Where Was Burnham?
North of Arcadia just below what we call Inspiration Point today was the town of Burnham, Arcadia's closest neighbor to the north. Like many other lumbering towns, Burnham was founded around the lumbering industry and didn't last long after the lumber was gone.
1903 Map:
Northwest Arcadia Township
Burnham, north of Arcadia
This is part of a plat map of Manistee County published in 1903 showing the
Lake Michigan shoreline for Arcadia Township. Note the town of Burnham to
the north. Founded in 1882, Burnham had a bridge pier used primarily to haul
lumber for the Burnham Wood & Pier Co.
The Burnham pier is not shown in the 1903 map. The
sawmill for the Burnham Wood & Pier Co. closed around 1895. It is likely
that the pier was abandoned, which led to its rapid deterioration and
destruction.
-- Arcadia Area Historical Society
See Also: Shipwrecks Near Burnham
1903 Plat Map: Burnham
By 1903, many of the buildings in Burnham had been moved to Arcadia.
-- Arcadia Area Historical Society
1885 Gazetteer Description
Burnham.
A village on the shore of Lake Michigan, in Arcadia Township, in the
extreme northwest of Manistee county, 22 miles north of Manistee, the county
seat, from whence it has daily mail stage communication, it being the
nearest railroad point and bank location. A large pier extends into the
lake, and wood timber, lumber, ties and bark are shipped. There is a large
quantity of hardwood timber in the vicinity, and there is a good opening for
stave manufacturing, etc. Population 250. Daily stage with mail to Manistee;
fare, $1.75, and Frankfort; fare, 75 cents. D.A. Hull, postmaster.
Burnham Wood & Pier Co, Mnfrs Hardwood Lumber, General Store and Wood and
Bark Dealers.
-- Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1885
Burnham Pier into Lake Michigan
This is probably a photo of the Burnham pier, a standard bridge pier that
extended several hundred feet into Lake Michigan. Piers like this one could
only be used in fairly calm weather after the ice was gone in April or May
and before the ice returned in November or December. The ship moored at the
end of the pier is similar to the Arcadia, and there is evidence that the
Arcadia visited the pier at least once in 1889 as did many other ships.
-- Arcadia Area Historical Society
See Also: Arcadia's Pier
The Story of Burnham Begins in Pierport
“…By 1870, a dock had
been built at Pierport for the shipment of timber products. The Milwaukee
firm known as the Burnham Wood & Piering Company soon hired young [Dean
Alexander] Hull to manage their timber business in the Pierport area.
Besides handling logging and wood cutting operations, the firm also
purchased cordwood, logs, and tanbark from local farmers. Burnham’s schooner
Boaz made 27 trips between Pierport and Milwaukee, and the firm shipped a
total of 2,954 cords of firewood. …”
“Shortly after 1880, as
timber became scarce in the Pierport area, Burnhams decided to move their
operations several miles to the north. They picked a spot a mile south of
the Manistee-Benzie County line on the shore of Lake Michigan. Here a small
village, appropriately named Burnham, was laid out and a pier constructed.
Dean Hull moved his family to the new community and took charge of the
firm’s operations. Again, the Burnham Wood and Piering Company purchased
large amounts of timber products from local farmers. A sawmill was
constructed by the firm of Shaw brothers to convert suitable logs to lumber.
Throughout the 1880s, Burnham’s vessels called regularly at the pier and in
1889, a total of 27 cargos were shipped.”
“In reminiscing about
the village of Burnham, Mary Gilbert, and early resident recalled a general
store owned by the Burnham Wood and Piering Company, the Shaw Brothers mill,
barns, a hotel, a blacksmith shop, dance hall, and numerous dwellings. With
time the supply of lumber around Burnham ran out and the firm ceased
operations.”
“About the same time, the sawmill burned leaving the community without an
industry. Many of the new buildings were moved two miles to the nearby
village of Arcadia. …”
-- Steve Harold. “The life and times of Dean Hull.” Manistee News Advocate. Saturday, September 29, 2007.
Dean Hull 1903
Dean Alexander Hull was the foreman of the Burnham Wood and Piering
Company in Burnham.
-- Steve Harold. “The life and times of Dean
Hull.” Manistee News Advocate. Saturday, September 29, 2007.
Burnham in the 1890s
Judging by the hills in the background, this is probably a northerly
view. When the sawmill burned down, many of these buildings were moved south
to Arcadia. (Click here
to zoom in.)
