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    Otsego and Plainwell
    Otsego and Plainwell
    Otsego and Plainwell
    Ebook166 pages55 minutes

    Otsego and Plainwell

    By Ryan Wieber and Sandy Stamm

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    About this ebook

    In 1831, Samuel Foster and his family built a log house near the rapids of the Kalamazoo River at what is now downtown Otsego. Soon others interested in utilizing the power afforded by the river set up sawmills and grain mills for newly arriving settlers, and the beginnings of a town quickly took shape. In the 1900s, Otsego became synonymous with the paper industry, and for a while, seven paper mills were in operation at the same time. Plainwell, originally called Plainfield and the Junction, situated itself at the crossroads of the old plank roads that led to Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Allegan. Here too, the paper industry played an important part in the growth of Plainwell. Since the downtown area is completely surrounded by the Kalamazoo River and a millrace, it is now referred to as the Island City." Plainwell's historic heritage is evident today through its quaint downtown architecture and beautifully restored neighborhood homes. Otsego and Plainwell have grown up close to each other and share their stories, families, and traditions."
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439633175
    Otsego and Plainwell
    Author

    Ryan Wieber

    Ryan Wieber is the director of the Otsego District Library and past chairman of the Otsego Area Historical Society. He has produced a video titled Otsego, Michigan: Papertown U.S.A. and has written several articles on Otsego's history. Sandy Stamm is Plainwell's local historian and has shared her expertise with thousands during her years at Plainwell's Ransom District Library. She has also supplied local newspapers and various publications with articles on Plainwell's history.

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      Book preview

      Otsego and Plainwell - Ryan Wieber

      Wieber

      INTRODUCTION

      Plainwell and Otsego are twin cities located in southwest Michigan on State Highway 89 separated only by a few miles of fast-food restaurants and chain stores. Their history is filled with interesting people, colorful stories, and of course—because of their close proximity to each other—an intense rivalry in all things, especially sports. The first gridiron match-up between the two high schools occurred in 1896, and since then every contest in every sport has always been heated! The rivalry can be seen off the field as well. Community pride mixed with a healthy dose of rivalry often leads to voiced opinions on which town has the better shopping, parks, industries, or school system. The census takers in 2000 did not make things easier when they counted the same number of inhabitants for each city—3,933—therefore negating the we’re bigger than you thought.

      Of course, if one crosses over to the other side and dares to live or raise a family in the neighboring town, then a good amount of initial disbelief and ribbing will ultimately be followed by acceptance. It happens all the time because with all of the rivalry there is also an understanding that both towns actually have a lot in common. Since their respective beginnings, Plainwell and Otsego have shared their families, workplaces, churches, morning coffees, salon and barber visits, and of course, opinions. The story of Plainwell would not be complete without the story of Otsego and vice versa.

      Otsego began in the fall of 1831 with the arrival of the Samuel Foster family of Vermont. With a big financial boost from land developer Horace Comstock of New York, the village quickly grew. Comstock was married to the niece of James Fennimore Cooper. With his money, ambition, and family influence, he was able to convince the Michigan Territory’s legislature to grant him the ability to build a dam on the banks of the Kalamazoo. This he did by 1836 along with a hotel, a store, and two mills.

      Comstock eventually faded from the scene, but his time and effort in Otsego led to the growth of a town that still bears his vision for a place with wide streets, attractive commerce, and a community centered on the Kalamazoo River.

      In the 1830s, a few brave pioneers settled two miles north of what is now Plainwell, obtaining land grants from Pres. Andrew Jackson. It was not until the Plank Road Highway was built in 1852–1855 on an early Native American trail between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids that this area became more populated and a village began to emerge.

      The settlement known as the Junction was surveyed in 1863, and in 1869, the village fathers petitioned Lansing, Michigan’s state capital, to be incorporated as a village, naming the community after the Plainwell House Hotel. Plainwell is known today as the Island City because it is completely surrounded by the Kalamazoo River and an 1856 millrace.

      This book does not set out to be a thorough history of our communities, but we hope it provides an interesting glimpse into the past. We have had wonderful historical resources to use, and the most difficult decision over and over was what had to be excluded from the book. This area is very fortunate to possess a rich abundance of publicly available photographic and archival material at Plainwell’s Ransom District Library and the Otsego District Library. We hope this book inspires you to be aware of your historical surroundings wherever you may live.

      THE RED BRICK HOUSE. Calvin White built his Greek Revival–style house in 1838. This building is the oldest brick structure in Allegan County and has a long history of service to the area. Early in Plainwell’s history, it was used as a stagecoach stop. Charles Richards purchased the property in 1928 and opened it as a public restaurant using the land for a garden nursery named Richards Gardens.

      One

      DOWNTOWN SCENES

      NORTH FARMER STREET, 1860. This view is looking north along Farmer Street and is the earliest known photograph of Otsego. Ballou’s Custom Mills sits on the west side of the street in between the millrace and the river. The Italianate-style homes in the top center of the photograph were the beginnings of a desirable part of town known as the Highlands. Barely visible at the top right is the new Mountain Home Cemetery. (Courtesy of the Otsego District Library.)

      OTSEGO, 1868. The town’s streets have been extra wide since its beginning in order to handle the anticipated amount of traffic that would come to a great commercial center. The commerce never fully developed as hoped by Horace Comstock, but the road width has always been appreciated by its travelers. The liberty pole was moved from the four corners to the Mansfield Lawn at East Allegan and Fair Streets in the 1880s. (Courtesy of the Otsego District Library.)

      NORTH FARMER STREET, C. 1900. Perched atop the third floor of the Hotel Revere, the photographer captured the view of Farmer Street looking south. Shown here are the Mineral Springs Bathhouse, several buildings belonging to the Otsego Chair Company, and Bardeen Paper Mill No. 2. (Courtesy of the Goodsell family.)

      CATTLE ON ALLEGAN STREET, C. 1910. Fred Jewell’s business was to

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