Company Towns of Michigan's Upper Peninsula

by Christian Holmes

In the company towns of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a worker's boss did extra duty as landlord, store owner and constable. The on-site mill manager in Simmons, a town named after the furniture maker, even ran a successful baseball team. Built around iron mines and lumber concerns and directed by prominent entrepreneurs like Henry Ford, these industrial hamlets once lined the shores of Lakes Michigan and Superior. Author Christian Holmes uncovers rich stories of struggle and celebration as he explores the vestiges of these vanished communities and their lasting legacy in the identity of the Upper Peninsula.

Genres: History

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

A former resident of Alpena and Detroit, Christian Holmes has lived in Escanaba, Michigan, since 1976. He graduated from Wayne State University, where he obtained degrees in English composition, philosophy and library science. A passion for research, writing and the history of Michigan led to his interest in company towns in the Upper Peninsula.

Reviews

[jimtown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning the history of the Company Towns of Michigan's Upper Peninsula is an interesting, informative look at some places I go through often and others that I've never thought of going to, and a couple places I had never even heard of before.

You would never imagine driving through Ford River that at one time, there was a big hotel and three steam operated mills near the mouth of the Ford River. The original mills were destroyed by fire in a location, known as Uppertown. I wonder if there are any remains to show exactly where these mills were. I never took the time to look.

I've never been to White Pine but found its company town history fascinating. I would love to see the town.

Another area that I enjoyed reading about is the Gwinn area. I think there are a couple towns in the U.P. where houses were built in a simple saltbox style. That was smart thinking, what with the snow totals in the U.P. In the photo of the company town near Gwinn, the houses appear to have that tell tale sign of a salt box, a steep sloping roof on one side to let the snow slide off.

Henry Ford had a great love for the area and it showed in the places he built company towns, Kingsford and Alberta.

Other favorite places for me are Hermansville and Fayette.

I know there were probably many other unrecorded company towns near the mines and where logging was done. Each one has a history yet to be learned and explored, maybe remembered now only by the descendants of the people that lived there.

My great grandfather, Emilio came from Italy to work in the Tobin Mine, near Crystal Falls. He and my great grandmother Caterina lived in a company house near the mine. She took in borders and cooked and did washing to supplement the income he brought home. Later, Emilio rolled logs down the river to Hermansville.

This is a resource that could be looked at and studied again and again. I would love to put it on my local history bookshelf.

[David McCloskey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it very much as I was born and raised in the UP and still go there to visit relatives. I would like more details and there are many more towns not mentioned. Michigan Tech University has a vast library and there might be some people still living like myself that could provide this information. For instance, I grew up in Hurontown and we were surrounded by little towns like Dodgeville, Trimountain, and the Isle Royle locations 1,2, and 3. Might be interesting in a chronological order as a lot of this was done simultaneously. I have often wondered how it could have been done with limited materials and manpower. I grew up when some of the mines were still running and can remember the old train and the mines struggling to open during the Korean War. Then it all collapsed and with the exception of White Pine, most of the old buildings remained vacant and they pulled up the train tracks for to the smelter on the Portage Lake. Sleepy Sibilsky was the train engineer and he gave me a ride.
Dave

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of local history that I love to read. The Upper Peninsula is of especial interest since I lived nearby in Northeast Wisconsin for a number of years, and the U.P. was part of my territory as a commercial real estate broker. On top of that, I have strong interests in commercial / industrial history, mining and forestry, and the company towns issue! So this well-executed and informative book was tailor-made for me.

[Wayne A Geraci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Could not put it down.

[Matthew Shur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

very fun read.