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HISTORY OF ALPENA COUNTY BY WILLIAM BOULTON IN 1876
ALPENA IN 1858
In the latter part of November, 1858, a small schooner, the J. S. Minor,
entered Thunder Bay river, having on board some twenty-five or thirty persons, among whom were Messrs. E. K. Potter, Abram Hopper, W. Stevens, and the families of Samuel Boggs and Alexander Archibald. The twenty-five or thirty persons could not have been very favorably impressed with the appearance of Alpena at that time, and there were but few among the passengers who could have entertained the idea that the wilderness about them would, before many years, be covered with mills and buildings.
Mr. Hopper says that the first building he noticed was the store of Miller, Fletcher & Co., two stories in height (now known as the Myers block, and since then much enlarged). The building had just received a coat of paint, and it loomed up prominently amid the surrounding wilderness—a vanguard of civilization. Close by it, and right in the street now known as Water street, was a small frame house occupied by A. F. Fletcher. This building has since been moved, and is now occupied by Geo. Fox, on Second street, near the bridge, as a jewelry shop. A little further from the river was another small building occupied by Daniel Carter. This building is now in a very dilapidated condition, and can be seen in front of Wood's saloon. The three buildings mentioned, together with a cooper's shop that was used for a school house, and Walter Scott's old shanty, constituted all the houses in that part of Alpena city now known as the first and second wards. The third ward was represented by a shanty, and the six buildings formed the city of Alpena, November 19th, 1858, or, as it was then termed, the village of Fremont.
Michigan
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