The irony of the lumber boom is that it resulted in a lot of wooden buildings during a time when heating with fire was still very common. Fires were a very real and persistent threat for most households in the 19th century, and Pentwater was no different. We’ve had our fair share of tragedies involving the unforgiving force of nature we call the flame, and yet each time Pentwater rebuilds and keeps on going. Let’s look back at the tenacity of our founders as they fought against this all-consuming force.
Probably the worst fire to hit Pentwater took place at 2:45 a.m. on Sept. 26, 1889. It was then, according to the Oceana County Historical & Genealogical Society’s history book, that “fire was discovered in the rear of George Warner’s Tobacco and Variety store, west side of main street between Fourth and Fifth streets (now named Third and Second), and soon spread to the roof of adjoining buildings.” This fire would then go on to destroy every building on the west side of Hancock Street for an entire block before jumping the street and destroying seven more stores on the northern end of the block. The total losses were estimated at $17,050. If you run those numbers through an inflation calculator, you get the modern equivalent as being $578,832. Luckily for us, Charles Mears had launched the Middlesex Brick and Tile Company not too long before. And so that’s how bricks made from the clay of Pentwater Lake itself helped to rebuild many of the buildings, make the town more fireproof, as well as giving us some of the most iconic buildings on Hancock Street today.
Another tragic burning took place on July 9, 1898, when an estimated 7 million feet of the Sands and Maxwell Lumber Company’s lumber burned up, despite the aid of a “hose laid from the Huftile hydrant, a stream of water from the mill, help from the tugs Gaylord and Maxwell who were in port, and the Ludington fire tug….” If you run this through an inflation calculator, you are looking at a whopping $3,010,428 in lumber!
Another fire broke out in March 1900 in the finishing room of the Pentwater Bedstead Factory. “Within an hour, both the four-story building and the three-story one also were in ruins.” There were 175 people employed at the Bedstead Factory at this time, and the chief stockholders were C.T. Sands, H.F. Sands and Alfred W. Newark. According to the OCH&GS’s book, the economic loss to the village was “difficult to estimate.” The Bedstead Factory would never rebuild.
Another fire that was instrumental in developing the Pentwater we all know and love today was the burning of the White Elephant in 1928. In 1891, a man named George A. Williams came to Pentwater from Chicago with visions of a bustling resort town. By 1892, he had begun construction on his grand hotel, the Valeria, which was to be named after his wife. But, by 1893, Williams had run out of money, and the hotel sat unfinished. It eventually garnered the name “The White Elephant.” Under this moniker, the incomplete building became host to several different functions. It held shops, theaters, restaurants, government buildings, a gym, etc. That is, until it burned down in 1928. However, the idea of a community space remained. Rather than rebuild, the space was left bare, and thus the Village Green was born.
Hopefully, through this little article, you get a sense of how two very powerful and natural forces worked together to shape our little town: the fire’s desire to consume unabated and man’s unstoppable desire to survive and adapt. I also hope you remember to keep an eye on your candles and make sure your stove is off before you leave the house. Pentwater has seen enough fires for its lifetime.