-- Arcadia Area Historical Society
The Records of Ships Landing at Burnham
The following list of ships was extracted from four recently re-discovered ledgers documenting vessel landings for the Burnham Wood and Pier Company. These ships generally hauled lumber to other ports, but occasionally they brought supplies to the town.
The numbers in parentheses represent the number of landings at Burnham. The dates show the first and last trips of the seasons.
1884
Barge Geo. Burnham (3) April 1,
1884
First Landing: Maple bound for Milwaukee
Barge Milton (8)
First Landing: “50 Cds dry sawd Maple Wholes full only, finished at
Starkie’s Bound for Milwaukee”
J. M. Hill (1)
“Bound for Milwaukee Maple in Hold Saw Beech on Deck about 140 Cds”
Schooner Boaz (29)
First Landing: “Bound Milwaukee Hold full Slabs Deck Landing Hem. Lumber”
Supply (4)
First Landing: “60 Cords Maple (mostly) Bound Milwaukee”
Scow Prime (11)
First Landing: “Lumber Hatch Holbrook Co Chicago”
Scow Dunham (1)
“85 Cords of Body Maple more or less Bound Milwaukee”
Scow Gladiator (1)
“Hold full of Maple Deck Landing of Beech & Chopped more or less (125
cords)”
Barge Burroughs (1)
“90 Cords of Sawed Beech Wood and slabs more or less Bound for Milwaukee”
Scow May Guthin (1)
“Consigned to G. B. & Sons 100 Cords of Sawd Maple Wood more or less”
Barge Seymour (3)
First Landing: “Hold full cull Maple Deck Landing sawd Beech Consigned G.
B. Sons”
Scow Dan Mabee (6)
First Landing: “180 Cords Brickyard Wood & Slabs more less Consigned Geo.
Burnham & Sons”
Emma Leighton (1)
“Wood 75 Cords Sawd Maple”
Dan Hays (2) November 2, 1884
First Landing: “120 Maple Lumber 500 Posts”
Last Landing: no description
No 1884 landing is described as having brought goods to the town.
1885
Barge Geo. Burnham (2) April 27,
1885
First Landing: “Hold full Hardwood Lumber Deck Landing Wood dry maple”
Schooner Boaz (26)
First Landing: “55 Cords Maple Wood 50,000 feet Lumber (about) c/o
Milwaukee”
Suzie Shipman (1)
no description of load
Thos. Paine (1)
no description of load
Scow Helen (1) November 18, 1885
no description of load
No 1885 landing is described as having brought goods to the town.
1886
Barge Geo. Burnham (4) April 8,
1886
First Landing: “Lumber”
Barge Hilton (1)
“Wood Slabs”
Scow Dunham (1)
no description of load
Schooner Scud (4)
First Landing: “Wood”
Schooner Persia (1)
no description of load
Schooner Boaz (22)
First Landing: “Lumber”
Second Landing: Brought goods to town (e.g., potatoes). First description of
ship used for this.
Departed with “Lumber”
Last Landing: October 30, 1886
1889
Schooner
Boaz (11) April 26, 1889
First Landing: “All Wood”
Scow Dan Mabee (16)
First Landing: “Wood Slabs 2 ft Lumber”
Third Landing: brought “Hardware from Pritzlaff” left with “Wood”
Barge Arcadia (1) November 16,
1889
brought a variety of goods to the town
1890
Schooner Madonna (11) May 24, 1890
First Landing: “50 Cds Maple Wood more or less”
also brought goods to the town
Steamer John D. Dewar (1)
brought goods to the town
Schooner Boaz (3)
Second Landing: “Cedar Ties”
also brought goods to town
Scow Sassacus (2)
First Landing: “Cargo 48 Cds Maple Wood 40 Cds Slabs 80 Hem. Poles”
Schooner Minnehaha (1)
“Cargo 65,000 ft 3 ft 6 in Flooring”
Schooner Ruby (2)
Second Landing: “70 m ft Elm 20 Cds Beech Wood”
Schooner Guide (4)
Third Landing: “24 ½ Lumber 25 Cds B. Wood”
Schooner Annie O. Hanson (1)
December 15, 1890
brought goods to the town
1891
Barge Hilton (16) May 7, 1891
brought goods to the town
O. Shaw (1)
“Estimated 30 Cds Maple Wood”
Annie O. Hanson (10) December 24,
1891
brought goods to the town