived by boat. Small schooners—often called “sailing stores”—visited the settlements around Lake Michigan to deliver the goods along with news from the outside world. According to local lore, the first such ship bringing supplies to Muskegon went out of control while approaching the dock adjacent to Thomas Dill’s general store and her bowsprit rammed into the store’s front window. It is reported that the crash and tinkle of broken glass drew dozens of gawkers to the scene.5 The men who came to Muskegon in search of jobs and possibly a place to settle more often than not booked passage on one of the sailing...