New Richmond 1 of 3

Archive

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Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society

Name/Title

New Richmond 1 of 3

Entry/Object ID

2021.87.39

Scope and Content

The Local Observer newspaper Remembering When - Our History article titled "New Richmond - The Beginning" LO37LO37_Train_piledriver.jpg October 12, 2005. By Jack Sheridan and Jim Schmiechen. Digital files use to create this article and associated resources at 2021.72.02

Context

NEW RICHMOND -THE BEGINNING The first inhabitants of Richmond --frontiersmen who came to trade with the Indians -- were probably there about 1825. Their shacks on the river bank remained, but they were gone when John Allen of Ann Arbor came down the Kalamazoo River valley in 1837 looking for town-building opportunities. Allen liked what he saw; raised some capital; recruited a partner named Ralph Mann; started a sawmill and platted a settlement on the north bank of the river. The plan included a scheme to reroute the Rabbit River to provide water power. However, the demand for capital turned out to be larger than the supply. Allen moved on to Allegan to sell farm implements. Ralph Mann bought some of the milling equipment which he moved a few miles south to the area of Manlius. There he farmed and built a small sawmill. So Richmond disappeared from economic view for the next 30 years. Twenty years later the settlement got a new start when Hollister Marsh – a hotel owner from Allegan and a farmer, built a substantial sawmill there. In 1871 the Chicago and Michigan Lakeshore Railroad came through with their line and a bridge. The name was modernized to New Richmond (there now being another Richmond on the east side of the state). During the next thirty years New Richmond reached its zenith sporting a veneer mill, hotels, stores, post office and a saloon. These historical photos derive from this period and provide a glimpse of New Richmond in the “good old-old days”. By Jack Sheridan

Collection

Remembering When

Cataloged By

Winthers, Sally

Acquisition

Accession

2021.87

Source or Donor

Sheridan, John "Jack" O. 1938-

Acquisition Method

Donation

Location

* Untyped Location

Digital data in CatalogIt

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

New Richmond/Richmond

Related Publications

Publication

Local Observer

Create Date

December 5, 2021

Update Date

April 2, 2024