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Images of America: Michigan
Wyandotte
Wyandotte, located between Detroit and Toledo along the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario, has enriched area history from the days of the first inhabitants, the Wyandott Indians and French farmers, through the industrial ages of iron and steel. In latter years, Wyandotte has been the stage for the manufacture of the first steel rails and iron plate and was home to shipbuilding and chemical industries. All of these contributed significantly to the growth of the nation and to the continuing development of a great American city. Businesses, churches, and community organizations are captured in these historic photographs, along with the people whose commitment to hard work helped the city prosper and grow.
128 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2007
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May 31, 2019
This book was a good introduction to Wyandotte, a small city near Detroit, located on the shores of the Detroit River. Named for the Wyandott Indians (who settled the area apparently pretty late, in 1732, though were eventually “required to relinquish their claim on their rich land” and were moved west), the one page introduction notes the high points of Wyandotte history (its first white settler was Major John Biddle in 1818, who later went on to become a mayor of Detroit, delegate for the Michigan territory in Congress, and the first president of the Michigan Central Railroad, that Biddle in 1853 sold his land to the Eureka Iron Company, and that the city has lots of immigrants from throughout Europe, especially eastern Europe).
After the introduction, there are five chapters, a bibliography, and an index. Chapter one, “The Early Residents and a Growing Community,” has an opening introductory paragraph (noting among other things Wayne County is named after General Anthony Wayne, who had arrived in Detroit in August 1796, and that English and Irish settlers arrived in numbers in the 1850s and German settlers in the early 1860s). A short chapter, we get portraits of Major John Biddle (who eventually left the Detroit area and returned to Philadelphia) and Eber B. Ward among others (who in his portrait seems to tower over a town, which makes sense, as “the giant industrialist of the Northwest from 1840 to 1875” had as part of the Eureka Iron Company laid out the village of Wyandotte on October 15, 1853) and a photo of a rolling mill house (one in the photo was built in 1857 and still stands, a house with “Greek Revival accents” and “typical of the workers’ homes from that period”).
Chapter two, “Early Business and Industry in the Developing City,” has lots of photos of the industries of Wyandotte and is a longer chapter than the first chapter. Highlights include a few photos of the Wyandotte Savings Bank (oldest business building in the city, built in 1860 and still standing, the building was in addition to the city’s first bank was used for “school plays, lectures, dances, and graduations” and “also used for concerts” and as a meeting place for various clubs), we learn Wyandotte in 1870 ranked eighth in United States steel production (and had the first mill west of the Allegheny Mountains), several photos dedicated to the shipbuilding industry in the city (I counted 18 photos, including one of the ship _Angeline_ with a number of people on the deck during launching), photos of the D.H. Burrell Company heading mill and drying yards (with two photos of assembled workers and very clearly some child labor going on), a photo of the Liptow egg station and store (before supermarkets, butter and egg stations were common until the 1940s, so reads the caption), several photos of the interiors of various shops (the Bigler’s Meat Market had sawdust on the floor), and a photo of the Wyandotte Theater (built in 1939, “was the first theater in the United States to be constructed with two auditoriums under one roof”).
Chapter three, “Downtown,” has a 1876 map of Wyandotte, a nice bird’s eye view map from 1896 (with ships on the river), a photo of Arlington Hotel (constructed in 1884, its guest lists were once posted weekly in the local newspaper “under the heading of new arrivals at the Arlington”), several photos relating to streetcars (the service of which extended from 1892 to 1932), and more photos of the many local businesses that no doubt were once common in many a downtown in the United States.
Chapter four, “Architecture and Historic Homes,” includes a photo of the George P. MacNichol Home (built in 1896 with Queen Anne-style architecture, a wraparound porch, and a turret with a conical roof, now serves as the Wyandotte Museum) and photos of the interior of the home of Jerome H. Bishop (of note, the “shelving has drapery to protect the volumes [of books] from dust and fading from light exposure,” interesting, never seen that in a photo of any library) as well as lots of Victorian and early 20th century homes.
Chapter five, “Cultural Life and Growth of the City,” includes photos of churches (one caption of the interior of the First Methodist Church in 1861 notes some “fiery sermons delivered from this pulpit prompted some members of the congregation to leave and join the Congregational Church of Wyandotte”), a photo of an 1890s seventh-grade class (it “is interesting to note that all the boys are standing with their arms folded” as indeed they are), a photo of 3 kids using a dog-drawn wagon of sorts, a photo of Ida Bolton (“a librarian-clerk” hired sometime in the 1870s, “paid $1 per month for her weekly one hour of work” in the public library), several photos of rowing as a sport in Wyandotte (with photos of assembled athletes and most everyone in the photos identified), some photos of various clubs (including the German origin Arbeiter Society, the Tuesday Study Club, and the Daffodil Club of which there “is very little historical information available about”), and a photo of the _SS Columbia_, built in 1902 and “The oldest passenger steamer in the United States and is listed as a national historic landmark.”
