2021.87.90

The Early History Boat building began early on the banks of the Kalamazoo. The first bark and dugout vessels were constructed by native Americans at a date not yet documented. An early log raft was built by first settler William G. Butler in May of 1830. Butler constructed this crude vessel at the mouth and poled it to the area that became Saugatuck. It is believed that the first vessels built at Singapore were the St. Louis and the Natural Crook. They were brigs built by James McLaughlin in 1843-1845. McLaughlin was born in Maine, a veteran of the War of 1812, who came to Allegan in 1837 where he built a flour mill and began building riverboats. He is credited with as many as seventeen boats in Allegan and in the Saugatuck area. In 1849 he moved to the Traverse City Michigan area. In an unlikely coincidence his family appears next to the author’s in the 1860 census for Antrim County, Michigan. A number of early boats were built by builders named St. Germaine, Morrison, and McMillan but the history and their identity is shrouded in the past. The story of builder James Elliott is known He was English by birth, participated in the California gold rush, played on the first Chicago baseball team. By 1856 he was building the H. D. Moore in Allegan and went on to become a premier builder here. He lived the remainder of his life as an active citizen in Saugatuck. He died in 1911 at the age of 81. The next major builders did not appear on the scene for almost twenty years, just in time for boat building boom times. Some of the names were Martel, Brittain, Bird, Stay tuned. I thank Kit Lane for her vast knowledge of local boat building history. Her book “Built on the Banks of the Kalamazoo” is a wonderful and invaluable resource on the builders and the boats they built here. By Jack Sheridan.

Remembering When

Winthers, Sally

01/02/2022

10/16/2024