Mills & Tannery & Martel Boat Yard

Location: Lake and Culver Streets, Saugatuck
Date: 1850s-1900

Stephen A. Morrison came to Saugatuck in 1835, having walked most of the way from Vermont. Upon arrival he purchased the Johonnett & Crosby Tannery (of 1835) and then expanded it in 1840 with power supplied by Dutch windmills—the last of which was not removed until 1909. Tanning of leather was a major local industry, and a profitable one, which used local hemlock tree bark as the tanning chemical. Much of the leather product was shipped to Chicago and elsewhere.
Nearby were several lumber mills and the Martel boatbuilding yard, at which the schooner, “The Case” was built in 1874—with hull built upstream in Allegan and the rest at this boatyard.