The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-12-30

Company and secured thirty thou
sand acres of timber land with
stumpage estimated at $4,000, 900
feet. Work on the mill was started
soon after organization and the plant
at that time was considered the most
|up-to-date in the upper peninsula.
Later the Marshall Buffers Lumber
Company went into the hands Of re-
ceivers and in April, 1916, w. T. Gull
yer of Ludington took over the plant
and lands from the bandholders and
commenced operations with E. o. AL
ter, the present manager, in charge.
The first timber was run through the.
mill by this company August IA, 1916,
after the property had remained idle
for about three years.
The plant is two stories high, 65
feet wide, and 220 feet long, and has
a 30 100 ft. annex for the shingle
and lath mills. On the lower floor is
the planning mill. The mill was
equipped with all the latest devices
for the rapid and economical man.
ufacture of lumber. lath and shin
giles. The saving equipment consists
of two eight foot band mills, an eight
foot vertical resaw, two double edg-
ers, automatic trimmer, lath mill and
double block shingle machine. The
power plant consists Of three Weiks
vertical water tube boilers having
thousand horse power. The Corliss
enigne has a capacity Of thousand
horse. power. The equipment for the
handling of the timber is as perfect
as any made. There is sorting shed
for the lumber, provided with about
fourteen short tracks running to the
subway, from where the lumber is
hauled onto the main spur and thence
to the docks and yards. The company
has its own logging equipment.
On Tuesday, April 81, 1920, Henry
Ford of Dearborn, C. w. Avery and
w. B. Mayo Of Detroit, and E. B.
Kingsford of Iron Mountain arrived
in L'Anse to inspect the plant and
holdings Of the Stearns & Culver
Lumber Company with view to pur-
chasing. For some reason, the deal
fell through and instead Mr.. Ford
erected plant at Iron Mountain
shortly after. His mill there is con-
sidered perfect for the cutting Of
timber, but all his finished material
must go forward by rail. Here at,
L'Anse he can ship either by rail or
boat, his factories at Detroit being
located on the River Rouge.
On Thursday evening, December
%, the Associated Press sent out the
following dispatch to the daily pa
pers: "Detroit-Purchase by Henry
Ford of approximately thirty thou
sand acres of timber lands in Baraga
and adjacent counties in northern
Michigan was reported here tonight.
With the timber lands Mr. Ford is to
take over about fifteen million feet
of manufactured lumber and the mill
of the Stearns & Culver Lumber
Company of L'Anse. it was said.
L'Anse, once busy lake port on Ke-
weenaw Bay, will afford shipping
outlet by boat to the Detroit facto-
ries of the Ford company" We have
delayed making the announcement
until we were positive Of our infor-
nation and had received word from
an authoritative source that the deal
was put through.
With the announcement Of this
purchase the people of L'Anse and
vicinity rejoice as they never have
before, for it means the start Of a
bigger city and the realization of ev-
eryone's' dreams. Our possibilities
now are unlimited, for we have been
generously treated by nature in the
endowment Of a good water front and
harbor. The South Shore railroad
runs through the village and these
conveniences afford a double means
for shippers and manufacturers to get
their goods to market.
"