Just a good portrait, largely focusing on the post-Civil War era up into the 1950s, of a city of nice homes, independent businesses, factories, and shipyards. Some of the photos could be a bit boosterish or Pollyanna-ish, such as talking about dedicated or enthusiastic workers or enthusing about fertile soil in gardens, but it wasn’t too much. I liked all the photos of shop interiors and looking down city streets at different times in the city’s history. Unlike many of these books I have read, Wyandotte wasn’t mentioned as suffering from too many fires, either of streets, individual buildings, or the whole city. I would have liked some more recent photos as well, though most of these Images of America books tend to stop in the 1970s (if they go that late), with the preponderance of photos ending by the 1950s. This more than most of the series that I have read so far had more daily life photos and relatively few photos of anything relating to anything of national historical interest.
After the introduction, there are five chapters, a bibliography, and an index. Chapter one, “The Early Residents and a Growing Community,” has an opening introductory paragraph (noting among other things Wayne County is named after General Anthony Wayne, who had arrived in Detroit in August 1796, and that English and Irish settlers arrived in numbers in the 1850s and German settlers in the early 1860s). A short chapter, we get portraits of Major John Biddle (who eventually left the Detroit area and returned to Philadelphia) and Eber B. Ward among others (who in his portrait seems to tower over a town, which makes sense, as “the giant industrialist of the Northwest from 1840 to 1875” had as part of the Eureka Iron Company laid out the village of Wyandotte on October 15, 1853) and a photo of a rolling mill house (one in the photo was built in 1857 and still stands, a house with “Greek Revival accents” and “typical of the workers’ homes from that period”).
Chapter two, “Early Business and Industry in the Developing City,” has lots of photos of the industries of Wyandotte and is a longer chapter than the first chapter. Highlights include a few photos of the Wyandotte Savings Bank (oldest business building in the city, built in 1860 and still standing, the building was in addition to the city’s first bank was used for “school plays, lectures, dances, and graduations” and “also used for concerts” and as a meeting place for various clubs), we learn Wyandotte in 1870 ranked eighth in United States steel production (and had the first mill west of the Allegheny Mountains), several photos dedicated to the shipbuilding industry in the city (I counted 18 photos, including one of the ship _Angeline_ with a number of people on the deck during launching), photos of the D.H. Burrell Company heading mill and drying yards (with two photos of assembled workers and very clearly some child labor going on), a photo of the Liptow egg station and store (before supermarkets, butter and egg stations were common until the 1940s, so reads the caption), several photos of the interiors of various shops (the Bigler’s Meat Market had sawdust on the floor), and a photo of the Wyandotte Theater (built in 1939, “was the first theater in the United States to be constructed with two auditoriums under one roof”).
Chapter three, “Downtown,” has a 1876 map of Wyandotte, a nice bird’s eye view map from 1896 (with ships on the river), a photo of Arlington Hotel (constructed in 1884, its guest lists were once posted weekly in the local newspaper “under the heading of new arrivals at the Arlington”), several photos relating to streetcars (the service of which extended from 1892 to 1932), and more photos of the many local businesses that no doubt were once common in many a downtown in the United States.
Chapter four, “Architecture and Historic Homes,” includes a photo of the George P. MacNichol Home (built in 1896 with Queen Anne-style architecture, a wraparound porch, and a turret with a conical roof, now serves as the Wyandotte Museum) and photos of the interior of the home of Jerome H. Bishop (of note, the “shelving has drapery to protect the volumes [of books] from dust and fading from light exposure,” interesting, never seen that in a photo of any library) as well as lots of Victorian and early 20th century homes.
Chapter five, “Cultural Life and Growth of the City,” includes photos of churches (one caption of the interior of the First Methodist Church in 1861 notes some “fiery sermons delivered from this pulpit prompted some members of the congregation to leave and join the Congregational Church of Wyandotte”), a photo of an 1890s seventh-grade class (it “is interesting to note that all the boys are standing with their arms folded” as indeed they are), a photo of 3 kids using a dog-drawn wagon of sorts, a photo of Ida Bolton (“a librarian-clerk” hired sometime in the 1870s, “paid $1 per month for her weekly one hour of work” in the public library), several photos of rowing as a sport in Wyandotte (with photos of assembled athletes and most everyone in the photos identified), some photos of various clubs (including the German origin Arbeiter Society, the Tuesday Study Club, and the Daffodil Club of which there “is very little historical information available about”), and a photo of the _SS Columbia_, built in 1902 and “The oldest passenger steamer in the United States and is listed as a national historic landmark.”
Just a good portrait, largely focusing on the post-Civil War era up into the 1950s, of a city of nice homes, independent businesses, factories, and shipyards. Some of the photos could be a bit boosterish or Pollyanna-ish, such as talking about dedicated or enthusiastic workers or enthusing about fertile soil in gardens, but it wasn’t too much. I liked all the photos of shop interiors and looking down city streets at different times in the city’s history. Unlike many of these books I have read, Wyandotte wasn’t mentioned as suffering from too many fires, either of streets, individual buildings, or the whole city. I would have liked some more recent photos as well, though most of these Images of America books tend to stop in the 1970s (if they go that late), with the preponderance of photos ending by the 1950s. This more than most of the series that I have read so far had more daily life photos and relatively few photos of anything relating to anything of national historical interest.
Displaying 1 of 1 review