Michago – A Short History of the Land before it became
Michago
The
corner of Webster Road and 40th Avenue is a little
swampy. A couple hundred feet south of the intersection, on the west
side of the road, south of the gravel pit, are the remains of a stone
foundation of a structure, not more than 12 feet by 12 feet square. These days,
it is overgrown by weeds and trees, but the hole and the rocks are clear
evidence of someone’s hard work. There is no doubt that it was the
support for someone’s home, most likely, about a century and a half
ago. If today you were to go walk through the grass, weeds and brush
to find the old foundation, you could look around closely, and it becomes
evident that there was an apple orchard nearby, several of the old trees still
exist, full of wormy apples in the autumn. The trees are in a grid formation
too rigid to have been created by nature.
The land
we now know as Michago is legally described as Government Lot 3, and the
Northeast Quarter of the Southeast Quarter of Section 28, all in Township 13
North, Range 18 West, in the County of Oceana and the State of Michigan,
containing 71 acres more or less, according to the
United States Government. It had a varied history before it was named Michago.
Ottawa
Native Americans had a settlement in the area when the State of Michigan was
admitted into the Union in 1837. Before that, as of 1805, it had been called
the Michigan Territory, as of 1800 it was part of the Indiana Territory, and as
of 1776, it simply was a part of the Northwest Territory.
The land
is now located in Claybanks Township, although the Township wasn’t established
until 1855. The first documented settlers in the area were only 1 year earlier,
6 miles north of Michago at Stony Creek, where they had built a dam and
sawmill, to harvest the forests of white pine. The 1850 census shows that the
whole of Oceana County had a population of only 300. By 1863, the small
settlement of Flower Creek was established, less than 1 mile east of our land.
Consisting of at least a sawmill, a school and a post office, it lasted
until the timber ran out, and the post office closed in 1906. The
only remnant of that settlement is the cemetery on 44th Avenue.
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Many
people have been involved in our land before it became
Michago. Sometimes, the transactions also included other property,
and sometimes only parts were sold. But here’s a list of the buys and sells of the western part of the property, which included
all the lots currently developed.
1850,
December 10 – John and Harriet Barr - The United States Government sold the
western 31 acres on December 10, 1850, and the other portion (the eastern 40
acres) on Mar 1, 1855, to John and Harriet Barr. Under the Land Act of 1820,
the minimum price was $1.25 per acre, and the maximum size of tract of land was
80 acres. I could find no record of the price paid, but it was at
least $88.75, and probably not a whole lot more. The western portion
of the land purchase of the property was signed by President Millard Fillmore,
the 13th President of the United States. The eastern
portion was signed by President Franklin Pierce.
1873,
May 5 – Amos and Fidelia Wheeler, of Benona Township, bought from
John and Harriet Barr for consideration of $300.00
1878,
January 5 - Charles and Samantha Vandeventer, from Greenbuck, Clinton County, Michigan, bought from Amos
and Fidelia Wheeler for consideration of $800.00 Samantha
is buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery, a couple of mile
north of Michago.
1878,
August 28 – Thomas Byrne then bought from Charles and Samantha Vandeventer,
after owning for less than 1 year, for consideration of $1000.00
1885,
October 8 - Olive Byrne, of the same address, although no indication of
relation is recorded, purchases the property for consideration of $1500.00
1893,
August 12 – Jesse Hill purchased the property from Olive Byrne, for
consideration of $1300.00, less than she paid for it. Interesting
note: the Deed is signed by Olive Byrne and also by
Olive L. Byrne, no relation is indicated, but perhaps a wife and a
daughter of the above Thomas Byrne. Another interesting note is the
recording of a mortgage that Hill took out from the First National Bank of
Hillsdale, for 5 years and 7% interest, in the amount of $800.00
1898,
September 26 – Frank Stewart, of Hillsdale, Michigan bought from Jessie Hill,
now listed of Whitehall. The new owner is from the same location as
the previous buyer’s mortgage holder. The amount this time was down
to $1000.00, and this buyer didn’t hold the title for more than 5
days. And when sold, it was apparently sold at a loss. It
is interesting to note that the Deed notes that the Grantor is referred to as
female.
1898,
October 1 - Fred and Emma Burton, of Chicago, bought from Frank and Elizabeth
Stewart. The deal was a land contract for $925.00, with $100 down, an interest
rate of 7%, and a payment of $75 on October 1 and April 1, until paid off.
1900,
October 30 - Thomas McClentic, of Shelby, bought
the land contract. He paid $250.00 to the Burtons, and $925.00 to the Stewarts.
1906,
December 10 – Harriet Brown, of White River Township, in Muskegon County, bought the property from Thomas Mc Clentic, $800.00
1910,
March 11 - Gustav and Emma Johnson bought from Harriet Brown, for $800.00
1919,
March 26, 1919, Robert and Violet Sladek of Cicero, IL, bought from
Gustav Johnson. The deed notes that Emma had passed away. She’s
buried at the Flower Creek Cemetery, ½ mile east of Michago.
1922,
May 25 - Michael Czaplicki, of Cicero, IL bought from Robert and
Violet Sladek, for $9000.00
1924,
October 11 – Fr. Adalbert Furman, retired pastor of St. Casimir Church, in
Chicago, bought from Michael and Josephine Czaplicki, now listed of
Claybanks Township, for consideration of $7000.00.
In those
days, ferry boats were common on Lake Michigan, and it was possible to get a
ride from Chicago to White Lake. Fr. Furman had owned property on
White Lake, but sold that in favor of our property, on Lake
Michigan. Unfortunately, he passed away on December 20,
1929. In his will, he divided the land into pieces,
and left various parts to ten different people.
This was
about the time of the Great Depression. During this time, few people
were able to make good use of this gift; in fact, many couldn’t even keep up
with the taxes. One of those who could pay, Fr. Furman’s nephew
Albert Furman, was able to buy many of the pieces back from his relatives over
the years. Finally by March 12, 1956,
Albert V Furman had bought all the pieces, and paid all back taxes on the
property.
Albert
Furman was a businessman in Chicago, located near Irving Park Road and Albany
Avenue. He had a son and a daughter, and his family and friends were
able to enjoy the Michigan property a lot over the years. The only house on the
property was the old farm house (now gone) so he built
a new house on the foundation of an old barn, and that new house still stands
in the center of the cleared property. The trip from Chicago took
most of a day before Interstate highways by land or by
lake, but they loved their time in Michigan.
After
Albert passed away in 1959, his widow Elizabeth put the property up for sale. A
couple of Chicago neighborhood friends of the Furmans,
Tom Dieschbourg and William Nickels, along with Joe Chaput, son-in-law of
Albert Furman, decided to get together, purchase the property, and build cabins
so that many others could continue to enjoy it all. Together, they formed
Michago Builders Inc.
1963,
September 25 - Michago Builders, Inc. bought the property from Albert Furman’s
Widow, Elizabeth Furman. By using a Land Contract, and keeping costs
to a minimum, they were able to use only their own investments,
and keep Michago a family orientated place. Over a few years, Michago
Builders divided the property into lots, with several plats
over the next 10 years. They built roads to connect the lots,
and a road down to the beach. With the help of their kids, they installed water
wells, water pipelines, and built summer cottages, renting and selling them, as
well as building their own cottages. Almost all the work was done by
members of the three families, only hiring outside help when
necessary. Thus, Michago was born.