Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1876-06-21

steam grist mill, 2 planning mills, 4
school houses, postoflice, 2 insur-
ance agencies, 2 banking establish
ments, 4 butcher shops, l bakery,
2 Wagon shops, 5 blacksmith shops,
3 shoe shops, 3 BARRIERS establish
ments, I hotels, / Photographic
room, 2 harness makers shops, 3
green-grocers, 9 livery stables, 2
good volunteer fire companies with
steam fire engines, 2 printing es-
tablishments, 3 newspapers, one
skating rink, one military company,
l public hall capable of seating 600
people comfortably, 2 express Of
fees, l telegraph office, 3 house
and sign painting shops, picture
store, 2 furniture stores, II saw and
shingle mills, 7 churches, 5 societies,
Jail, and the magnetic mineral well
with commodious bath house at
tached. The professions are well
represented by 7 lawyers, 8 doc
tors, . music teachers, and 2 archi-
tects.
The situation of Alpena city is
low, but there is sufficient raise for
draining off the surface water
The want of drains is one of the
needs of the city, and these are
yearly being dug in various parts
of the city. AS the expense of
building drains and keeping them
in repair is considerable, the city
is not able to make as complete a
system of drainage as the citizens
would like, but yearly, the drains
are extended and before long the
city will have a complete system of
drainage. All the principal streets
are provided with sidewalks. The
land in the city is sand, muck or
stone, the sand predominating.-I
There is no good farming lands, as
a general rule, within three miles
of the mouth of the river-the
bulk of valuable farming lands be-
ing situated from six to forty miles
distant. No one can deny that
Alpena is admirably situated for
commercial purposes; with the
exception of Tawas, it possesses
the only good harbor between Port
Huron and Presque Isle it is con-
venient to the line of Chicago and
Lake Superior steam boats, the
line passing Alpena about ten miles
distant; the country back of Alpe-
ma is rich and fertile, and as a
wheat growing country, is not ex-
celled by any land in the State.
These lands are being rapidly set
tied and cultivated, and the pro-
ducts raised for at least fifty miles
back must eventually find their
way to Alpena, as the most conven-
lent shipping point. This county
and the counties adjoining, are
large enough to support a city
twice the size of Alpena at present.
We predict that the city will yet
be one of the important grain ship
ping ports of the State.
There is no doubt but that salt
can be found in Alpens, although
at present men are too much en-
gagged in the lumber business to
pay much attention to other indus
tries. Two attempts have already
been made to obtain salt-one re-
suited in the discovery of the famed
magnetic spring, and the other is
yet unfinished. The manufacture
Of salt would aid considerably in
increasing the prosperity of Alpena,
for, besides the salt that would be
sure to be shipped to other ports,
1t would save this community thou
sands of dollars that are now paid
yearly by our citizens to other
places, and then it would provide a
profitable way of getting rid of the
mill refuse. A vessel could reach
Alpena from Point Aux Barques
as soon as a vessel could reach
Bay City from the same place, and
then if the vessels were going to
one of the upper lake ports, the
one at Alpena would be $50 miles
ahead of the one that went to Bay
City to load.
A community to be successful
must export more than it imports,
thus leaving balance in its favor,
and if Alpena had salt for sale in
stead of having to buy, the result
would be great benefit to the
whole community, for the money
that now goes out to purchase salt