Alger is one of the modern counties to be organized
in the Upper Peninsula, being set off from Schoolcraft in 1885.
Munising, the county seat, a prosperous village of three thousand
people, was originally a dense forest tract. This region was a
favorite camping ground of the Ojibways, and two miles from Old
Munising is an ancient Indian cemetery in which, among other braves,
is known to be buried Chief Nah-ben-ay-ash.
The real founding of the white man a town commenced in 1850, when
the Munising Company, with Thomas Sparks, of Philadelphia, as
president, became owners of a tract of land bordering on the bay.
The property later came into possession of Peter White, of
Marquette. In 1867 Mr. White built a large blast furnace for
the manufacture of charcoal iron at Old Munising, and after being
operated under his ownership for some time was sold to the Munising
Iron Company, which failed in 1877. The property next came into
possession of Peter White, of Marquette.
In 1867 Mr. White
built a large blast furnace for the manufacture of charcoal iron at
Old Munising, and after being operated under his ownership for some
time was sold to the Munising Iron Company, which failed in 1877.
shutting down of the iron works in 1877, Old Munising gradually
declined until the building of the Munising railway in 1895 and the
more recent establishment of the large tannery of the Munising
Leather Company. These two events have caused a new town to spring
up from the ruins of the old. By 1881 the population was about four
hundred.
Timothy Nester is
generally spoken of as the "father of New Munising." It was in the
year 1894 that this progressive thinker arrived in Munising from Au
Train. It was the end of the old for Alger county and
beginning of the new.
This website is being maintained by
Colleen
Pustola. If you have anything to contribute, any
suggestions for inclusion on the site, or simply want to
send a friendly greeting, then just
email
me! I'd love to hear from you.
I'm sorry, but I do not live in Michigan and am unable to help you with local research.
Please use the Look Up Help link to the left if you require
assistance.
If you would like to
host a MIGenWeb County page, or assist the project in any other way,
please contact the Michigan State Coordinator,
Colleen Pustola.
